5-Tool Ridgid 18-Volt Gen5X Cordless Li-Ion Combo Kit w/ 2 Batteries Expired

As a DIYer who has gutted and remodeled 3 houses and 2 offices, built a deck, multiple sheds, piers, etc., I would advise any newbie to ignore the brushless vs non-brushless argument unless the price is the same. Buy what you can afford. Heck, I did half my work with cheap black and decker NiCd stuff I bought at Target on clearance years ago. Don't drink the kool-aid. Spending more isn't going to suddenly make you a highly skilled craftsman.

If you're doing it 24/7 as a living to feed your family, that's a different story. You don't have downtime to mess with tools and batteries that aren't high-end. But that's not most of us here, so I won't even get into that.

IMHO, the skill of the person doing the job is way more important than the brand of tool. I have seen guys roll in carrying $1000 worth of tools in a bag who couldn't measure and cut properly if their life depended on it. And I have also worked with guys that are like magicians with whatever tools they happen to grab within arm's reach.

If Rigid still has free lifetime battery replacement, I would buy into that system as a newbie in a heartbeat. As a DIYer, I have had way more batteries go bad than actual tools. And the price to replace batteries is not cheap.

Also, I wish these companies would stop adding flashlights in these kits and counting it as a "tool," like we're idiots. Heck, I can go to Walmart and buy all of the LED lighting I need for cheap, and it won't require me to use one of the LiOn batteries that I need for the actual tools. These companies would do us a solid if they would throw in another "real" tool or an extra battery or a rapid charger in these kits instead of some stupid flashlight.

People get way too hung up on brushed vs. brushless on here. Rigid did a phenomenal job with this set of tools, and even being "just" brushed motors, they put out more torque and have better battery life than many brushless tools out there. I bought this kit + the 2-pack of Rigid brushless a while back and wound up returning the brushless because I could not tell much of a tangible difference in their utility. Suffice to say, 99% of SDers could buy this set and never have a single problem with the brushed aspect of them.

Got excited about this yesterday as I've been eyeing this brushless drill/impact driver set [homedepot.com] for a while now, and thought this was the same thing plus extras. Then I realized that this $299 set is NOT brushless.

Is it a worthwhile investment t to spend the $229 on the brushless set, then get the other tools over time? I'm just a homeowner with medium use so I don't require the best of the best...but I do want quality tools.