I have used the Dewalt DC987KA drill/driver for the past three to four years in the development of a 6500 sq. ft. research lab at my university. This drill has definitely been up to every effort, performing tasks like drilling anchor holes in poured concrete, driving bolts in unistrut, drilling 1/8-5/8" holes in mild and stainless steel plate, to duration tasks like stripping coatings using a wire brush attachment. There are several pros and cons of this drill to point out:
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br /Pros:
br /1) Ample power and torque. For driving screws or bolts, the driver is outstanding. The clutch works well and has sufficient numbers of ranges to allow for fine tuning the depth of drive. The low range on the transmission gives absolutely breathtaking torque for driving, and the variable speed has sufficient control to allow for slow starts in hard to drive materials.
br /2) The three stage transmission allows for plenty of speed ranges, and is a major plus for this unit. I have used other drills by other manufacturers, and the three stage transmission is a huge selling point for me on this unit.
br /3) While it is a bit heavy, the drill/driver is very well balanced and is easy to handle because it is balanced.
br /4) The electric brake works exceptionally well, and stops the chuck very rapidly.
br /5) The second handle is "handy" for driving hard materials like concrete, and can be positioned at any point around the drill. It can also be easily removed for using the drill as a driver, as we do often.
br /6) The variable speed trigger is very smooth and functions very well on our unit. I can appreciate variability from one drill to another, but our drill works very very well. It has sufficient back pressure to allow for controlled work.
br /7) The top speed on the transmission is faster than many other drill/drivers I am aware of. It comes in handy for cleaning/polishing as I mentioned above (wire brush work).
br /8) I will list this as a pro and a con: the 18V batteries have quite a bit of juice in them and last a long time as a driver and in light work, but the NiCd battery packs just don't work as well as the newer NiMH packs that are coming out on other units, and in the duration tasks like wire brush stripping, they don't last as long as I'd like.
br /9) The charger works as indicated. I have had no trouble with the charger, and it fully recharges in an hour, as promised. This is not as quick as some newer units, but does work as promised.
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br /Cons:
br /1) The unit is heavy. I have a 15.6V drill/driver from another manufacturer that doesn't quite have the moxy that the DC987 has, but handles better because it is quite a bit lighter. I have used the DC987 drill/driver over my head building unistrut framework and it does get a bit heavy to handle at odd angles and far from the body. While it is well balanced, it is heavy.
br /2) The original NiCd battery packs lasted quite a long time in our modest usage (not quite the pace of a contractor, but heavy usage when in use) but I have noticed that the duration usage kills the battery as you might expect. This is a downside to the NiCd's and a small downside to this drill.
br /3) I am not a fan of how Dewalt chose to make the electical connection between the battery pack and the driver/recharger. While the electrical spades are protected, I don't like the slight "looseness" of the fit to the charger and don't like having the spades unsupported within the plastic frame. It would seem to be a potential to really mess up a battery pack if the spades were to be bent in handling. I have not had this experience, but like the battery designs of other manufacturers better. However, the batteries lock on the drill well and we have not had trouble with one coming off or with the electrical contacts, so perhaps this is just preference on my part.
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br /Overall, I very much like this drill/driver. It has plenty of power and torque, and is well balanced. I have yet to find a hole it can't drill or a screw/bolt it can't drive. I have used it on many materials over quite some time and am pleased by its performance overall. I give it 4 stars rather than 5 because of the battery performance and its weight, not for its drill or driver performance. If Dewalt makes NiMH batteries available with this unit, it would be unbeatable.

Fantastic drill.lots of power and runtime,Great chuck.Great handles.Good weight for powerful 18v drill.
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br /Poblems? Poor workmanship that you would never see on a Bosch.
br /Annoying poorly sanded seam down the middle of the drill.
br /Finicky shifting.The poorly sanded seam seems typical on Dewalt
br /drills made in Mexico.

