Drilling into Black Friday deals at Sears, Kmart, and Lowe's

Now that more Black Friday ads are being leaked (intentionally or otherwise), we're able to get an expanded picture of what some related items will be going for when the Christmas shopping season kicks off in earnest. Today, let's sort through some of the various cordless drill deals to see where the best values are.

Note that all the cordless drills discussed below include at least one battery and a charger, unless otherwise noted.

Sears/Kmart drill deals

The Craftsman 17191 3/8-inch 19.2-volt C3 cordless drill is an advertised Black Friday doorbuster special at both Sears (4 AM - Noon) and Sears-owned Kmart (6 AM - 11 AM) for the bargain price of $39.99 -- half off the drill's $79.99 regular price. Is it worth it? the 19.2v Craftsman C3 kits we cover in our latest cordless drills report are generally well-received. Owners reviewing this specific drill at the MySears.com Community website seem to back up that notion. Of 40 owners contributing feedback there, 83% recommend the Craftsman 17191 drill, which includes one battery. The only real recurring gripe is that the keyless chuck weakens over time, and some users say they have lost bits as a result. Some complain about battery performance, but it's important to note that while the Craftsman 17191 C3 drill comes with a 19.2v NiCad battery, it's also compatible with the newer C3 Lithium-ion batteries, which can be purchased separately (you'll need a new charger, too), weigh less and have a longer life. At $40, the C3 drill itself seems like a good deal, especially if you just want a decent drill for homeowner tasks. Be advised, however, that the Sears ad says that there will only be 24 of them per store when Black Friday comes. The Kmart circular doesn't indicate how many examples will be on hand in stores.

Lowe's drill deals

Lowe's has released the contents of its Black Friday sale circular (save for some home appliances), and it features several drills as well. The Black & Decker SS18SB-2 3/8-inch 18-volt cordless drill comes with a pair of NiCad batteries and will be available for $69.97 after you've had a chance to sleep off Thanksgiving dinner. We couldn't find any reviews for this drill, and if you really want one, you may as well simply pick it up now, as Lowes.com is selling it for $75.97. We don't think the hassle of Black Friday is worth the meager $6 savings. Since it uses 18-volt NiCad batteries, this Black & Decker drill will be heavier and possibly more unwieldy than a comparable Lithium-ion drill.

The Bosch 36618-02 18-volt half-inch Lithium-Ion cordless drill is also on sale at Lowes for Black Friday. Regularly priced at $179.00, the Bosch cordless drill gets a $30 markdown to $149, and based on the owner feedback posted to Lowes.com and Amazon.com, it's a good deal. In Lowes.com user ratings, the Bosch 36618.02 averages 4.9 out of a possible 5 stars. At Amazon, it's averaging a perfect 5 stars in the eight user reviews that were posted when we checked. Owners applaud the Bosch drill's power and versatility. The only gripe centers around the on-board bit-holder, which many say is poorly designed. Otherwise, this drill, which comes with two batteries, is clearly worth a look on Black Friday.

Finally, as standalone drills go, the DeWalt DC970K-2 18-volt half-inch NiCad cordless drill/driver will be on sale for $99 on Black Friday, down from its $129 regular price. While DeWalt's reputation is excellent, we found no user reviews for this drill, either at Lowes.com or Amazon.com, where it's available through a 3rd-party reseller. Even though it costs $50 more, we'd lean toward the Bosch drill mentioned above, given the excellent user feedback and its Lithium-ion power.

Multi-piece cordless drill kit

The last Lowe's deal we'll take a look at here is the 18-volt Porter Cable PC218C-2 kit, which includes a cordless drill , a cordless circular saw, and a pair of 18v NiCad batteries. Users posting numerical ratings at Lowes.com give it an average score of 4.4 stars out of five. Furthermore, those posting actual written reviews have predominantly good things to say about the performance of both the drill and the saw. The only real complaint anyone registers is that the 18-volt NiCads run out of juice quickly, but Porter Cable's 18-volt Lithium-ion batteries are backwards-compatible with its other 18V cordless tools, so this is an upgrade shoppers can consider at a later time. One owner says that the saw lost power quickly when he used it on a 2 X 4. That said, the Black Friday price of $89 makes this kit seem like a much better value than the $70 Black & Decker drill mentioned earlier. After all, you're getting an additional tool -- the circular saw -- for just $19 more. Best of all, there's no need to wait 'till Black Friday and deal with the crowds at all: $89 is the current price on Lowes.com.

We're sure there'll be plenty of other tool deals to tell you about over the next couple of weeks, so stay tuned. In the mean time, you can check out our latest reports on cordless drills while you peruse the Black Friday offerings.