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Sometimes, a screwdriver won’t get the job done. This is where a solid power drill with a set of drill bits can save the day, plowing through and inserting fasteners into a range of materials with ease. Unfortunately, it’s not always so easy to walk into a hardware store and get a strong set of bits. Some of the bits from specific brands aren’t great quality, failing to work well at all, losing their edge within a few uses, or breaking entirely. Naturally, this amounts to a waste of money that customers are more than willing to talk about online, hopefully preventing their fellow tool-users from suffering disaster.

This all boils down to being educated and using common sense when buying drill bits. On the price front, drill bits are often a get-what-you-pay-for kind of tool. If the price seems too low for all you supposedly get and the marketing claims seem too good to be true, these are likely bits to avoid. Buyers should also be mindful of the materials they’re said to be made from and what kind of durability such materials typically provide. While it’s possible to use a bench grinder to sharpen drill bits, sharpening is not something that should have to be done often, especially if you only use your bits sparingly.

On top of the specifics of the bits themselves, it’s worth digging into the reputation of drill bit brands behind them before you buy. These are just a few of the many brands that users feel offer the worst sets on the market.

Harbor Freight has numerous brands under its purview, with Warrior being one of the most prominent. Still, this doesn’t mean all of its products are worth purchasing. Just as there are Warrior tools Harbor Freight customers recommend steering clear of, the brand’s drill bits haven’t received universal customer praise. There’s plenty of negativity surrounding the brand’s bits online, such as a YouTube review from MZ’s Garage. According to their experience, Warrior’s brad point drill bit set is a big miss. The shanks on their bits were crooked, preventing them from effectively drilling a clean, straight hole through material. Missing etched bit labels were also a problem, so they recommended against the set.

Meanwhile, there are several written forum threads on the subject of Warrior’s low-quality drill bits. On Reddit, u/rynil2000 made a thread on their poor Warrior experience, recalling bits snapping and dulling without much effort. In the comments, others shared the sentiment that Warrior’s bits are no good, with it mentioned a few times that the brand’s smaller offerings like drill bits and sandpaper are rough across the board. u/Hard_Head also had a bad experience with Warrior, with commenters in their thread expressing no surprise that cheaper-priced bits broke so easily. Those in u/jayste4‘s thread didn’t have high praise for Warrior either, calling them cheap, disposable, and ineffective.

While not sold at large brick-and-mortar retailers, Bad Dog Tools’ drill bits have managed to make the rounds in tool circles all the same. Unfortunately, the brand hasn’t made a great impression on many of its customers with its bit selection. Case in Point, YouTuber TylerTube, who put a Bad Dog drill bit set through its paces in their video and wasn’t happy with the result. The bits lacked in durability right out of the box, and they struggled to make clean holes without moving all around on the material. JimboFive0 on YouTube found their Bad Dog bits to be poor quality, almost immediately breaking, with the company’s customer service failing to help them out as hoped.

Over on Amazon, there are many negative reviews on Bad Dog drill bits. The Bad Dog seven-piece multipurpose drill bit set has 30% one-star reviews, where customers warned others of off-kilter drill bits, breakage after drilling only a few holes, and failure to cut through materials like concrete effectively, despite advertised as being able to handle such jobs. Most in a thread by u/Additional_Cat5490 about Bad Dog spoke negatively on its drill bits as well. Several commenters corroborated the claim that the bits fail to live up to the brand’s marketing, which heavily touts their ability to handle numerous material types and last longer than other bits.

Ryobi has more than made a name for itself in the power tool space. At this point, there are multiple Ryobi cordless drills at different price points to consider. According to customers, though, Ryobi’s bits aren’t worth the money. For instance, in a thread by u/murmur333 on Reddit, they and others spoke to the brand’s bits disappoint in durability and are effectively disposable. It’s even recommended by one user to use bits from brand like DeWalt in a Ryobi drill for better results than going Ryobi for both. Fellow Redditor u/PaidByMicrosoft and others in their thread reported their Ryobi bits breaking after only a few uses.

Going beyond Reddit, the lack of support for Ryobi’s drill bits resumes. Looking to the Home Depot website, many Ryobi bit kits have taken on negative reviews. Looking at the Ryobi black oxide round shank bit set, it has a 3.9 out of five star rating with numerous one-star reviews. These over 70 reviews speak of their bits being bent right out of the box, breaking after only a few holes, and quickly dulling with use. The Ryobi black oxide hex shank twist drill bit set also took some criticism at 3.7 out of five stars. The almost 200 one-star reviews share similar instances of sudden breakage and dulling with minimal or even one-time use. 

Much like Ryobi, Milwaukee has made itself a fixture in the power tool world. Many tool enthusiasts love Milwaukee for a range of reasons, but it does have some areas to improve on. According to many users, the brand’s drill bits can leave a lot to be desired. While some vouch for Milwaukee or feel its bits are just fine, several folks in Reddit threads by u/Charlesinrichmond and u/NoOlive1039 recalled instances of breakage and highlighted a general lack in quality. u/thebeansimulator also expressed firsthand disappointment in Milwaukee bits failing after just a few holes, with those in the comments recommending what they’ve found are superior brands.

Digging into Home Depot reviews, there are multiple Milwaukee drill bit sets that didn’t perform the best with everyone. The Milwaukee black oxide step drill bit set has taken some flak, with negative reviews mentioning one or multiple bits breaking with little use and failing to effectively drill into material as advertised. The Milwaukee Shockwave carbide multi-material masonry bit set didn’t fare much better with a large number of Home Depot customers. Bit tip wear after just a few holes, complete breakage, or total inability to drill into certain materials made this set a disappointment for many who tried it out — especially given the Shockwave line prides itself on increased durability and efficiency.

These specific drill bit brands were selected as users’ least favorites through extensive research. The first thing to do was go to various home improvement stores such as Home Depot, Lowe’s, and Harbor Freight to look over the sentiment toward the most prominent drill bit brands. This included star ratings and the number of customer reviews under bits and full kits. From here, it was possible to whittle down that list to those that had received some of the least support among customers.

With the brands chosen, digging into reviews was the next step. It needed to be determined where exactly these bits went wrong for customers, and ensure their less-than-stellar reputation wasn’t based on user error. This entailed looking through reviews on product listings, forums like Reddit, and media platforms like YouTube to find commonalities in negative user experiences. This made it clear that these bits’ inability to deliver was somewhat universal and the claims of these brands being bad wasn’t based on one-off anecdotes.