Hello,
The chuck on my dewalt drill is barely functioning and not long for the world so I've been researching alternatives for my next cordless drill.
Since I've been very pleased with the festool tools I have, I've considered the new festool drill that's on sale until 11/30.
While it's definitely priced higher than other drills, I've found that the my festool tools are worth the premium price to me.
However, based on information I've gathered on this site, I've decided that I'm probably not going to purchase the festool drill for the following reason:
1) American standard hex bits don't fit the festool drill. While there's an adapter, using the adapter introduces more runout in the bit and eliminates the small formfactor advantage of the drill.
It also means that if I want to use the small formfactor that I have to buy new bits from Festool and keep up with them.
(Correction) It turns out that the new drills come with a standard adjustable chuck that will hold a 1/2 shank bit, so I can use this drill in the same way I use any other drill -- but I lose the biggest advantage of these drills -- the centrotec chuck.
It seems to me the solution would be for Festool to make a centrotec chuck that is sized to fit American bits. They wouldn't be able to sell their specialized bits, but it would make their drill much more acceptable to the American market.
Please let me know if any of my assumptions are wrong.
Thanks.