Side by Side Comparison of: DEWALT vs Makita

So I first read about this from a blog who talked about the magic of an impact driver. I thought it was hype until I tried ti. I haven't touched any of my other drills since. This is really the most amazing tool I've ever bought. I'm able to screw in 2x4s in my basement with the littlest of effort. I accidentally bought the wrong battery type, since my other dewalt drills run off of the 20V lithium... but I'm very satisfied with this impact driver and as a dewalt loyalist, this fits the bill perfectly.

A great tool for contractor use. As long as you have plenty of charged batteries these drills will keep up with what I consider medium to light heavy duty use. Sometime a corded drill is the only way to go. But in the HVAC trade 90 percent of the time this is all we need. Residential use is a bit overkill and Dewalt makes a wonderful 12 volt series. Go with the 20 volt if you are upgrading. We have so many 18 volt tools its hard to upgrade just because the 20 volt is the new fad. Make sure you check the capacity of the batteries. 20 volt batteries are not all the same capacity.

So much easier for driving fasteners than my DeWalt 18v drill/driver that it is astonishing. It is also much, much lighter and handier than my 18-volt drill.

4" deck screws, no pilot hole, full depth into treated lumber like butter. I prefer the star drive screws (T-20, T-25), but phillips-head screws go right in as well. So fast and easy it made me look at the relatively diminutive tool in my hand and giggle.

No kick-back or torque goes back up through your hand, wrist or arm. I deal with chronic, on-again, off-again tendinitis in my dominant right hand and wrist. This tool nearly eliminates the stress on my tendons and joints while driving fasteners. I can work much longer and more efficiently allowing this tool to do the work. No "leaning in", pushing, or bracing the tool with both hands necessary.

I love this thing so much I bought the DeWalt 1/2" 18-volt cordless impact driver (Amazon) as well. Added in a socket adapter set from Tekton (Amazon) and I am set to deal with most any fasteners I run into.

If you drive fasteners often or in great amounts, you owe it to yourself to buy this tool.

I have nearly quit using drills to drive anything. Oh, I still use them for drilling holes, but for nearly everything else, I use this. I haven't used this one much. My Makita, Ridgid, and Milwaukee all clamor for attention. This is at least as good as they are. It is probably better than the Milwaukee simply because the Milwaukee is a 12V. I wasn't like Amazon was giving this away, but the price was very good and there was a $25.00 off thingie if one purchased over $100.00 in DeWalt stuff. Need I say more? Did I need my arm twisted? This is a great tool. If you have never used one, run by the Depot and see if they have one on display. They have recently (late 2013-early2014). Try it. Then order one from Amazon. (It's cheaper.) You'll be glad that you did. (This is an unpaid non-political unadvertisement.)

I live in New Zealand and was delighted to find that I could get bare DeWalt tools via Amazon alot cheaper (on special) even when airfreight is taken into account.
What isnt explained on the Amazon site (I couldn't see it) but appears on the box the tool came in is that this tool will also work with some Li-Ion batteries and I quote "Tool works with DeWalt
18 Volt NiCd or Li-Ion Batteries". Now to me thats an important piece of information.
The Tool arrived just before Xmas and in time to do an extreme amount of work fixing battens to my tunnel house - about 400 x 50mm hex screws in one day and one battery charge
- which it did with the greatest of ease. When it comes to screws I have found in the short time I have had the tool that the extra hard bits ie those designed
for the impact tool are well worth the extra money the normal ones just dont keep there shape. Its light weight was helpful when working over head height. I was a little concerned
about the weird smell coming from the motor but as time wore on the smell decreased and has now almost gone. When selecting tools for overseas delivery select very carefully
as a mistake (I selected and had sent the 1/2" impact wrench by mistake) can cost dearly in return post and in time.

First drill I bought in 15 years. Why did I wait so long? I am a casual tool box guy. Use a power drill 10 - 12 times a year. Spoke with the Makita reps at the Hardware Show last year. They told me to get this model and it will do everything I will ever need a home power tool for. They were right.

I've used it for everything from driving 3" deck screws, to installing kitchen cabinets, and it works great. So much better at driving long fasteners than a drill/driver, and the number of fasteners it will drive on a single charge is truly amazing. I love it. Plus, the battery charges super-fast, and is interchangeable with the ones for my Makita XFD01RW 18V Compact 1/2-Inch Driver-Drill Kit (or any other Makita 18V Li-Ion tool, for that matter), so no worries about ever running out of charge and having to wait. Also, I'd highly recommend getting the Makita T-01373 38 Piece Impact Drill-Driver Bit Set at the same time.

Smokin deal !!! All I needed was an extra battery I've already got the full set. Now for about the same price I've got an extra impact drill and charger. If you look at the white makita set that usually runs $179-220 it comes with 2 half size batteries. This comes with 1 battery that has as much power as the other two combined and it's about half the price.

Great price. This is the second one I bought. I use it every day for business. If it was not a good tool I would have bought something else

Very cheap good quality as always with makita but there is a picture with a 4.0 Ah but it is only a 3.0 Ah battery but still great price 5 star

Absolutely fantastic impact driver. Plenty of power for all sorts of tasks. I use it for household and woodshop work, and I've yet to find a fastener it can't handle, this includes coarse 3" deck screws, though I don't think it could handle much larger (nor could my other cordless drills or drivers)At this price, it beats out any of the 12v Bosch stuff, and is much cheaper.

