Customer Reviews

Hitachi KC14DVF 14.4-Volt Ni-Cad Cordless 2-Tool Combo Kit

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I reviewed this item before, but for some reason Amazon deleted my review! (And I didn't use no cuss words or nothing.) Anyway, I bought this kit in Aug 2006 for 100 bucks, and at that price it's a good deal. Here's most of what I said in my first review:

Saw: 14.4 volts is not enough for a 61/2' saw IMHO. On 14.4V the blade speed is low and the battery does not last long. I have an 18V Hitachi saw that works great. (You can easily modify this saw to run off of 18V batteries. I've been running this saw on 18V batteries for months now with no problems. Perhaps it is this advice in my first review that got that review deleted!) This saw also does not have a light like other Hitachi saws. Having a light is very nice. The LH blade is good for right handers. The blade that comes with this saw has fewer tips that blades that come with more expensive Hitachi saws, but its carbide teeth stay sharp for a long time, so fewer teeth is no big deal. This 61/2" saw will can cut 2x4s at 45 degrees. I'd give this saw 4 stars at 18V, and 3 stars at 14.4V

Drill: Very nice at 14.4V. It's light and well balanced with enough power for 99% of my jobs. The batteries last long enough; no need to go to 18V with this drill. The chuck is small and sometimes slips with round shank drill bits, so I have to use pliers to tighten the chuck. This kinda defeats the idea of a keyless chuck, does it not? The belt clip does not have a light like other Hitachi drills do. Again, Hitachi is trying to save a few bucks on this kit. I'd give the dill 4 stars because of the slipping chuck.

Light: It's ok as a work light, but it's great as a camping lantern. I don't like those Coleman gas lanterns because they are way too bright; this one puts out just enough light. 5 stars.

Charger: For some reason, Hitachi says you can only get 300 charge cycles from their batteries using this charger, vs. up to 1000 cycles using their fancier chargers. I don't know why this is so, but it comes directly from Hitachi. If you have a better Hitachi charger, I'd use it and keep the charger included with this kit as a backup. 2 stars.

I've been reading a lot of Hitachi reviews that have said the batteries won't hold a charge. I have 12 Hitachi batteries: 3 are the 3AHr NiMH batteries and 7 are the 2AHr NiCads, and 2 are 1.2Ahr NiCads. They all seem to hold a charge just fine. The flashlight in this kit is great for discharging the batteries all the way before recharging. A battery will still light the flashlight quite a while after the battery seems to be "dead" in one of the tools.

So this is a good, not great kit. The higher end Hitachi kits are great, but they are much more expensive.

First off,
I admit my review is biased because I purchased this set when it was on sale with a rebate for $99 plus tax. That said, this combo kit far exceeted my expectations. The drill is light weight, small in size and has both power and speed to do anything a drill of this power should be expected to perform. The saw is very cool. I have never had a cordless saw before and can't believe how nice it is not to have to worry where the cord is all the time. The saw has the power to rip right though 3/4 sheets of ply, just gotta see how the blade holds up. So far the batteries seem to work just fine. The light of should I say lantern is kind of hokie, but thats ok. The kit even came with a convenient case, now I just gotta find a motorcycle to match this crazy green and black flashy look Hitachi has come out with.

I bought this tool set for small projects around the house and it has been working out great. No issues with the drill or the saw, however note that the light will not work if the battery is not completely charged.

Other than that I am satisfied with the Hitachi.

bought this when it was on amazon for 71 dollars, for the whole set. ive loved it since then, the saw can rip and cut pretty much anything, tho u do need a guide. the drill has a lot of torque, and does tend to twist in the hand on higher speeds, as it is very compact. ive dropped it twice, no damage that i can tell. the lantern is less useful than a spotlight, but nobody buys this package for the lantern. all in all, i gave it 4 stars, the only problem ive had is a tendency to strip screws rather easily, but thats probably the bit im using...

If you are skeptical about buying tools from Hitachi, read on...

I was skeptical too, but had good luck in the past with one other Hitachi tool, and so far, am hard pressed to find any flaw with anything I've owned from them.

I've had this set for just over a year. Overall, it has exceeded my expectations in just about every way. I've owned one other Hitachi tool- a 10 inch compound miter saw, which was an exceptional value and a great daily use saw. My last cordless drill was a 12v Makita professional model, which was an excellent drill that saw very heavy daily use. When I joined the Army, I sold many of my tools, and put some in storage. The drill went to my father. So when I got to my first duty station, I needed a few tools to get by. I was prepared to spend up to $300 for a basic saw and drill kit from Dewalt, but stumbled on this one. I didn't need a recipro saw, so this fit the bill very well. I was a bit worried that the low price tag would mean that this drill would be a let-down compared to the Makita. Amazingly, it hasn't. This drill has equivalent power and battery life to the Makita, but it is much more compact and much lighter weight. It fits in my tool box without weighing it down or taking up too much space. The chuck is not my favorite, but I believe I changed out the Makita's as well. The battery charger charges quickly, but only has a red light to indicate charging, nothing to indicate charged status (other than the red light not being lit). It seems a little cheap, but I've had no issues to date with it.

As far as the saw goes, it was one of the selling points over the Dewalt. The safety switch is MUCH easier to operate on this one. The overall balance and feel is really pleasing compared to the Dewalt. At 14v, the saw drains the batteries pretty quick, but that is to be expected. Overall, this saw has come in handy a great many times. It hasn't replaced my regular corded saw, but actually sees more use in small jobs.

As I said, I'm hard pressed to find ANY flaws with this set, even those I mentioned about the battery charger. On some level, it seems like this stuff says "home owner" or "amateur", but that is just on the surface. I've had other Dewalt and Makita tools that have had greater flaws.

A final note about the work light- I've always thought this was the most useless addition to one of these kits. I never thought I'd actually use it. I was wrong. The power goes out here an average of once a month and stays out for several hours. This thing lights up a whole room with enough light to read by for hours at a time.

For the money, you can't go wrong. Even if you are a working professional, these tools will impress you on a regular basis, hold up to daily use, and fit in your tool box. Sure, you may need a more powerful primary drill that can drive a 3" hole saw, but this one will probably come in handy just as often. Check it out.

I own many cordless drills mostly dewalt's and have been working in construction for years and I am very rough on my tools. I was very unhappy with my dewalt's performance and durability- so thought i'd try this Hitachi in lieu of a makita. WITHOUT A DOUBT it's the best drill i currently own, i use it everyday in a rough construction job, so the drill has not been treated lightly. This drill rocks, it is very powerful for most applications, it is very light and small, has great torq, and I like the belt clip feature, which i thought was dumb at first until i was up 15' ladders and find it comfortable to clip my drill to my bags, and the drill is so light it easy rides in your bags without being weight down. Other guys i work with own Hilti's, Milwaulkee,Dewalts -ect and I find this little 14.4 out performs all of them.

Very nice, it appears to be well built, well balanced, lite weight, for home use I expect this will last, I'm satisfied