Can Hercules Compete with the Best??? Hercules against the Best from Dewalt and Milwaukee!

Hercules Brushless tools have really helped Harbor Freight come a long in way in competing with with more brands, but how do they stack up against the best? And how much of a difference do the different batteries make?
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[@SouthFLTools]

Hercules has come a long way. Thanks for being the first channel to demonstrate Ridgid’s 4ah EXP tabless cell battery in their High Torque Hammer Drill. I was expecting to see some of the larger tool channels with some demonstrations by now, so a little surprised they have been so quiet. Looking forward to see future tabless cell batteries from Ridgid in the future as they step them up in capacity.

[@TinkerWithTools]

You bet!

[@markjohns5874]

If a tool priced half the name brands' and the same warranty with at least 90% of their performance, that's more than enough for most people.

[@TinkerWithTools]

Great way to look at it.

[@bjjarnecke]

Harbor Freight has come a long ways since opening in our area 10 or so years ago. I remember my dad buying some of their pneumatic tools back then, and they wouldn't even make it through one use. Fast forward to now, they are a great value for what you get. I just recently started buying into the Hercules Brushless line even though I have quite a few Ridgid tools already. Their upper end hand tools are great, and my dad bought an Earthquake impact a couple years ago that was fantastic (even though it has now been replaced by a cordless impact). I hope they continue to put money and effort into the Hercules line, because they have a really good thing going so far.

[@coreyhoward911]

I work in industrial maintenance and our shop buys all dewalt. I started bringing my Hercules tools to work and Hercules out performs the dewalt in every category. The biggest differences between the two are the power. The Hercules half inch impact wrench will get those seized bolts out when the dewalt can’t. The Hercules hammer drill seems to have way more power as well when drilling into steal. The Hercules compact reciprocating saw is head and tow more powerful than the dewalt (not even close on this one). My used Hercules batteries last twice as long the brand new dewalt batteries. Our crew is sick of how terrible the lifespan of the dewalt batteries. I use both dewalt and Hercules daily in the terrible factory conditions. The crew I work with all agree that these Hercules tools are legitimate dewalt slayers. No youtube video or torque spec comparison can do justice to what these things can do.

[@MistaHoffinata]

I think Hercules is extremely underrated, excellent tools with an even better warranty

[@jacobcolombo3158]

They have some smoking deals. For $197 I got the brushless impact driver, brushless hammer drill/driver, 5” brushless angle grinder, 4Ah battery, 2Ah battery, and charger. 3 brushless tools, 2 battery’s and a charger for

[@TinkerWithTools]

That's a great deal for all of that!

[@GoogleDoesEvil]

Would love a video on the Craftsman line of cordless tools. I was really impressed with the fit and finish of them in store, much closer to DeWalt than Ryobi was to Milwaukee.

[@TinkerWithTools]

I have done a craftsman vs Ryobi before but currently don’t own anything craftsman. There aren’t bad tools but I haven’t loved some of the things the brand has done. They had tools that had a bit more power and they discontinued them in favor of their RP line which had less performance than the outgoing models actually. Maybe this holiday season I’ll pick up some craftsman tools and do more with them.

[@pedalpower57]

I have had my craftsman drill, sawzall and angle grinder for 2 years now and use them regularly at work, biggest problem I have with them is the batteries need to be charged much more often then my bosses DeWalt and the batteries do not seem as powerful as the DeWalt even though they are the same Amps

[@MatthewDouglas805]

It's pretty amazing what kind of performance you can get for so little money today. If longevity is decent, these drills a absolutely fantastic deals. Thanks for the testing!

[@TinkerWithTools]

I agree and you're welcome!

[@DearSX]

Batteries seems like a great way to limit power for different kinds of jobs, considering this tool does not have anti-kick back. I may get the impact driver kit usually on sale for around $80 with the included battery and use it on the hammer drill for easy tasks. You can get the Hercules Hammer Drill and 8AH batter for $100 on sale.

[@milwaukee_69]

Hercules has come a long way from just being a harbor freight tool. By what I have seen it gives decent competition to the higher up brands in your testing wow!