I love this tool. I look for reasons to use it. I use it not only to drive screws, but I attach a 1/4 socket adapter on it and can drive lag bolts, hex bolts, self tapping screws. It is lighter than using the 18v drill, although the batter makes up most of the weight. I can get a confident grip, and with it being lighter my arm doesn't fatigue as quick. It goes well with my collection of Dewalt 18v tools.

Great little tool, drives 3" screws with ease. The only really bad thing about Dewalt tools that I have found is the switches are not the best and the cost of replacement is nearly as much as the tool itself. The LED light on this tool doesn't always show what you need it to, great idea, just not the best placement. The newer ones have 3 LED's around the actual chuck. I haven't tried that one yet but it seems a much better idea.

I've had this impact driver now for about 9 weeks. After the initial 18V battery charge, I used it for a few minutes then put it back on my work bench. After having it sit on the bench for quite a few weeks, I used it again to drill holes in masonry and drive some anchors...still had plenty of juice remaining from the initial charge. Its also small enough to get into tight spots. I've always leaned towards Porter Cable power tools, but this has worked so well that I also picked up a 1/2-inch 970K DeWalt drill/driver to go along with the impact driver.

I bought this to go with my Dewalt 18 volt cordless drill. Since they both use the same battery I did not have to pay extra for more batteries. It has a chuck that can only take one type of driver, so I bought a set of drivers that fit this chuck and have 1/4", 3/8", and 1/2" square drivers for various sockets. It will not replace my pneumatic impact driver for lug bolts, but for portable applications driving 3" deck screws in, it can't be beat.

I don't have a lot of impact driver experience, but a lot with cordless drills. This is a good complement to the Dewalt drill which takes the same batteries. One warning would be that this thing is much less controllable than the drill. I have a few holes in sheetrock that will attest to that. Controlling long screws takes practice. So far, it has worked well and powers screws into wood much easier than with the drill. It definitely is not a replacement for the drill, but the two together are great.

Light weight and full of torque, battery lasted longer than I expected. Should have come with two batteries though

Good drill as far as getting the job done. It is a little cheapy on the exterior though. By my fourth use, the front plastic piece snapped and came off and now my drill looks kinda dumb. Doesn't affect the functionality, but I can't quite say it's a five star item for this reason. Months after regular occasional use it still works like day 1.

Heats up quickly, but gets the job done. I love how quickly the battery charges too.

I would recommend this product. The price is right. Still holding up. Works good. i could not live without it. 30 plus years as carpenter.

I'd really like a second battery, although the one I got lasted longer than expected. Very intrigued with the other products Makita offers. This driver works great! I'm excited to purchase more tools.

3.0 battery...was hoping it was a 4.0 but incredible deal!!!

A professional would get the brushless. This is great for everything else.

Missing drill bit in front

It is a good tool to have but the price was a little over charged for just a bare tool.

very good

Works great for light to medium duty work.
Will not strip out screw heads.
If all my DeWalt tools Were not 18 Volt I would've bought the 20 V for the smaller Battery.

this was a gift for my son-in-law who lives on the west coast, so I've never found out how well he liked it.

I Like It!

Used this tool on auto, and wood working it work well. However very disappointed when it broke. The ratchet broke in half. All said and done I bought another one basically because I am currently heavy with dewalt cordless tools.

was strong but only worked two times be care fully who you buy from.

The battery pack and charger are not included in the set. Ads did not mention that unit is noy having a battery pack and the charger.

I ordered this for my husband for Christmas, only to find it was a DRILL driver, and not an impact gun. What he and everyone at his company call impact drivers are actually labeled impact wrenches by Dewalt. And then I was sent and charged for 2 of them by mistake. Thankfully, Amazon was very helpful with the return/refund process.

Couldn't drive a screw into predrilled wood.

90 days and the driver no longer works. Tried to put in a screw and it spins internally without driving the bit. Great. It's not like I tried to drive a 10 inch screw. We're talking a 2 1/2 inch screw into a pine 2x4! I thought this was the greatest tool I owned until two days ago. Don't waste your time. Now I have to see what Makita will do for me.

I have not used this tool yet because it came with no drill bits or driver heads! Makes it hard to use when you can do nothing beyond charge the battery without making another purchase.

Great drill! However, this drill is too expensive to be considered a deal. For one whole Benjamin, this drill is not even on sale by 1%. The original list price is incorrect or from 10 years ago. Do your research before you buy!

The website says the tool has a 3-yr limited warranty. The "repair evaluation" is reported to be $20.00 and takes 3 weeks. The repair in a review was $167 (look at the price above).
I would like to get back the purchase price on the defected design see split casing on drill.

Clubtroncom sells junk material. Buy elsewhere!!

Doesn't even work

It smells like the motor is burnt out even though it was brand new... I have never smelt a drill worse than this in all my years!

The head stop to move from his place!

I have all Makita cordless tools and I purchased this because my old batteries have failed. In just over 3 months this battery is now bad and I can't find a way to return or show it defective to replace. I hope someone response to this.

Plastic cover protecting the front was loose and disconected at the first hour.

The one pictured is the one I wanted... Mine does not stand and that is a real nuisance... the chuck does not hold the drill bit... terrible product...

Poor

We are very disappointed with this item. Normally we have great luck with Amazon, but we ordered this as a gift for our son. It worked fine until it needed to be recharged then would not hold a charge. Will not work. Very disappointing!