Impact driver recommendations?

[Jeff Hein]

My 7 year old bosch impact driver is ready for a replacement. I have been looking at the Makita BTD144Z.

Anyone have the Makita or something else they would recommend?

 

[PeterK]

I have the BTD144 3 speed impact. No issues at all and I love it!! I have several Makita 18 volt tools and have come to really appreciate Makita cordless tools - at least in the 18 volt range. Batteries have held up well and the tools have performed extremely well. Based upon my experience, I highly recommend them. Panasonic makes a great impact driver also.

 

[USPcompact]

Best impact driver I've ever used.  Seriously, I have absolutely no complaints with it.  I've found the LXT line as a whole to be really good, and the 144Z to be particularly outstanding. 

 

[builderbob]

The makitas are good...I have a bunch of the LXT tools. I've also heard great things about the panasonic drills/impacts as well!

 

[Frank Pellow]

Believe it or not, I have found the Ryobi 18 volt impact driver to be very good.  It is one of my favourite tools.

 

[kdzito]

I have the Makita 14.4 and love it and it's part of my kit with the Drill. 

 

[Kevin Stricker]

Go for the Panasonic EY7540 if you have the money.  I have the Panasonic and have been amazed by the power and battery life of such a small tool.    It's my daily driver so to speak, coming up on 2 years of serious use and I have not seen any decline in the batteries.  Even deck building it can often last an entire day on a single battery.  The variable speed driving settings are really useful, drive 1/2" x 6" lags into PT wood one day then #4 cabinet screws the next.

I broke my driver body dropping it from about 14 feet up onto concrete earlier this year.  I had to use someones 18v Makita to finish the job I was on.  His impact driver was a year newer than mine but it could barely finish the job I was cruising through with my Panasonic.  I ordered another driver body that night when I got home, and may attempt to repair the first one of these days when I have some free time...

Amazon usually has a special on the driver with another 14.4V drill and a flashlight for only a few more bucks than the driver with batteries alone.  

 

[waho6o9]

+1 for the Ryobi 18 volt as well.  They hold up to a lot of heavy abuse and still work. Makita 18 volt work well but are too light to drive big lags. Milwaukee 24 volt has some serious shoulders.  Plenty of good choices, let us know what you decide.
[smile]

 

[Ken Nagrod]

Milwaukee 24 volt

[huh] ?

12, 18 or 28 volt

 

[waho6o9]

Milwaukee  18 volt  Oops,  Thank you Ken Nagrod

 

[Ken Nagrod]

Your welcome.  The only other thing I was thinking was that one of your battery's cells was bad.  [big grin]

I like both the Makita 18v impact and 12 volt and 18 volt Milwaukees.

 

[joiner1970]

I have had the Makita Li-ion 18v one for about 5 or 6 years now, still on the same batteries and used every day cant ask for more than that  [big grin]

 

[Theshipstore]

I have the Hilti SID 144a and I been using it almost daily now for almost 2 years. Pricey I guess but for a 14 Volt compact system it is great.

 

[Deansocial]

I have the Hilti SID 144a and I been using it almost daily now for almost 2 years. Pricey I guess but for a 14 Volt compact system it is great.

i have the Panasonic 14.4v L-ion and love it. FYI Panasonic makes Hilti's cordless drills and drivers

 

[marrt]

On paper, the Makita BTD144 looks awesome....small, light weight, powerful, brushless motor, etc...  However, if you go to Amazon and read the reviews about the Makita BL1830 batteries (that the 144 uses), there are many unfavorable reviews. 

Dewalt explicitly states you will get 2000 charges out of their NANO LiOn batteries versus 500 for the BL 1830.  If you search across the internet, you'll find the A123 batteries that Dewalt uses have great reviews.  In my experience, batteries are the Achilles heel of any cordless tool and they always fail before the tool.  I have two impact drivers now and the batteries are dead for both.  The tools themselves work fine.  However, the cost to replace the batteries is a significant percentage of the price to buy a new tool (with much better features).

I was ready to buy the 144 this morning.  However, after reading the Amazon battery reviews, I'm now leaning toward the Dewalt.  Of course, if you only use the tool occasionally, 500 charges may suit your needs.  In which case the Makita is VERY nice.

 

[Jeff Hein]

I looked at lots of reviews, and started looking at the Panasonic after some comments posted here.

I have a Panasonic EYC190LZ 14.4-Volt IP56 Li-ion Impact Driver Combo Kit on order.

I don't think I could go wrong with either the Panasonic or Makita however....

 

[leakyroof]

I love both of my Makita impacts. One is the 18 volt model, and one is the small 10.8 volt model[TD090D] I consider the 10.8v an extension of my hands while using it at work all day as needed. Battery life for either model has been very good. Best small cordless tool purchase that I've made in while. The ability to pop the LED light on for a quick look while not actually running the tool is another nice feature.

 

[Alan m]

[welcome]

i have a dewalt 18 volt. i love it  but havnt used anything else.

 

[justinmcf]

for 3 to 4 years i loved the 18 volt makitas.

but after using my business partners hilti 14.4 volt impact driver.i realised that there was no comparison, the hilti was in a different league.
now i know why hilti cost that more, you get what you pay for.

justin.