cordless impact

[Ole Anderson]

If you expect to get much more than 5 years out of anyone's battery you are kidding yourself.

[phil harold]

I think this thread illustrates that they relatively new category of impact driver is fantastic, and we all really like the ones we have.

I am new to this impact thing, they always sound like they are stripping out the heads
Which they seem to do if they are not torx head

[Edward Oleen]

As far as impact drivers go, I can highly recommend the DeWalt 12Max impact driver. I bought mine as part of a kit: the Impact driver ( with a push-in" hex chuck), a "conventional" 12v drill/driver (with a Jacobs chuck), two 12v batteries and a charger.

The reason I bought it was simply that I tried it in the tool store: they had a set-up with the impact driver, a magnetic driver adaptor to fit a 3/8" lag bolt, and a nice piece of 4x4 DF. (They replace it every few days, as it gets too chewed up.)

I tried it: it sank the lag bolt to the head very quickly. It did make a bit of a racket doing so, but the "hard part" was getting a "ding" in the wood to get the screw started. I was reluctant to slam the point into the wood hard enough. The salesman finally convinced me to "put some muscle behind it" and I did. Once I had a ding it was just a few seconds to drive the lag screw.

To cap it all off, SWMBO, after covering her ears (it makes a bit of a racket at full throttle) instantly gave the nod to buy the kit.

Now it is the first thing I reach for.

I've tried the 20Max equivalent and haven't found a need for it. Maybe for large diameter holes in concrete, but I have no trouble drilling the holes for the lead anchors (3/8") for setting 1/4" lags in concrete. I found the extra weight of the 20Max unit not worth it. When I need something really heavy I use an 18v Nicad powered DeWalt drill/drive/impact driver.

[Cody Pierce]

As far as impact drivers go, I can highly recommend the DeWalt 12Max impact driver. I bought mine as part of a kit: the Impact driver ( with a push-in" hex chuck), a "conventional" 12v drill/driver (with a Jacobs chuck), two 12v batteries and a charger.

The reason I bought it was simply that I tried it in the tool store: they had a set-up with the impact driver, a magnetic driver adaptor to fit a 3/8" lag bolt, and a nice piece of 4x4 DF. (They replace it every few days, as it gets too chewed up.)

I tried it: it sank the lag bolt to the head very quickly. It did make a bit of a racket doing so, but the "hard part" was getting a "ding" in the wood to get the screw started. I was reluctant to slam the point into the wood hard enough. The salesman finally convinced me to "put some muscle behind it" and I did. Once I had a ding it was just a few seconds to drive the lag screw.

To cap it all off, SWMBO, after covering her ears (it makes a bit of a racket at full throttle) instantly gave the nod to buy the kit.

Now it is the first thing I reach for.

I've tried the 20Max equivalent and haven't found a need for it. Maybe for large diameter holes in concrete, but I have no trouble drilling the holes for the lead anchors (3/8") for setting 1/4" lags in concrete. I found the extra weight of the 20Max unit not worth it. When I need something really heavy I use an 18v Nicad powered DeWalt drill/drive/impact driver.

Amen. I am in love wiith my 12v Dewalts. The only thing I'd note is for big projects they aren't the fasted when driving things like 3" deck screws. That said, the last time I was driving 3" screws was to sister up floor joists and my 18v or corded 1/2" drill wouldn't fit in the clearances I was working with. They are also light enough that caring them on a belt of a pocket is actually practical.

Do consider that I am a weekend warrior and not a production construction worker.

[joseph f merz]

Anyone familiar with the Panasonic?

They were "the one " in a 'tools of the trade' impact review . I have had there products and they have seemly been better then the compitition . My 1st lithium ion tool was a panosonic impact . cost more then most others .did not realize what i had or why it performed so well till i understood it was brushless . The nicad I impact i had previously was not even close to it in performance .i used up two batteries a year roughly . i think this panosonic 14v brushless is about 7yrs old .the 3 batteries i own are starting to maybe show some wear . this tool mostly shoves 3" screws but often 6" and 5/16" constr lags . for me brushless is a no-brainer .the initial extra cost is nothing compared to not needing to replace as many batteries ,more power relative to weight ,smaller size ,less need to change batteries when working .
i also have makita brushless .it is the small model which definitely not as powerful as the panosonic 14v . i tool salesmen said he compared several brushless impacts.milwaukee had more power then the makita [the newer stronger model] and wasn't as fast as the milwaukee . bosch came 3rd . he blew my question regarding dewalt off - didn't seem to like dewalt . said [claims] milwaukee pays for there speed with motor failure . but he was biased to makita .
but milwaukee just came out with a 9ah battery -wow now that will really work all day .
anyhow in regards to panosonic - they have been excellent for me . but tough to match the milwaukee fuel line-up of tools right now .

[Larry Edgerton]

I am new to this impact thing, they always sound like they are stripping out the heads
Which they seem to do if they are not torx head

I find that to be quite the opposite Phil. Heads that would strip with a drill-driver will come out with the impact but there is a little finesse required. I was using short bursts on the trigger on the Makita/Hiltis, but with the new Milwaukees I just set it to the lowest power of the three modes. In low power mode it will take out straight screws with no drama, something the old ones would not do gracefully.

[joseph f merz]

I came in with a response earlier regarding panosonic .i found the review .tools of the trade and JLC ran one on brushless impact in 2013 .the panosonic 18v did put the most 3 1/2" lags in . but it was not the fastest nor did it have the most torque .milwaukee got both of those titles . milwaukee sure has the line-up right now . but the OP ask what was the best which is a pretty lame question without any more info regarding what he likes ,uses it for ,wants to spend . for someone in a wood shop like previously stated here the M12 fuel are amazing .used some at a show .the driver had seemly more hump then my 18v makita . smaller package ,lighter , though i agree with a previous comment that the handle could be a bit smaller . Cordless tools have come a LONG way fast .

[Phil Thien]

I'm just going to mention the Ryobi will work with two different 18v battery sizes and the batteries work with probably more 18v tools than any other line and they have nearly five out of five stars at homedepot.com.

Just sayin'.

[Marc Timmy Smith]

The Milwaukee fuel seems to be very popular at the moment. I use the Makita XHP and love it. No problems whatsoever with it. I think it depends mostly on your budget as to which one will be the best. Here is a page that reviews drill/drivers with a comparison chart. http://www.thediyhubby.com/cordless-drill-reviews/ This will give you a good idea of how they stack up against each other and what the prices are. Another thing to take into account is that a lot of stores have excellent deals on impact combo kits. You get two tools for almost the same price as one. Maybe get two tools and save some cash.