RIDGID NUKE Subcompact Review: I Tested Every New Tool
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RIDGID just released a full lineup of subcompact cordless tools called NUKE, and I got my hands on almost all of it. This RIDGID NUKE subcompact review covers the Stealth Force oil pulse impact driver (RNKSID03B), both drill kits (RNKSCK202 and RNKSCK201), and the 4-1/2 inch circular saw (RNKSCS01B). The short version is that one tool in this lineup is doing something none of the others are.
The Short Answer
- The Stealth Force oil pulse impact driver is the standout of the NUKE lineup and the reason to pay attention.
- RIDGID claims it is 73 percent quieter and up to two times faster driving. The noise difference is real and obvious. I did not notice it driving faster.
- Every NUKE tool runs on your existing RIDGID 18V batteries, including packs from years ago.
- The two drill kits look nearly identical on the shelf. One is a hammer drill with a 4Ah battery, the other is not.
- All NUKE tools still carry the RIDGID lifetime service agreement.
RIDGID NUKE Subcompact Review: What Stands Out and What Does Not
NUKE is RIDGID's subcompact 18V line. Smaller bodies, shorter heads, built for getting into tight spaces without giving up much power. I have most of the lineup here: two drill and impact kits, a 4-1/2 inch circular saw, a standard subcompact impact driver, and the Stealth Force oil pulse impact driver.
The Stealth Force is the one worth talking about first. It is an oil pulse driver, not a standard hammer and anvil impact, and that changes the sound completely. To test it I drove a 4 inch screw into solid white oak, right through the edge grain, with a decibel meter running on my phone. Every driver got a brand new screw so nothing had an advantage, and every driver was set to its highest power setting.
I ran the DeWalt, the Kreg, the Milwaukee M18, the Milwaukee M12, RIDGID's own standard NUKE impact, and then the Stealth Force. Same screw, same wood, same distance from the meter. The DeWalt and the M18 were about what you expect from an impact. The M12 had that high pitched impact sound. RIDGID's own standard NUKE impact was the loudest of the group to my ear. Then the Stealth Force went and it sounded like a different category of tool.
If you drive screws all day, this is a quality of life improvement for your ears. Impact drivers get loud and they get annoying fast when you are running a few hundred fasteners. The oil pulse design takes that away without taking the power away. As the screw pulled down tight into the oak, my hand twisted out from the torque. There is nothing soft about this driver.
What I would not buy it for is speed. RIDGID says up to two times faster driving. I did not notice that in real use. Buy it for the noise, not the clock.
See the RIDGID 18v NUKE Stealth Force Oil Pulse Impact at Home Depot Affiliate link. We may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
Watch the Full Test
The sound difference is the whole point of this tool, and text cannot carry it. The video has the actual audio of all six drivers going into the same piece of white oak, back to back, with the meter on screen.
RIDGID Stealth Force Oil Pulse Impact Driver (RNKSID03B) Features
Beyond the noise, the feature I care most about on the Stealth Force is the lighting. There are three LEDs surrounding the bit holder instead of one light mounted down on the foot of the tool. A bottom mounted light throws a shadow the second the tool gets close to the work. Three lights ringing the bit do not.
Some competitors put the light at the bottom and some ring the head. I much prefer the ones up top. It is a small thing that you notice every single day you use the tool. The Stealth Force also has a slightly different head shape than the standard NUKE impact, which is the easiest way to tell the two apart on a shelf.
The speed settings live on the back of the tool. Setting 1 runs 0 to 700 RPM. Setting 2 is the medium setting at 0 to 1800 RPM. Setting 3 is high at 0 to 2300 RPM. There is also a self tapping screw mode marked with a screw icon that runs 0 to 1900 RPM. That self tapping mode is the one people forget exists and then wonder why they keep blowing through sheet metal.
How the Stealth Force Compares to Other Impact Drivers on Noise
Here is how the six drivers stacked up in my test. Every one of them drove a fresh 4 inch screw into the same piece of solid white oak on its highest setting.
| Impact Driver | Type | How It Sounded |
|---|---|---|
| RIDGID NUKE Stealth Force | Oil pulse | Quietest by a wide margin, no impact clatter at all |
| DeWalt | Standard impact | Not overly loud, but clearly an impact |
| Milwaukee M18 | Standard impact | Drove fast, similar level to the DeWalt |
| Milwaukee M12 | Standard impact | Higher pitched impact sound |
| Kreg | Standard impact | Sounded louder than the DeWalt to my ear |
| RIDGID NUKE standard impact | Standard impact | Loudest of the group |
RIDGID NUKE Hammer Drill Kit vs Drill Kit: What Is Actually Different
This is the part that will cost somebody money if they are not paying attention. There are two NUKE combo kits sitting side by side and they look nearly identical in the box. They are not the same kit.
