Best Impact Driver

cab-guy89

i own a makita,dewalt and i say the makita is better of the 2.just looking for something a little better

mnjconstruction

I also own the makita & dewalt, along with hitachi, ryobi and craftsman. I got to say my favorite is the makita. I have the 14v and the 18. i tend to use the 14 most of the time. lighter and not much less power. the torque on the makitas are amazing. All that said my cheap ryobi is not too bad either. I got it last "black friday" at home depot. Got a whole 18v set: circ, drill, impact, light, vac sawzal, charger, 2 batteries. I paid 50 bucks. Normally $180 I have personally used the impact 4 or 5 times, but my helper uses the kit almost every day and nothing has stopped working yet. So say what you must on cheap tools. I think this cheap set has won me over!

Chris Johnson

I have one guy working for me that has a 12v Hilti impact driver...I gotta say, that thing is the cat's meow for everything.

We do steel framing work, it's great, the batterys last longer without charge.

Now, the pitfall...the price tag would choke most people, but you get what you pay for.

My SDS drill is 20 yrs. old from Hilti and still going strong...

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Chris

BirmanBuilders

Got the 18v makita impact and screw gun combo pack from HD. $200 on sale, best thing i ever bought, fantastic and a fast charge.

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MikeNeufeld

PANASONIC.................................. or The New Litheon BOsch Will kick ass fo sho...

jiffy

I don't think there is a better impact than the Makita right now. I have tried a lot of others but my Makita just keeps going.

GregS

Makita Makita Makita. Mine's just over 2 years old and just replacing the batteries now.

Warren

i currently own impacts of four brands. Dewalt,Ridgid,Black and decker, and Hitachi. Ridgid is total junk haveing been rebuilt twice already. Dewalt is decent and has good torque. Beleive it or not my Black and decker 12 volt impacts have been going strong for 4 years. Just recently got a great deal on a hitachi 10.8 volt lithium. I love this little thing. Got it for 40 bucks at Lowes. very small, led light and good battery life. This thing feels like it was made for your hand. Only had it 6 weeks so I cant vouch for long term durability.

sage

Been using my rigid 18 volt for almost four years, it works almost everyday I do and I have had no problems, I like it very much. I also really like the Bosch 10.8 volt (the small one) impact for smaller jobs like cabinet installs. I don't have much experience with other brands so I don't know if I'm missing out.

? Mine gets really really hot occasionally, I imagine this happens with all of them in an extended use situation. Is that the case?

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Warren

Sage: That ridgid impact getting hot is a sign that it is overheating. Thats what mine would do and if you continue using it after it gets hot it will burn up the motor. Ridgid is good about honoring the lifetime warranty but I got tired of taking it in and going 3 weeks without it. Not to mention the smell when it starts to burn up is nasty!

Joining_heads

This

Mellison

Sorry, Had to do it.
Masters weekend, I have golf on my mind.

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orson

I've got a dewalt 18V, Makita 18Vlithium and a Milwaukee 18V lithium(newer style)

I'd say the Makita hands down.

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jarhead0531

I have the older style Dewalt 18V NiCad, and the new Makita 18v Lion. After using the makita for a bit in the shop I felt like my Dewalt was faster. So I tested it by driving a 3 5/8" Ledgerlok into a PT 6x6. Dewalt times were between 6-8secs, Makita was between 8-10 seconds.

I wasn't too pleased with those results since I bought the Makita kit on sale last christmas to eventually replace the dewalt as the batteries start going. For giggles I started looking at the corded impact wrenches, but the damn Makita is another $160 or so that I didn't want to spend. So I picked up one from HF to try out and use until it explodes. Damn thing sunk the ledgerloks in about 2-3s.

With that said I would buy the Makita. That handle feels like the engineers snuck into my house and molded to my hand, and it is lighter. Be warned though, when sinking ledgerloks on 50' feet of ledger the noise gets old after the first 20'. That is when you notice the difference in speed....

Teetorbilt

Go pneumatic and find an old Chicago Pneumatic or Ingersoll-Rand. It does take a compressor and the I-R will break your arm if you're not careful.

Most of my tools are 40 yrs. old and a few have been rebuilt, the rest are still crankin' as usual.

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KillerToiletSpider

I have one of those, it works great but I rarely use it, makes to much noise.

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stp57

jarhead0531,
Buy some lithium batteries for your DeWalt. You will be surprised by the increase in power & they fit the old style impact just fine. The price is down to around $60 each
on Ebay if you are patient.
Steve

Quiglag

The Bosch 18 volt Impactor should be out around June. The Bosch Impactor has 170 lbs of torque over the Makita.

If it is not raining tomorrow I can do a quick side by side of the Bosch Lithium Drill against the Makita lithium Drill. I just got the Bosch, and haven't really used it.

olyteddy

I've got an 18 volt XRP DeWalt. Got it at McLendon Hardwares' model close out sale, for about the price of the two batteries. $125 for the gun, two batteries and charger. Goes well with the XRP 6 1/2" saw and 1/2" hammer drill.

Timster

Best I've used is the Makita 18v lith ion impact driver. Ergonomically the most comfortable for me, and its been dropped off ladders and banged up, and just keeps going.