[@milleradam98]

This was really cool, love the comparisons with other brands even if it wasn't apples to apples as you said. Gives people an idea of what they're getting. I have the hammer drill and impact driver and love both of them for the value and performance. I'd like to see you do the same style video with the herc impact driver!

[@TinkerWithTools]

I’ll see what I can do. I was suprised when I looked back and realized I hadn’t done any comparisons.

[@robjackson9671]

But the 4 ah has 21700 cells

[@ToolShow]

Great review Taylor!

[@TinkerWithTools]

Thanks @toolshow!

[@JamesBjorkSax]

I might use my power tools each once or twice per year. Hercules with their combo deals or a coupon just made a lot of sense for me. They do well enough for my needs. They are the power tool complement to my Toyota Corolla. Nothing sexy or fancy, but a lot of miles per dollar. I’m glad I discovered Harbor Freight after they improved their quality.

[@TinkerWithTools]

I like that they continue to build out the lineup too. It’s providing a sold performing budget option and the warranty on top gives peace of mind.

[@THEBEARDEDTOOLGUY]

HARBOR FREIGHT IS GOING TO HAVE TABLESS CELLS NEXT YEAR FOR THERE HERCULES LINE AND I HAVE AND LIKE SOME OF THERE BAUER LINE

[@txvet7738]

That would be freaking awesome…lol!

[@TinkerWithTools]

That will be a nice addition for sure.

[@Unbendable74]

@THEBEARDEDTOOLGUY Where did you hear this and have you heard anything about them adding kickback control to the hammer drill?

[@Tom-x3m9g]

I bought all the Bauer and Hercules tools and most of them I waited for a sale. How can you beat a 5 amp hour battery and charger for 90 bucks. I got the Bauer chainsaw and polesaw and 2 5 amp hour batteries and charger for 180.bucks. I returned the 2nd charger because I already had 2 , so nobody can beat that deal. They are good for home use around the yard. Not for a pro. But I didn't pay much money and getting the best deal by far. I love my Harbor freight tools.

[@Observer2225]

Like always very good video with reliable comparison. I just discovered a brand that i never heard about before this video, it seems to be a very good brand, I'll dig further on the net to know more about it Sure, it will be in the future on my comparison list when planing to buy new tools.

[@TinkerWithTools]

Thanks for sharing!

[@brianf9619]

Good Video , informative...👍🖖 Whats your opinion on the rest of the Hercules Line-Up ....🤔😅

[@TinkerWithTools]

Honestly just diving deeper into them now. I recently bought a grinder and a router. The grinder is un used (not a core tool for me). But the router functions well and had plenty of power. It doesn’t seem to have quite as refined build as some of the other brands but for the price it can’t be beat.

[@THEBEARDEDTOOLGUY]

Well my HERCULES DRILL/ DRIVER HCB91B WENT OUT put out a video yesterday and it's Broken after 18 months will Bring it back to HARBOR FREIGHT and see if they can upgrade me to the HAMMER DRILL/ DRIVER for free that's one nice thing about HARBOR FREIGHT Don't have to mail it off

[@TinkerWithTools]

Any idea what took it out?

[@aaronsmith593]

I always thought their name "Hercules" was lame. 😂

[@txvet7738]

I swear that my Hercules impact driver has Milwaukee guts! When I look inside it, I see a lot of “RED”…lol!

[@TinkerWithTools]

It’s not a bad impact driver but I have never found the performance to be truly that close.

[@robjackson9671]

It us more powerful. It beats the dewalt 860 in driving torque. 202 lbs in forward, the 860 is over 220 but that is reverse.

[@robertdestefano4619]

so what battery was used in the 800 and where is the 805 is the hammer for these tests

[@TinkerWithTools]

The 5ah Powerstack was used on the 800. The 805 and the 800 feature the same power levels and didn’t have access to the 805 on the night of filming so the 800 was used instead. It’s not a perfect comp by any means but just wanted to provide another point of comparison.

[@aaronsmith593]

My older Ryobi brushless 1/2 drill and hammer combo has more power. It will not stop on speed 2. I can even mix concrete, it will snap your wrists if not careful. Using a 4ah battery.

