Porter-Cable PCCK600LB Review

The Porter-Cable PCCK600LB is a reliable cordless drill that received high scores from our testers for overall user experience.

Top Ten Reviews Verdict

The PCCK600LB performed well in our tests, providing a solid user experience despite its slightly top-heavy design. It has enough power for most jobs you’ll encounter around the house.

Pros

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    The Porter-Cable PCCK600LB drilled holes quickly and efficiently in our tests.

Cons

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    The battery only lasts 30 minutes, which is below average.

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The Porter-Cable PCCK600LB is a reliable cordless drill that received high scores from our testers for overall user experience. It’s not the most powerful model we reviewed, but it performs most tasks you need a drill for well. It comes with two batteries that charge relatively quickly, but they also lose power faster than average.

This drill runs on a 20-volt lithium-ion battery that provides enough juice to drill holes and drive screws quickly and efficiently. It has a maximum speed of 1,600 RPM, which makes it one of the slowest cordless drills we reviewed. The 330 UWO maximum turning force is also on the low end, but it had enough power to earn positive user experience scores. It also has 22 clutch settings, which make it versatile and keep you from damaging the material your working on or stripping screws by over-drilling and using too much torque.

You can switch between two speed settings, depending on whether you need to drill a hole or sink a screw. The high setting is used to drill holes, while the low setting only reaches 400 RPM, allowing you to use the drill as a screwdriver.

It earned good scores for power, weight and grip, but several testers noted that the PCCK600LB isn’t balanced, commenting that the weight distribution is a little off. Specifically, the lightweight battery made the drill somewhat top heavy. Still, according our testers, it handled well overall.

The PCCK600LB comes with two batteries. They charge in about 40 minutes, which is fairly fast compared to other batteries we tested. However, they only last about 30 minutes each, which is below the 38-minute average in our test group. We tested battery life by taping the drill’s trigger in the on position and timing how long it took the battery to go from a full charge to dead. Since it comes with two batteries, you can charge one while using the other. Still, a longer battery life would be better. If you want a tool with as much battery life as possible, consdier the Milwaukee 2703-22.

This power tool has a keyless chuck, which is convenient because you can fasten bits by hand and don't have to worry about misplacing a chuck key. A bright LED work light illuminates the area in front of the drill, so you see what you’re drilling in low-light settings. It also has a belt loop where you can keep bits and attachments, which is good since there isn’t a magnetic bit holder on the tool itself.

Porter-Cable offers a three-year warranty on the drill and a two-year warranty on the batteries. These warranties protect against defects in material or workmanship but not tool abuse or misuse, which is the industry standard. If you have any questions, you can contact the company via email or phone. You can also check out the FAQs section and user manual on the company's website.

The Porter-Cable PCCK600LB is a reliable cordless drill that’s worth considering as an addition to your collection. It comes with two 20-volt lithium-ion batteries that charge relatively quickly but also lose their charge faster than average. It’s torque rating and maximum RPM are also below average, but our testers still had a positive experience using it – it performs better than its specs would imply. Overall, this drill is reliable and can perform most tasks around the home effectively.

J.D. Chadwick
Contributor

J.D. Chadwick started writing articles for Top Ten Reviews 2008 and, after filling the role of Multimedia Editor, the keen video creator and expert in software was one of the most prolific members of the TTR team, authoring articles on things like antivirus software, video editing apps, and more.