I’ve tested dozens of cordless drills over the years, including ones from DeWalt and Bosch. But I keep coming back to Milwaukee for the tremendous performance its drills offer. Nowhere is this more pronounced than with the brand’s flagship drill, the M18 2904 Hammer Drill. I first got my hands on it about a year ago, and it’s been my go-to ever since. It’s not quite as fast as the Flex 24V Cordless Hammer Drill, nor is it as compact as the Makita 18V LXT Cordless Hammer Drill/Driver. But it nonetheless earned the title of Best Overall when I tested nearly a dozen cordless drills because it offers the very best combination of speed, power, size, comfort, and features that’s out there today.

It’s no secret that power typically drives the cordless drill driver market. One of the main reasons the Milwaukee 2904 Hammer Drill is the first drill I reach for is because it reaches a maximum speed of 2,100 rpm and produces a whopping 1,400 inch-pounds of torque. That’s enough muscle to drill into just about any material around the house, and it allowed this drill to ace my workshop tests.

Drilling larger holes through denser materials is a good test of a cordless drill's abilities, so I started putting the 2904 through its paces by drilling through stacked 2x4s using a 1-inch spade bit and 5/8-inch holes with a twist bit. The 2904 blazed through these tests, boring holes without hesitation or any binding.

While this was impressive, the 2904 really outshines the competition with its ability to drill through masonry. I have a slab of concrete sitting next to my garage that I salvaged when they were repaving the road in front of my house and tearing out the old concrete curbs years back. It’s my go-to test piece for hammer drills and rotary hammer drills.

Of the dozens of hammer drills I’ve tested over the years, the Milwaukee 2904 is one of only a handful of cordless models that are capable of driving a 5/8-inch bit through that concrete in a single effort without stalling out or binding. This is a credit to its power output, as well as the options it gives you for modulating speed and torque—these include two operating speeds and separate settings for drilling and hammer drilling.

I should note that the 2904’s high torque output increases the risk for wrist injury, which can occur when a drill bit binds in material and causes the drill to rotate violently. Fortunately, the 2904 includes a detachable handle, so you can secure it with two hands to prevent kickback when using it for higher torque applications. The 2904 also notably has an auto-stop safety feature that immediately cuts off the drill when it senses over-rotation, a feature that has saved my wrist on more than one occasion.

The more drills and impact drivers I’ve tested over the years, the more I’ve come to appreciate smooth delivery as much as raw power. I hate feeling like I need to put a death grip on the drill’s handle to keep it from slipping, nor do I love the feeling of my upper body tensing up to absorb the shock of drilling larger holes through concrete or dense wood.

The 2904 is one of the smoothest cordless drills I’ve used, carving through wood like a knife through butter. It also features a very responsive variable-speed trigger that allows you to kick the speed up or down to suit your specific task. So if you need to drive large screws in or you’re drilling into denser material, drop into low speed (up to 500 rpm) and let the drill’s prodigious torque do its work. Then, bump it up to high speed (up to 2,100 rpm) if you’re drilling with smaller twist bits. This flexibility not only makes for comfortable drilling but also more accurate drilling.

While there are other drill drivers with similar power output as the 2904, including the the Flex 24V Cordless Hammer Drill, which packed the most power of any drill I tested, few are designed this compactly. The 2904 has a bare tool weight of just 3.3 pounds, making it lighter than other similarly performing hammer drill drivers by more than half a pound. Couple that with a short head (at least for a hammer drill) and streamlined body, and this tool is surprisingly nimble for a drill that packs such a punch.

As Milwaukee’s flagship drill driver, the 2904 is built to endure the punishment of daily use on a professional job site, not to mention everything you could throw at it at home or in a DIYer’s workshop. It has a metal chuck and gear case along with plenty of rubber over-molding that protects both the tool and whatever surfaces it sits on.

While the 2904 wasn’t the fastest drill I tested this year, it does offer the best overall performance when you combine its impressive speed with smoothest-in-class operation. Of course, this performance, coupled with its premium build, means the 2904 carries a price tag that’s heftier than some other drill drivers we recommend (like the Skil PWRCORE, our Best Budget pick).

It’s certainly possible the Milwaukee drill driver is overkill for the average DIYer who probably isn’t drilling 1-inch holes into wood or boring into concrete very often. However, it’s a worthy investment for those looking for a top-notch tool to anchor their arsenal, especially if you’ve already bought into the Milwaukee ecosystem.

Buy the Milwaukee M18 2904 Hammer Drill