The drill and impact kit (RNKSCK201) gives you a drill, an impact driver, and two 2Ah batteries. The hammer drill and impact kit (RNKSCK202) gives you a hammer drill, an impact driver, a 4Ah battery, and a 2Ah battery. So the hammer kit is not just a hammer function upgrade. You are also getting a bigger battery in the box.
There is one more difference that is easy to miss. The impact driver in the hammer drill kit has the 1, 2, 3 speed selector on it. The impact in the non hammer kit does not. That one is single speed. If you want the speed control, that decides it for you.
Both drills are two speed with an LED down on the foot. Both wear the NUKE subcompact badge on the back. The hammer drill feels a touch thicker in the hand. The grips on both are excellent, which has always been true of RIDGID drills. They just feel right in the hand, and they are not so bulky that smaller hands get lost on them.
Both kits ship with MAX Output batteries, not the MAX Output EXP tabless packs. Those are available separately if you want them, and I keep an eye on the current Home Depot tool deals because battery pricing moves constantly.
See the RIDGID 18v NUKE Hammer Drill and Impact Kit at Home Depot Affiliate link. We may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
See the RIDGID 18v NUKE Drill and Impact Kit at Home Depot Affiliate link. We may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
How the NUKE Drills Compare to the Older RIDGID Gen5X
I still have my old Gen5X hammer drill, and the size difference next to a NUKE is not subtle. These new ones are genuinely small. When you are building furniture and the space between two parts is tight, being able to get in there matters more than raw specs.
The old drill switched into hammer mode with a toggle on the side. It worked fine. The new one puts the hammer selection up top with the torque collar, and the clicks into each torque setting are crisp. You can feel exactly where you are. My old Gen5X collar ran up to 100 for reasons I never understood.
Do Old RIDGID 18V Batteries Work With NUKE Tools?
Yes. I grabbed one of the first RIDGID batteries I ever bought, an old pack that has seen years of abuse, and dropped it onto the Stealth Force. It ran. Everything in the NUKE lineup is on the same 18V platform you already own.
That matters more than it sounds. Plenty of brands have used a new lineup as a reason to move you to a new battery. RIDGID did not. If you have a drawer full of 18V packs, this whole lineup is open to you for the cost of bare tools.
If you do want the newest packs, the MAX Output EXP tabless batteries are a separate purchase and they are not what comes in the NUKE kits.
See the RIDGID 18v MAX Output EXP Battery at Home Depot Affiliate link. We may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
RIDGID NUKE 4-1/2 Inch Circular Saw (RNKSCS01B)
The subcompact circular saw is a nice piece. It has on-board blade wrench storage and an arbor lock, so swapping a blade does not turn into a hunt through the shop for the right tool. Soft start means it does not jerk in your hand when you pull the trigger.
RIDGID has always done depth adjustment well and this one is no exception. It is smooth and it locks where you put it. It bevels too, and the whole saw is well balanced in the hand. If you want a full size saw instead, their rear handle circular saw from the last year or so is a fantastic saw with a lot of power.
See the RIDGID 18v NUKE 4-1/2 in Circular Saw at Home Depot Affiliate link. We may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
See the RIDGID 18v Rear Handle Circular Saw at Home Depot Affiliate link. We may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
The Best RIDGID 18V Tools Outside the NUKE Lineup
I have been buying RIDGID since 2017. It was the first cordless platform I ever owned, and I went with it because of the lifetime service agreement. I did not want to keep rebuying tools. I started with the Gen5X brushless drill and impact, and later added a router.
I put that router through more punishment than it deserved and it eventually quit on me. RIDGID fixed it for free under the service agreement and I did not have to do anything. That is the part of this brand people underrate.
RIDGID 18V Brushless Router (R860444B)
The brushless router is very good. The reason I like it is the same reason I like the Milwaukee and Ryobi versions, which is the micro adjustment. You can dial in the exact depth on a bit every time instead of nudging it and hoping. For a cordless trim router that is the whole ballgame.
See the RIDGID 18v Router at Home Depot Affiliate link. We may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
RIDGID 18V Right Angle Driver (R87730B)
A lot of people do not know this one exists. When you have to drive a screw in a spot where a normal driver physically will not fit, this is the answer. Cabinet installs, inside carcasses, between studs. It sits in the drawer until the day it saves you an hour.
