[flanked-evergl]

I recently decided I will go for the cheap Chinese store brand power tools for most things. It's about 1/5 to 1/3 the price of Ryobi, gets really good reviews, have been sold for more than 10 years now with the same batteries, and comes with a 5 year warranty which is 2 years more than ryobi. It's maybe not going to last 10 years, but at 1/5 the price it does not have to.

[sedawkgrep]

I think the rule of thumb for non-professionals is:

Buy cheap and if you use it enough that it breaks, buy expensive the second time.

[jeffbee]

By following this rule you could easily end up with a tool that lasts forever but strips out all your screw heads.

[MarkusQ]

Replace "breaks" with "fails to work as intended" then.

A tool that doesn't break but does smell like a refinery or damages nearby electronics when used, gets strangely hot or inexplicably changes shape when idle, etc. should still be replaced.

[flanked-evergl]

I don't think that is how screws work. I really have a hard time seeing how the drill makes a difference with that. The bit you use, sure. How you use the drill, sure. Maybe if the drill has a completely messed up clutch maybe, but then the tool is not functional and you should return it.

[jerf]

I don't think anyone is asking you to stupidly follow the advice off a cliff. You're welcome to call "stripping all your screw heads" broken and take appropriate action.

[fatbird]

I don't follow this example. Isn't stripping screw heads a skills issue? How does a tool help/hurt with that?

[everybodyknows]

Better machining on a Phillips tip really does help.

[skeeter2020]

that's not an example of a tool that works, though.

[bluGill]

All too often I've seen amateurs do this and thing think "don't blame the tool, I must be bad", when it really is the tool! A good craftsman never blames his tools is a reflection on the types of tool a craftsman has, not just the skill they have.

[fatbird]

Perfect. The dirty little secret of this strategy is that most people's uses just aren't that demanding, so the cheap stuff is more than sufficient. Additionally, breaking a cheap tool is a great indicator of where your real needs for quality lie, which is rarely where you think it will be.