I purchased this drill about 4 months ago just in time for some heavy construction in my house. This drill has a very solid feel and it's comfortable in your hand - even after hours and hours of driving drywall screws. Like many other comments, I have yet to it a hole that it won't drill... it's so powerful. With a masonary bit and the drill in "hammer" mode, I was able to drill through plaster, cinder block and stucco as if it were balsa wood.
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br /My only complaint is that for some unknown reason it can be very difficult to shift. It's as if it gets jammed in its current position. It seems that if I reverse the direction back and forth, squeeze the trigger a few times, it will eventually work. It's annoying but not enough to make me give this anything less than 5 stars. I did not have the problem with the non-sanded handle that some did.
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br /This is a top notch drill just like everything else I have owned from Dewalt. I do recommend that you buy this as part of a combo package, the prices are considerably less per tool when purchased as a package deal.

This is a good drill/driver. Heavy duty, nicely balanced. Chuck is easy to grab with serrations for easy tightening and loosening.
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br /Dewalt has always been a good product in my book.

I have the older version of this drill, and I have had it for about 5 years. I am a homeowner that sometimes gets involved in heavy duty construction. I have used this drill to drill concrete, landscape timbers, metal, and every type of wood out there. I used it to remodel my rental property and it worked great with drywall. It is heavy as stated in the other reviews but you expect weight to come with any heavy duty tool. The first thing I had to do to it when I bought it was take some sandpaper to the seam on the back of the handle. That sucker cuts right into you. This was easily repaired in about a minute so I consider this to be nothing more than a nuisance. I have dropped it several times including from the top of a ladder but it has survived with nothing more than cosmetic damage. I had a 26 ft camper and I even used this drill to raise and lower the jacks and crank the slide out. I once nearly broke my wrist while doing this. The drill has so much torque that it twisted my arm around when the slide hit its stop. I finally had to replace the battery packs this week. I guess I cannot complain about this since they lasted so long. The stores charge outrageous prices for the batteries so I bought mine through a popular online auction site for about half the price. I would recommend this drill to anyone except for those who want a lightweight drill. It really is bulletproof. Is it any wonder you see so many contractors using it?

Great clutch. Power for any job, but on the heavy side. Well balanced, there's nothing this can't drill with the right bit. My main complaint is that the batteries would not hold a charge after the first year. I'l not a contractor - just a homeowner who likes quality tools. I had to replace the batteries for over a hundred bucks (for two) just 11 months after purchasing the drill.

This is without question the best battery drill I have ever used. I have been drilling treated 4 x 4's with 1/2 inch drills and the battery has the best use time I have found. The 500 foot pounds torque is great when the material is wet and there are knots to naavigate.
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br /A lot of stores sell the 18v DeWalt but not all of them have the XRP. This is a superior drill in performance and battery life. I am really sold on this product.

I've been using the DC987KA for over 18 months. It is very durable and performs it's duty well. In fact, when it came time to pick a new drill for the shop I purchased this one again.
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br /The only small critique I have is that the clutch does not have a light enough setting for some of my tasks. However it does work well at higher torque settings.

Watch the price. I paid around $160 on Amazon, but I've seen the Amazon price soar to $249. Wait for your best deal.

I put together a 25'X 25'X 12' carport with this drill and it worked great every time. Hundreds of self tapping screws did not stop this one, the battery lasted long enough for the other to fully charge.

This thing is just a yellow Black and Decker drill from China. It's amazing how people line up to pay extra for the yellow paint and then excuse major faults like the sloppy battery connection and poorly designed chuck that locks up. I fell for the marketing hype myself and smoked the drill in less than a year. I'm a heavy user homeowner. Since I smoked the DeWalt, I learned that it is owned by Black and Decker. I learned that the difference between the products is the marketing budget and Nascar sponsorship. I then smoked two Milwaukees. Now I am looking at a Panasonic to replace my third Milwaukee. The Milwaukee is better than the DeWalt by far, but it's still not up to my expectations. The Panasonic for the same money used NiMH batteries and has 3.5 amp hour batteries. No battery memory and much more power. Plus the Panasonic is built in Japan.