See the RIDGID 18v Right Angle Impact at Home Depot Affiliate link. We may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
RIDGID 18V Pin Nailer (R09898B)
This is one of the best tools RIDGID has released in the last couple of years. It is small and compact, and cordless pin nailers are the best version of a pin nailer there is. No hose, no compressor, no dragging a line across the shop to shoot four pins. I use a pin nailer for more tasks than I would have guessed before I owned one.
See the RIDGID 18v Pin Nailer at Home Depot Affiliate link. We may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
RIDGID 18V Power Inverter (AC86097)
If you already own RIDGID batteries, you should own one of these. It has three USB connections, B type and C type, plus a 120V outlet for plugging in whatever you need. There is a flashlight built into it as well.
Where this earns its keep is a power outage. Being able to charge phones and tablets off a tool battery you already have is worth the shelf space. It is the sort of thing you do not think about until the power is out and then you think about it constantly.
See the RIDGID 18v Power Inverter at Home Depot Affiliate link. We may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
RIDGID NUKE High Speed Blower
This is the one NUKE tool I was not able to get my hands on. I will not review a tool I have not used, so I am not going to pretend otherwise. What I will say is that a cordless blower is one of the handiest things in a shop. I run one from Milwaukee constantly for dusting off the bench, blowing water out of headlights after washing a vehicle, and knocking the sawdust off myself before I walk in the house. If you do not have one, get one.
All Tools From This Video
Home Depot
- Shop all RIDGID 18v Tools
- RIDGID 18v NUKE Stealth Force Oil Pulse Impact
- RIDGID 18v NUKE Hammer Drill and Impact Kit
- RIDGID 18v NUKE Drill and Impact Kit
- RIDGID 18v NUKE 4-1/2 in Circular Saw
- RIDGID 18v NUKE One Hand Reciprocating Saw
- RIDGID 18v NUKE Multi Tool
- RIDGID 18v Router
- RIDGID 18v MAX Output EXP Battery
- RIDGID 18v Rear Handle Circular Saw
- RIDGID 18v Track Saw
- RIDGID 18v Right Angle Impact
- RIDGID 18v Pin Nailer
- RIDGID 18v Power Inverter
Coming Soon
- RIDGID 18v NUKE High Speed Blower
- RIDGID 18v NUKE 3/8-inch Impact Wrench
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is an oil pulse impact driver?
Instead of a hammer and anvil striking metal on metal, an oil pulse driver uses hydraulic fluid to deliver the rotational blows. That is why there is no metallic clatter. You get the torque without the noise, which is the entire point of the RIDGID Stealth Force.
Is the RIDGID Stealth Force really 73 percent quieter?
RIDGID makes that claim, and I did not verify the exact percentage. What I can tell you is that I ran it against a DeWalt, a Kreg, a Milwaukee M18, a Milwaukee M12, and RIDGID's own standard NUKE impact into the same white oak with a decibel meter running. The difference is not subtle and you do not need a meter to hear it.
Will my old RIDGID 18V batteries work with NUKE tools?
Yes. I put one of the very first RIDGID batteries I ever bought onto the Stealth Force and it ran fine. The whole NUKE lineup is on the existing 18V platform, so there is no battery migration to worry about.
What is the difference between the two RIDGID NUKE drill kits?
RNKSCK202 is the hammer drill kit and it comes with a 4Ah and a 2Ah battery. RNKSCK201 is the standard drill kit and it comes with two 2Ah batteries. The impact driver in the hammer kit also has the 1, 2, 3 speed selector, while the one in the standard kit is single speed.
Do RIDGID NUKE tools have the lifetime service agreement?
They do. That agreement is the reason I bought into RIDGID in 2017 in the first place. I burned up a RIDGID router years ago and they repaired it at no cost to me. It is the strongest argument for the platform if you are not sure which brand to commit to.
What speed settings does the RIDGID Stealth Force have?
Four modes on the back of the tool. Setting 1 runs 0 to 700 RPM, setting 2 runs 0 to 1800 RPM, and setting 3 runs 0 to 2300 RPM. There is also a self tapping screw mode at 0 to 1900 RPM that most people never find.
Some links in this post are affiliate links. 731 Woodworks may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. RIDGID sent these tools over for review.
RIDGID just launched the NUKE subcompact lineup, and one tool in it sounds nothing like any impact driver I have used. Here is what I found after testing the whole lineup.