Customer Reviews

Makita BTD142HW 18-Volt Compact Lithium-Ion Cordless Impact Driver Kit

5 star:		(58)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I'm a lead carpenter for a residential remodeler. I've owned 11 cordless drills over the years (currently I have 4) and this Makita is not only the best of the bunch, by far, it may be the best power tool I own. I've had it for about a month now and I've used it everyday. I have a complete compliment of "quick disconnect" bits so I also use this driver as a drill. I've drilled holes in concrete and block using masonry bits and it will easily countersink Tap-cons. I thought the little work light was a gimmicky thing but I have to admit, its a big help in tight dark places, I've even used it as a flashlight. For the size, weight, price, quality, power, etc, etc, you can't beat this drill/driver. The batteries charge in about 15 minutes but they last for days so with 2 batteries, you'll never be without a charged battery. The tool came with a soft square carrying case, kind of looks like a cooler. Since I hate wearing a tool belt rig, this case is great, if you remove the charger, this case will hold a bunch of standard handtools as well as the drill.
This is a great product, I highly recommend it.

*Update>> Its been just over a year and I have to say this drill is as good as the day I got it. In the last few months I purchased the combo kit, the drill and impact driver. I was curious to see if the first one I bought was still as strong as the brand new one. I see no difference. I am still more impressed with these drills/drivers than any tool I own....and its about time Makita sends me some free stuff for the gushing reviews. Seriously tho, you won't be disappointed.

This thing is an absolute monster! I have been remodeling an older home for the past year. Before I went to Home Depot the other day and noticed this little wonder bundled with the 18v Makita drill, I was using a cheapo cordless and a corded skil to do all my drilling. The corded drill is about 15-20 years old, but was doing a good job still, but I got sick of dragging a cord around, so I pulled the trigger on this Makita set, and I must say I'm glad I did. I would have never considered getting just an Impact Driver, and to be honest, I have never really looked at one before the other day. This thing will drive screws into anything you can find, and if you need to bury screw heads so the surface is flush, you can do it with ease, WITHOUT striping the threads! This driver will also pull those buried screws right out of the wood without breaking a sweat. The design fits in the hand perfect, and the tool is well balanced. The lithium-Ion battery cuts down on the weight of the tool, so you can work all day and your wrist won't even mind.

As I said before, I picked up this tool and the 18v lithium Ion drill at Home Depot for $270 dollars, which I thought was a heck of a deal considering each of those tools run at about 200 a piece.

My only minor minor complaint was that they didn't give me any bits for the drill or the driver like I thought they would have, but that can be overlooked considering how well this tool works.

A+, Thanks Makita

I do a number of projects through our house and some woodworking. By far the most frequently used tool is a cordless drill/driver. I own an 18V with a traditional battery; a good performer but heavy and slightly unbalanced in the hand. A 14.4 volt with traditional battery which became much less used after the purchase of the 18 volt but still saw some use on short duration projects simply because it is lighter than the 18V, and DeWalt 7.2V "stick-style" used for smaller and/or more delicate projects. Over the past year, on DIY programs and in tool reviews, I had been noticing more attention given to impact drivers for everyday use in a broad variety of applications and projects. Especially in driving screws. Since this is a lot of what I use my drill/drivers for, my interest was piqued by the general consensus that the impact drivers were more efficient and less prone to the bit skipping out of the screw heads. This prompted my quest for yet another new tool for the arsenal. I hit the shelves of the local stores and checked out the current crop.

From the very first time I picked up this one I was in love. You see, I have been cursed with wide palms and short fingers and not a single power tool I have ever held or used truly felt comfortable in my hand. Mind you, I could still get a firm grip and it was never a safety problem, but especially with a heavier tool like my 18V, on longer projects I inevitably ended up with fatigue and a lingering ache in my wrist. When I wrapped my hand around this baby I had to have it. I am not exaggerating when I say that I have never had a tool feel so natural and balanced in my hand! The store I first encountered this at was my local Home Depot and they also had the previous generation which was identical in spec, shape and size with the exception of color and the fact it came with 3.0Ah batteries instead of the 1.5 in this kit (and if I'm not mistaken the charger on this one is slightly more advanced). I liked the weight and balance on this one better and with the 15 minute charge time I was willing to sacrifice the run time for the lighter weight and better balance.

