I have used Makita and Hitachi in the 14.4V power range. The Makita is by far a better drill, but the Hitachi is lighter and easier to use. The Hitachi is an ok drill for the money, but it doesn't like rough handling. If you drop it, even from short heights you can expect major damage. I have already thrown one drill away due to internal damage from dropping it from my tool belt, but I kept the batteries for the other drills. I also purchased a "reconditioned" 14.4V Hitachi from Amazon, but found the drill to be of very poor quality out of the box, the reversing switch didn't fully engage without forcing it. It also wasn't the same drill or the same quality as the ones I purchased "new" from Amazon, but they had the same part number. "Reconditioned" must mean "product rejected by quality control at factory" in Japanese!