6 Of Cat's Top Rated Power Tools Available In 2024

One of the most recognizable and successful companies in the world of tools and machinery is Caterpillar, or simply Cat for short. The company has existed for almost a century, and if you drive by any construction site, you're bound to see Cat products being used. However, these tend to be large machines like bulldozers and cranes. Despite being such an omnipresent brand for larger pieces of equipment, it is much rarer to see the Cat name along the side of drills or sanders as you would with companies like DeWalt, Makita, Ryobi, or Milwaukee. That is because the company didn't really get into the consumer power tool marketplace until the last few years.

While the company places last on SlashGear's ranking of the major brands in power tools, Cat still has a number of worthwhile power tools in its arsenal, as indicated by positive customer reviews from a variety of different sellers. If your toolbox or garage could be in need of some new power tools, and if you want check out what corded and cordless tools Caterpillar has to offer, here are six different products with high customer ratings that should be your first considerations.

One of the most useful and necessary tools that a person can have in their tool box is a cordless drill. Whether you are building furniture or simply hanging a picture on a wall, a drill lets you perform many different tasks with ease, regardless of skill level with power tools. Cat offers the 18V 1 For All 1/2-inch Cordless Drill/Driver, which retails for $164. The drill also serves as a driver, letting you adjust how much force is being used in the tool's rotational power.

That may sound like a lot for a drill, but when you consider that this price also gets you a charger and two batteries, that is fairly reasonable. For comparison, DeWalt's 1/2-inch drill/driver sells for about $124, but that is just for the tool itself, without batteries or a charger. The price isn't the only reason you should keep your eye on this Cat tool though, as it has also received stellar customer ratings. 

On Amazon, no review has given the drill/driver below a five-star score. The sample size may be very small at this point, with just one dozen reviews logged there, but many other retailers do not have customer reviews for the product yet.

Although cordless tools tend to get the lion's share of the notice nowadays, as batteries have dramatically improved over the years, there are still plenty of great tools that use a cord. Caterpillar often sells products with corded or cordless options, and in some cases, one gets reviewed better than the other. One such example is the Cat 7A 4.5-inch Angle Grinder.

Because a grinder is typically a tool you will using in one place for a duration of time, rather than carrying it around your house or workspace, the cord offers little inconvenience.  The grinder's cord is 10 feet in length anyways, giving you plenty of space to work around distant outlets. Cat does offer a cordless version with an 18V battery, but this corded version outperforms it with 12,000 RPM compared to 8,500 RPM. The other benefit of the corded option is price. The corded angle grinder retails for $69.99, whereas the cordless one goes for $149.99, and that doesn't include batteries or a charger.

Out of all of Cat's power tools, the 7A 4.5-inch Angle Grinder has one of the manufacturer's highest ratings on Amazon, with an overall score of 4.6 stars based on 37 customer reviews. 73% of those are five-star ratings as well.

Sometimes, a tool's cordless option has the higher scores from customers, even if it's by a narrow margin. This is the case with Cat's 18V Cordless Reciprocating Saw. This utilizes the same 18V lithium ion battery that the aforementioned Cat drill/driver uses, so it can be swapped with other compatible tools. This reciprocating saw has a very impressive rating of 4.7 stars on Amazon, and although only two customers have rated it on Cat's own website, it has earned 4.5 stars. This is a rather pricy tool, retailing for $199.99, but it comes with one battery, a charger, and a storage case as well.

However, if that's too pricy, the corded version rates almost as well as the cordless one. On Amazon, customers have given it an average rating of 4.3 stars with more overall ratings as well. Unlike the angle grinder, the corded saw is slightly less powerful, with a 12A motor only able to generate 2,800 SPM compared to the cordless' 3,000 SPM. However, when you factor in that this reciprocating saw is half the price at $99.99, that cost difference might makes up for the minimal dip in power.

When it comes to highly rated power tools, Caterpillar's bread and butter is its saws. This is another case where the company offers both a corded and cordless version of the tool, and in this instance, it is the corded version getting the recommendation. That's the Cat 7A Corded Jig Saw. However, this more has to do with the volume of reviews from customers rather than head-to-head quality, as the cordless version of this jig saw simply does not have enough customer ratings to get a proper assessment of its quality. On Amazon, the cordless saw has just one review, whereas the corded version has 20 with an overall average rating of 4.6 stars.

Unlike the previously mentioned corded vs. cordless applications, the corded jig saw has the exact same power output as its cordless counterpart, able to generate up to 3,500 SPM. You can adjust the speed on the saw as well, going as low as 800 SPM. And if your project is extensive, there is a lock-on switch for continuous sawing with its one-inch stroke length. The Cat 7A Corded Jig Saw retails for $149.99, and although the cordless version only costs $10 more at $159.99, that does not include batteries or a charger, which are needed for operation.

Caterpillar offers three different sanders, and all of them are quite different from one another. This goes beyond just corded and cordless, with sizes and power capabilities for each different as well. One also doubles as a polisher. Out of all three, the one with the highest customer ratings is the Cat 3A 5-inch Random Orbit Sander, not to be confused with an orbital sander. This corded sander currently retails for $69.99 and holds an average customer rating of 4.2 stars on Amazon. 

The smaller 2.4A corded sander also holds a 4.2 star rating, but the 3A version has more customer reviews overall. Not only that, but it has a greater range in power as well, able to generate anywhere from 5,000 to 14,000 OPM depending on needs. The smaller sander only operates at that 14,000 OPM level.

Built into the sander is a cyclonic dust air separator, which allows the tool to collect dust as it is created by the sanding. The dust is collected into an included dust bin, which is not dissimilar from a modern vacuum cleaner. That places it ahead of the cordless sander that uses a clunkier, traditional dust bag for its collection.

Cat has another highly-rated saw, the 15A 7.25-inch Corded Circular Saw, which has earned an average of 4.1 stars from customers over on Amazon. The cordless version of this saw also has a 4.1 rating, but this corded circular saw has more than twice the amount of overall customer ratings, which is what gives this one the edge even if their quality is comparable.

Delivering 15A of power, this saw is able to generate 6,000 RPM, which is a bit more than the 5,500 RPM for the cordless version, and it has the ability to make cuts anywhere from a 45-degree angle to 90-degrees. With a ten-foot cord, it also gives the operator plenty of room to maneuver while working on a project. As with many of the corded power tools that Cat makes, it is also significantly cheaper than the battery-powered version, retailing at $129.99. Plus, there's no need to purchase batteries or chargers either.