The Best Cordless Brad Nailers

There are a lot of cordless brad nail guns out there and it gets rather confusing when you try to read all of the reviews and information that is floating around, so deciding which is the best cordless brad nailer for your project can be a bit tricky. Never-mind help is at hand!

A brad nailer is perfect for the more delicate jobs; narrow moldings, baseboards, small furniture and woodworking or craft projects. A brad is thinner than a finish nail and has a smaller head which makes them perfect to use when working with thin strips of wood and trim work.

Battery Powered Electric Brad Nailer It’s about Convenience…and Compromise!

A cordless brad nailer gives you the advantage of not having to lug those heavy hoses and compressors around with you, a particularly pleasing scenario for the do-it- yourselfer like me.

But as usual in life there are always compromises. If you are not trailing hoses, compressors or cables around – and don’t forget that these power the nail gun, then you have got to power your brad nailer somehow. So how are cordless brad nail guns powered… answer – with a battery.

A battery operated brad nail guns offer the convenience that we are looking for, but with the inconvenience that it’s going to weigh a bit more – the battery typically adds about 15 ounces extra weight.

And a cool variant of the battery powered brad nail gun is the fusion powered brad nailer, typically as offered by Senco.

Which Cordless Brad Nailer To Choose?

We were working on a bookcase in our living room and decided that a brad nailer would be the perfect addition to our toolbox for this somewhat tedious project. Deciding on which cordless brad nailer would be the right one for the mission was more involved than I would have imagined. I finally narrowed the search down to three.

Right off the bat you want to eliminate any nail gun that boasts a price of under $100. Anything in that price range and you might as well do the work by hand because you will be spending all of your time unjamming your new nail gun instead of building that new bookcase.

With that said, I found that the $200 – $300 price range can provide you with a very nice cordless nail gun; a nailer that can really do the job as well as being a tool that you can count on to last for a couple of years. Any one of these three cordless brad nailers would be a nice go-to nail gun for some of those smaller jobs that you will find cropping up around the house. These are the three guns that I took a look at:

1) Dewalt DC608K 18 Gauge 2 Inch Brad Nailer
2) Ryobi 18GA Model P320 Brad Nailer
3) Senco Fastening Systems 6E0001N 18GA Fusion Brad Nailer

A Brief Dewalt DC608K Cordless Brad Nailer Review

You can pick up the Dewalt DC608K 18 Gauge 2 Inch Brad Nailer for a price of about $268. You can get a comprehensive review of the dewalt dc680k here. This nailer has a lot of power and seems to outlast other nail guns in this price range. It can load up to 110 brads which allows you to move right along on your project.

Very consistent brad placement and infrequent jamming makes this a good choice. The DC608K nail gun also has a nice little pilot light that illuminates those dark corners.

It only comes with one battery which seems to be an issue for some people, but you can get a good eight hours of charge out of the one battery and I don’t know about you but I am never planning to use a nail gun for eight hours straight (and if you do, just buy a spare!).

The only real drawback with this electric brad nailer is that it is heavier and bulkier than the other two nailers that we tried out, weighing in at 14.6 pounds which makes it a little cumbersome and tough to maneuver in smaller spaces.

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A Brief Ryobi 18 GA Cordless Brad Nailer Review

Another pretty good cordless brad nailer is the Ryobi 18GA Model P320. This nail gun is smaller and a little easier on the arms and wrist than the Dewalt, weighing only around 6 pounds. The size difference makes it a little more comfortable in your hands. I was surprised at how well this nail gun works.

When I first took it out of the box I was a bit skeptical because it is so much smaller than the Dewalt. But I was pleasantly surprised as this little cordless nailer zipped along without “missing a brad”.

The trigger takes a little bit longer to actually shoot the nail but we are only talking about a half a second, and once you get in a rhythm it isn’t even noticeable any more.

This Ryobi sells for about $150 but be aware that this does not include a battery or charger. That will cost you an additional $70 which still keeps the total cost to a little over $200 and is more than reasonable for the performance that you get out of it.

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A Brief Senco 6E0001N 18GA Fusion Brad Nailer Review

The Senco 6E0001N 18GA Fusion Brad Nailer is the most expensive of the three, around $285. I was somewhat alarmed when I first saw it because it’s rather large, a lot bigger than the previous two nailers we tried out, but was much relieved when I actually picked it up; it was surprisingly light. It too weighs around 6 pounds like the Ryobi.

This Senco works great; no jamming, no hesitation when you pull the trigger.

Powered by a lithium ion battery and sealed piston driver this beauty can fire multiple times in a matter of a second and can shoot up to 600 nails on a single charge. This tool comes with one battery, one charger and a soft carrying case

The only thing I wasn’t thrilled with is that if you are not careful it can leave a slightly larger mark on the wood than either the Dewalt or the Ryobi did, but we’re only talking about a fraction of a difference.

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In Conclusion The Best Cordless Brad Nailer Is?

The Senco worked great but the customer reviews (those that need support and couldn’t get it) put me off on this one. I was sure that I was going to prefer the Dewalt DC608K when I first started comparing these three cordless brad nail guns, but surprisingly, I have to say that the Ryobi P320 has my endorsement. And the price is right at only $200.

It is easy to use, versatile, comfortable in your hand, and I was impressed at how easy it was to get into the corners with this nailer. Once you get used to that slight trigger hesitation you can be confident that this Ryobi cordless brad nail gun will do.

Click here for for the Ryobi P320.

Note. The pricing quoted should be considered approximate though accurate at the time of publishing.

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