DEWALT DCD970KL 18-Volt XRP Lithium-Ion 1/2-Inch Hammerdrill/Drill/Driver Kit

I bought this drill to replace my Dewalt DC925, which fell from a roof and landed in a big ugly mud hole, I thought only drill was toast and ordered a new, rescued 925 of salvaged parts. The DCD950 and DCD970 is exactly the same drill in addition to coupling ring, which is black on the 950 and silver in the 970 th difference is the batteries that are included have XRPs 950 and 970, the new Nano (lithium ion). OK, back to the comparison
Benefits of DCD970/950 VS. the DCD925
First Far better balance
2nd More power in both low-and midrange (Dewalt DC925 says has 480 unit watts vs. DCD970 is 450, but DCD970 is more powerful
3rd WAY smoother speed selector (moving back and forth, not in a semi-ellipse 925)
4th L.E.D on the front
5th Shorter in length
6th Drill / Screw / Drill different connection settings are no longer in the same ring, now has access his own ring.

Disadvantages of DCD970
First because of pressure from a group called "tool users" who only seem to worry about aesthetics, Dewalt shifted base to the new classical style, which means that if you actually use the drill only has room for a bit on the front and will not to hold a screw guide and short nutsetters very well, while the old style base could fit a screw guide for TEK screws on one side and a 1 / 4 "and 5 / 16" short nutsetters for tapcons on the other side.

But all in all DCD970/950 is an excellent exercise and deserves 4.75 stars if Dewalt will change the base, it would be a 5-star item, but it will never happen because the people who care more about how a tool looks like rather than how well it works.

06/06/2009
I adjusted my old DC925 and put a new battery and the thing works! Well now I have two, I guess that's what I get for asuming things well I like DCD970 better anyway.

This is a must tool for all types of home renovation jobs. It is extremely durable and plenty of power. I use this exercise with the old NiCd XRP batteries and works well. DEWALT tools are great to be forward and backward compatible with batteries. Batteries are a big deal. Dewalt is considerate of your past purchases and purchases from today's battery compatibility. Bottom line, if you plan on making a purchase on a long drill, Dewalt has durability and strength that most people do not survive.