After a month of use I am extremely happy with the performance and my purchase. It does an impressive job of driving screws of all types and sizes. Significantly better than anything else I have used and the benefit of the Lithium-Ion holding its charge while sitting on the shelf is very handy. I will still lug along my 18V or 14.4V when pilot holes are necessary but in tandem with this only for the convenience of not having to change bits, and I also still use the DeWalt for tight spots and more delicate tasks.

If you need the longer run time, I would recommend getting the previous generation model. My only regret is that just today here on the Amazon site I saw the kit with the accompanying drill for just about the same price as this kit. At the time I purchased this, that combo kit was $70 more and i opted to save the bucks. Otherwise I have absolutely have no regrets about my purchase.

I work for long periods screwing self-tapping wood screws above my head installing blinds. What this model provides that others don't is the lightweight. Li-ion batteries at only 1.5 ah fit that bill well. You sacrifice a bit of run time between charges, but I have found that a charge lasts all day and if I need a charge, the 1.5 ah charges in only 15 minutes plus I have an extra battery always charged, so this isn't much of a problem for me.
The impact action works great for self-tapping screws, almost like it was designed for them. It requires much less pressure from me, which is better for my back. I find that the clutch, which is NOT adjustable, is set at a good, all-around level. I find that I can control the penetration very easily between the clutch torque level and trigger speed control.
Next, speed is critical and the faster the better for me and this thing is quick. I tried other lightweight cordless tools and found the speed sorely lacking. I bought this from Amazon refurbished and it looked new to me. I have nothing negative to say about this tool!

I was hesitant to spend over $200 for an impact driver when I have more than a couple of drills laying around. That was until I drove a couple of screws with this bad boy. This thing is effortless to use, light weight, and has power to spare. The LED is nice, the 15 minute recharge time is crazy, and because of its low profile, it'll fit in tight spots.

If you've ever stripped the heads off screws, maxed out the torque setting on your 18 volt drill, and the screw still wouldn't move, this driver is for you.

This is my favorite drill/driver! Its lightweight yet powerful enough for 90% of the jobs.

I am a hard core do it yourselfer, prior contractor turned mechanical engineer. I also own the big brother to this, a Dewalt, and a Craftsman driver. I have also used the Milwaukee, Porter Cable, and Bosch products to compare it with. My favorite features of this one:

Its light weight. For most of the jobs I do, I dont need the added power of the larger units and the lighter weight and size makes it more manageable. This means just getting it started straight is easier, and in tight spots or working on a ladder, etc, it makes a big difference.

The light. It really is a useful feature.

Slip clutch. The clutch works well and I prefer it to the impact drivers.

Quick recharge. I sometimes use the smaller 1.5 batteries, but more often use the full size 3.0 batteries. This extends run life dramatically.

Which leads me to: The batteries. I own 7 batteries now, and only 3 are still functional (two large ones and one small one). This is after exchanging one of the smaller batteries under warranty still. I have two different chargers so its unlikely a bad charger.

Im not sure why, but at >$60 each to replace I am spending as much on batteries as I am on the tool itself. Do a little digging into this matter before you purchase to be comfortable you wont experience the same. Otherwise I love the product!

First off I am not a contractor or carpenter, just a home-owner who tackles my own projects where possible. When faced with the opportunity to save about 50% (all labor costs) by replacing my rather large (2,300 ft2) redwood deck myself, I thought it was worth a try. I had all the tools I needed save an impact driver. I had a 10 year old 9.6V DeWalt drill driver, but it has been long surpassed by newer technology. After researching many impact drivers, I settled on the Makita 18-V Compact Li-ion Impact Driver.

