In an attempt to shop early and find the perfect Christmas gift for a special male friend, I conducted a small unscientific survey. Eleven male associates were asked to name their top three Christmas wishes, and the results were somewhat amazing. All but one man included a power tool in the list of three preferred gifts. Incredibly, all ten men wanted a cordless drill! Although once married to a man with vast numbers of power tools, the need for these tools still escapes me. The power tools never appeared to be in use although the owner (husband) swore the tools were necessities. Discussions with the men surveyed did not provide any real solid answers. No one had a project in mind that would require a cordless drill. A couple of the men had a specific drill in mind but the majority just listed "a cordless power drill". During the discussions, one man said "all real men have power tools" and maybe that's as close as we get to an answer.
Knowing that the gift is for a man who just purchased a house, a cordless drill seems appropriate; perhaps not necessary but somehow appropriate. Research led to a Makita 18V Cordless Hammer Drill. This was interesting to me because it is actually two tools in one. Its versatility and reliability received excellent ratings by Popular Mechanics. In fact, it was rated "best overall" by Popular Mechanics after a test of ten cordless power drills. There were also reviews by men who work as contractors and use the Makita every day. They provided reviews and comments based on hands-on use. Another interesting fact that surfaced during the research was the number of women using power tools, especially the cordless drill! It seems that the women had real projects and a serious need for the power tool and, in fact, used it.
Keyless Chuck
Based on what I've learned, I will give the Makita Cordless Drill to my friend and hope that he figures out how to use it. At the very least, having a power tool in his possession may give him that "real man" feeling.