They’re pretty serious toys, but I don’t know if I’d call them tools. The cheapie chargers don’t have any control logic, so they wear out batteries prematurely. The batteries are cheap to begin with, so while they boast a common terminal voltage, the amperage grunt they put behind it is seriously subpar. Don’t expect to get more than a few dozen charges out of that pack, whereas a name-brand tool should give you hundreds.

I’ve also had bad luck with cheap switch mechanisms. They seem to arc a lot and fail prematurely; I think this is because they don’t include a snubber capacitor across the contacts. If you can get replacements that fit, and don’t mind opening the drill every few months to fix it, that’s up to you.

I guess the question is this: When the tool fails, where will you be? If you’re at a track, and borrowing someone else’s impact wrench is just a matter of gratitude, then yes, the cheapie’s a fine idea. Especially if you don’t plan to use it heavily in the first place. But if a tool failure would leave you stranded somewhere uncomfortable, consider investing in quality.

The universal charger is pretty sweet. There’s something to be said for keeping the same connector, or a similar enough one that you can make a charger like that. Now if only these came in a less goofy color scheme!