Ridgid's Sub-Compact Drill and Driver - A Go-To for DIYers and Professionals

It’s no secret that I have an affinity for buying Ridgid tools and their new sub-compact line was going to find it’s way into my shop sooner or later. While I’m in no way sponsored by Ridgid, I just like their tools enough to keep coming back for more. It didn’t hurt either that as I write this they have a special promotion going on where you can get a free tool from their sub-compact line or another battery when you buy the drill/driver kit. I went for the cut off tool.

Their sub-compact line has been out for about two weeks now, complete (for the time being) with a drill/driver combo, a cut off tool and a 3/8” impact wrench. I picked up the drill/driver combo for myself last week and couldn’t wait to put it to the test. I’m a cabinet installer by day so that’s what I would be putting these tools up against. The job I’m currently working on is made out of maple plywood. I was curious to see how the driver stacked up against others in it’s class and I found that it has the highest peak torque with 1800 in-lbs, followed by the DeWalt Atomic 20V MAX (1700 in-lbs) and the Milwaukee M18 Fuel Surge (450 in-lbs) *It should be noted that Milwaukee doesn’t have their own sub-compact line and the torque is so much lower because of the way it is output.

For me, the most impressive thing about this kit is that Ridgid is still able to produce drivers with industry leading torque while making smaller and lighter tools. The output of this new sub-compact driver is still more than the non-Atomic 20V MAX driver I use at work on a normal day. As for the drill, it boasts some impressive features too. Just the other day I was using a 4” hole saw on this compact drill and I didn’t run into any problems. It did get bogged down a bit at times but I know that the hole saw I was using also wasn’t very sharp. Overall, I was happy that it worked but for holes this big I’ll probably keep using the bigger DeWalt hammer drill I have at work. The Ridgid also has 24 different clutch positions which isn’t always common with smaller drills, this gives you a lot of control over whatever you’re doing with the drill.

As for the batteries and charger, they’ve changed a bit but these are basically the same as what you would be used to. Just by looking at the two 2.0 Ah batteries in this kit compared to a regular 2.0 Ah battery you can tell they were designed to be a bit smaller but not a whole lot, the charger is quite small however. It’s good to know that these batteries will of course still work with all other Ridgid tools and all the old batteries will work with these tools, they may just need a bit of convincing to fit in at first.

I was also lucky enough to catch their first promotion with the new sub-compact line and get their 3-inch Multi Material Saw for free. This tool essentially functions as a small angle grinder. It comes with a regular cut off wheel, a diamond wheel and a carbide abrasive wheel in the box. While its much smaller than a regular grinder, this little tool is great for small projects. Just today I was using it to cut stair casing for a project in my house. With a small project like this I was very glad to have this tool, it saved me from the on going headache of figuring out how I was going to cut the casing before today. It won’t overwhelm you with it’s power but in a tight spot it’ll get the job done.

Overall I’m very pleased that I decided to pick up this new combo kit with the added incentive of the free tool. I’ve been wanting a drill/driver set to keep in my truck for a while now and this is the one. I’ll leave my heavier and bigger GEN5X set in the shop for bigger jobs. This set can clearly be used in a professional setting while not being too bulky to be an ideal option for the DIYer.