RIDGID 18-Volt OCTANE Cordless Brushless 1 in. SDS-Plus Rotary Hammer REVIEW (R86711B)

The RIDGID OCTANE ROTARY HAMMER  R86711B does a fantastic job when used with a chisel. 

RIDGID has been pumping out some amazing tools for their new OCTANE line for the past few months, but the new RIDGID 18V OCTANE Rotary Hammer is really something that they should be proud of.

The RIDGID R86710, 18-Volt X4 7/8 in. SDS+ rotary hammer is a blistering fast, super powerful (professional grade) rotary hammer that draws power from the smart 18V OCTANE battery. As with the other OCTANE tools, the OCTANE battery sends more power to the rotary hammer on demand. This means that there is very little power loss/bogging down when busting through solid concrete. We tested this with solid 6” thick concrete slabs, this beast blasted through ease test hole within seconds.

Build Quality/Safety

The Build quality of the OCTANE Rotary hammer is also very impressive. It’s made of a heavy duty poly composite plastic for the casing, and the grip had the signature RIDGID rubber over mold that protects the hands, and prevents slipping even when your hands are wet. One of the coolest things on this rotary hammer is the anti-vibration handle that actually has a compression point built in. It absorbs the vibration while the tool is in use, which in return will definitely protect the use from chronic exposure such as HAVS (Hand Arm Vibration Syndrome).

Power

Even though this rotary hammer only weighs around 7 lbs., it produces an impressive 1,250 RPM. Now in case you are wondering, this rotary hammer will run off of any RIDGID 18V battery, but to get the max power, you should definitely use the OCTANE batteries for max performance. The 3Ah was fun, the 6Ah battery was intense, but run this thing with the (Ah OCTANE battery, and it’s just unstoppable.   

Multi-function

Now if working with concrete is not your thing, RIDGID added a few other selection modes for you to use. The switch allows you to choose from Hammer, Drill or chisel. That means that this would work perfectly to remove that old tile floor that you’re looking to replace. Simply turn the large selector knob to the action you need, and it’s off to the races. Not only that, but the SDS bits, drill bit and chisel is extremely easy to insert and/or remove as it is a key-less system. Once the bit is in, it’s locked in automatically, and stays there no matter how hard you abuse it.    

Other Features

A few other added bonuses include an axillary handle that can be used comfortably by a left or right handed user, excepts a 1” SDS bit, has a very simple to adjust depth stop and mechanical clutch to help protect the user when/if the bit binds up. On top of all that, you get the popular RIDGID LSA (Lifetime Service Agreement).

At the end of the day, RIDGID went straight professional with this tool. It not only comfortable, but its impressively powerful. It doesn’t matter if you are going through wood, concrete or taking out an old marble floor, this will get the job done. We definitely recommend this rot