[@TinkerWithTools]

Do you know the model number by chance?

[@richadent968]

How good is the Hercules cordless router? 1/3 the price of the Dewalt?

[@TinkerWithTools]

I haven’t tried it but I do have a fair bit of routing to do in the coming weeks so I might have to go and pick it up.

[@richadent968]

@@TinkerWithTools Thanks

[@winstonrocco1981]

One question if you buy a Hercules tool and it breaks does the 5 year warranty start over with the new tool?

[@TinkerWithTools]

Not that I am aware of.

[@ST-0311]

I don't own any Hercules tools, but they are a serious consideration. To me the time it takes to drill a hole is irrelevant when the difference is .25 seconds. Theoretically, drilling 100 holes would take 25 seconds longer which means nothing over the course of an entire workday. How many people have a job requiring drilling hole after hole for 8 hours? Realistically, one would drill anywhere from 1 to 10 holes, run some wire, pipe, or install some bolts then move on. What's more important to me is that the tool has the power to complete the hole. If it can't bore through the the thickness of material I'm using with the size bit I'm using then it's inadequate. Only then would I see the necessity of spending double the price for a tool that will do the task. Likewise, taking .25 seconds longer to drive a 6" screw is also irrelevant. However, if the tool won't drive it through a 4x4 it's a fail. Seems to me the Hercules is up to the task in both instances. The Hercules equals Milwaukee and beats Dewalt in length of warranty. There is also the advantage of an over the counter exchange if the warranty is needed. Being able to get back on the job in under an hour - as opposed to sending a tool out for service - is value in itself. It's nice to own the "best" drill on the market. I think it's even nicer to have a really good drill and a circular saw. I'm pretty invested in Metabo, but if I was looking at starting in a tool line I'd look hard at Hercules.

[@TinkerWithTools]

For some having the best will matter but we have gotten to the point where a lot of brands produce tools that are good enough to get job done so we have the ability to choose what works best for us. It’s nice to have choices

[@mattek519]

Does the ridgid 4ah tabless perform better than the 8ah exp?

[@TinkerWithTools]

I did a video a week ago comparing all the Ridgid battery’s. In the driving tests that I did, the 4ah EXP narrowly beat the 8ah EXP and in drilling it narrowly lost. On all the tests the 4ah EXP was behind 3% across all tests. So I think the 8ah is still technically the best battery that I own but the performance was close enough that I wanted to get some more time in with the new battery.

[@mattek519]

@@TinkerWithTools oh yes. I watched it. Lol doh!

[@riba2233]

makes sense that 5ah performs better than the 4, it has 40a cont current vs 30 from the 4

[@marlonnavarro6448]

I bin buying from harbor freight tools for a long time and they have very good tools I do a lot of mechanic work at home and I used to work as a mechanic they have good stuff I give it a 5 star and good price

[@Unbendable74]

Why wasn’t the Flex included?

[@TinkerWithTools]

couldn't include every drill in the time frame that I had to record. So I went with a few simply to show if it could keep up. I have other videos comparing the milwaukee and dewalt to that flex.

[@alphad1395]

Nice video!

[@TinkerWithTools]

Thanks!

[@Veau88]

Where is the 12ah for herc?

[@TinkerWithTools]

I don’t own it. I only featured the batteries that I own.

[@Tom-x3m9g]

I'm up to 25 cordless Bauer and Hercules tools and 10 batteries and I will buy more if I need it. I'm running out of things to buy.Lmao! When you get a free tool for buying a battery and charger it breaks down to less than 40 bucks a tool. Try to find that price buying from the other stores.

[@blahblah5603]

You have the same problem I do. I have about as many Bauer/ Hercules cordless tools. They are great tools for the money

[@ElectroAtletico]

Frankly, I use them and have had only one give me a hiccup (the 20V brushless grinder broke after about 8 months - got a new one under warranty in less than 10 minutes). p.s. You're skipping too much in your video editing.

[@donnie017]

Hercules for the win!🏁🏁🏁🏁

[@theoctogon73]

It obviously cannot…

[@isaaccaris9530]

Woow milwaukee forge 12 ah.. blows others