I can honestly say, I never would have made it through this project without this driver. Driving 3 inch square-drive deck screws with this tool was like drilling holes in dry-wall. The tool balance with the small battery packs is excellent and the light weight allows you to work hours without fatigue. Your hand and arm will be a bit "buzzy" from the impact vibration, but the labor savings over a standard drill-driver is amazing. I thought the led lighting was a bit gimmicky at first but as the sun got low, having the light on target really helped in lining up the screw and bit. For a homeowner looking at tackling the occasional project like mine, I would very highly recommend the Makita 18V Compact Impact Driver.

Since most of these reviews are from a residential contractors's perspective, I thought I'd write a review that a car mechanic like myself would want to read. I bought this item to replace a Makita 3/8 drive 12 volt impact wrench. (a common tool for most auto technicians, especially those in car dealerships). My old Makita was still working but had a bad battery and an annoying tendency to drop sockets with the stock anvil clip and wobble with an added retainer type adapter. It had ample power and held up well in it's 5 years of daily use in a professional environment. It is still a fine tool for occasional use.

Recently, the car brand that our shop is affiliated with rolled out a massive recall on over 140,000 models. The reader's digest version of my story is that myself along with a few others are dedicated purely to these repairs. My Makita runs non-stop for 8-9 hours a day. It never cools. Battery swaps happen often. My hand cramps from holding it. The trigger finger is switched between index, middle finger, and the pinky to alleviate fatigue. Needless to say, this type of use is the acid test for for any type of electric tool.

Now enter the Makita BTD142HW. This thing rocks. It's a monster! Most of the small fasteners I put this thing on don't even activate the hammer! It's small. It's light. The fact that it is a driver instead of a wrench eliminate the anvil clip problem. No wobble, no power robbing vibration. I'm in heaven! Oh yeah, the best part is the price!! OMG! The tool guy wanted to charge me $329.00!!!! He said that was a good deal because it was a promotional deal. I told him that I could get the SAME TOOL from Amazon for $180 and he just looked at me like I was speaking Chinese!

The only thing that is even slightly negative about this driver is the color. According to my wife the black and white color scheme looks sexy. I personally think it's a poor choice for an automotive environment. The white will not be white for long. Besides that, I would recommend buying 2 of these things at this price. FIVE STARS!!!!

I inserted one of those Dewalt impact ready 1/4 hex to 1/2 inch adapters on the collar and then put my 21mm impact socket on it to remove a set of wheels torqued at around 80 ft lbs. On a couple of wheels, it can take few seconds but the lugnut will eventually come off. This Makita driver says it can do around 1200 inch pounds (which is around 100 foot pounds) of torque, and it can definitely do what it says. When tightening the lugnuts using an 80 ft lb torque limiting stick, the Makita impact driver managed to torque them all to 80 ft lbs. I also tried removing my van's lugnut which is torqued to 94 ft lbs and uses a 22mm socket, and this little guy can also remove that too! It's amazing what this tiny tool can do!

The good thing about impact drivers is no matter how tight a bolt/screw is, it does not take anymore extra energy to drive the bolt because it uses the hammering action. Comparing this to a regular drill, the tighter the bolt, the more energy the drill uses, and hence more battery drain. So even though I used the Makita impact driver to remove 4 set of wheels, I'm sure it still has enough juice to remove wheels on another few cars and to think this driver only uses the smaller compact 1.5Ah battery compared with the 3.0Ah batteries used on their LXT models.

The only thing I would point out is when you are driving screws for delicate projects, this impact driver might be a bit too powerful. You have to be very careful and have good control with it. Still, I don't know how I used to get by without this handy little monster. Everyone should have one of these in their tool arsenal.

This is an excellent tool. It's everything I expected and more! It drove 2 1/2 screws into solid wood and countersank them with no problems. And taking out screws was superb also. As a woodworker, I can't rave about this tool enough!