I am a professional mechanic and have used many cordless impact drivers. This is the best I have run across. I wish it was 14.4 volt so it would use the same batteries as drill but that is my only complaint. Plenty of power will break non impact sockets and small bolts beware. Lightweight and powerful. I will buy 18volt 1/2" impact in future when funds allow.brMy recomendation BUY IT!

Having used many different brands of cordless drill/drivers over the past 15 years, I was curious about this new wave of impact drivers. I had the chance to use this DeWalt driver (a friend's) and I can report that I was extremely impressed with it. In all fairness, this isn't a comparison since I have never used any of the competitor's impact drivers, but the DeWalt was more than I thought it would be.
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br /Power - there's all you would ever want here. I was driving 3" screws into treated lumber and quickly noticed two things. The driver didn't hesitate while driving the screws home and compared to my standard drill/driver I had to apply much less pressure on the rear of the gun to keep the bit from slipping on the screw head.
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br /Size/Weight - You don't notice how much a good drill/driver weighs until you use something like this that is more powerful and yet weighs less. Though the size is tiny compared to what I am used to, it doesn't feel unnaturally so.
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br /Value - though this is probably the best tool I have ever used to drive a screw, it is expensive so the vaulue per dollar isn't what it could be. If I were starting from scratch on a collection of tools, I would think seriously about this one. As it is, I already have two DeWalt drill/drivers and will probably not justify replacing them at this cost.
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br /Overall, this is a great tool that I feel justifies the impact driver craze that is currently going on. If you build decks for a living, run to buy one of these. If you are a weekend warrior, get more bang for your buck by getting a good deal on a 12-14.4 volt drill/driver instead...

I love this impact. It has replaced 3 tools that I used every day as a bodyman doing collision work.Smaller than my cordless 9.6 volt drill yet so powerful that it takes Ford p/u bed bolts off with very little trouble. In fact it has not falled to remove ANY bolt. It also has a very fine trigger,very easy to control, about 95 percent less vibration, than air tools, great batteries and a great price to.

I am a professional carpenter and I own 5 other Dewalt 12V drills that I am very happy with. When the impact drivers came out I was a little skeptical about their worth, but after using one once, I will never use my drill to drive screws!!! It drives screws so tight that you can hardly break them loose by hand! I am sold on using an impact driver instead of a drill to drive screws. The variable speed is great but I would like to be able to adjust the torque depending on the task at hand. It is so light and compact, It's great for hanging cabinets. You will break alot of tips but it's worth it. Overall it is the only tool for driving screws or fastners of any kind. I even got 1/4" and 3/8" socket adapters and use it in the garage!!

this impact is very strong ang very tough. I work as a toyota mechanic for a dealer and since we found out about the dewalt 3/8 impact everyone got one. ive used one daily for about 3 years and it still runs strong, i even bought a second one for home use. out of about 30 guys in my shop not one has had any problems, and they all got theirs from amazon.

This is a great buy and trust me you wont find a better price. I love this tool, it saves me a lot of time at work and is actually really lite. I know that almost every technician i work with at my dealership uses this tool and they all love it.

Not totally true but we dont use 'em as much for sure.Love the3/8 and the1/2 inch both.If I were buying one though,the 3/8 drive 12 volt gets used a lot more IN THE SHOP.Lighter,smaller, etc.. But it still has some thump to it too.Suprised me, and the 1/2 dr. would have lost me a bet the first time I saw it in action.. it's a HOSS!

I own a number of 12v DeWalt tools and have always found them to offer an excelent balance between weight, size, and power, so when I decided to buy an impact wrench I went with a trusty 12v again. I have not been sorry. It is amazing what this tool and it's 1000 lb/in of torque can do. For those of you that "must" have the tools used on Hometime or other home show of choice, go ahead and spend the extra money for the 18v gear. Then enjoy it's extra weight and size. Ever tried installing a sink with an 18v driver? Oh, you haven't lived yet. In most cases if you need more oomph than a pro quality 12v tool can provide, you need a corded tool. That has never been more true than it is with this 12v impact wrench. It can break bolts unless some restraint is used. How much more power does one need?

This is by far one of the best cordless impact guns I've used. I'm a mechanic and one of the most frequently used tools in the shop is a cordless impact gun. It's an indispensable tool so quality, reliability and flexibility is a MUST. In terms of sheer size/weight/length/torque it's worth every penny.

I have used this impact for over 3 1/2 years on a daily basis.I have replaced the batteries twice during its lifetime and this tool is still running strong. A definite must-have for your tool box. When and if this one wears out, the next one will be another DeWalt.

This is a tool you can't believe until you use it. Compared with regular battery-powered drills, it's small, light, and "only" 12 volts. But put it to work -
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br /Drive a 4" screw into tough, old lumber - no challenge. Put on a hex head and drive a 3/8" lag bolt into that same old lumber -it just goes in. And you can do all this with one hand. Get drill bits that fit the hex chuck, and it drills holes easily.
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br /Need to drive screws all day? Or nuts and bolts? Or just a few to fix the fence? Get one. I just made a set of bookshelves out of MDF, and drilled over 1,000 holes for the shelf brackets to fit into. My regular drill was tough to use and proved to hard to make the holes accurately. I switched to the Impact Driver with the drill and the rest of the job went perfectly.
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br /You can get a full set of hex drivers and drill bits, as well as screwdriver bits to get full use from the tool. Go for it.

DeWalt cordless impact smokes all others, if you use a Snap On cordless(I had one and replaced it with the DeWalt), throw it away and buy one of these. The DeWalt is smaller, more powerful, can actually handle being dropped without breaking and with 2 batteries you are never waiting for your battery to recharge. It's one of the first tools I get out of my tool box every day.The DeWalt lasts better than all the others, Snap On Cordless Impacts only last a bit over a year. I have used the DeWalt for 2 years now without a problem.

This cordless impact is very impressive, not only does it havebr100 lbs of torque, it's light weight and compact.

Beware of purchasing this or similar items from Amazon. I inadvertently ordered the wrong item and when I went to cancel my order less than 30 minutes later, they said I could not because it was being prepared for shipping. Still is 2 days later by the way. When I went to their return section, they said that this item could not be returned. Why does someone sell you something that cannot be returned to them?? Now I am stuck with an item that cannot be used and cost me a pretty penny to boot or of course I can sell it on Amazon myself, for less and pay the shipping. Go to the stores so you know what you are dealing with. Sure would be nice if they disclosed prior to purchasing that the item can not be returned.

This isn't so much a review about this 12-Volt unit as it is a critique on DeWalts decision not to provide an 18-Volt version to their loyal customers. DeWalt markets their 12V and 14.4V Cordless Impact Wrench Kits, but what about one for their ever popular 18-Volt line??? Personally, I prefer to save and standardize whenever possible, hence my decision to stick with their 18-Volt line of cordless tools. Standardizing to a 18V battery allows all of my batteries to work with all of my cordless tools. The power of their 18V units pack enough strength to handle just about any job. Why not offer that with their 1/2" impact wrench line? Especially when you consider the work an impact wrench does. If DeWalt is testing the market to see if Cordless Impact Wrenches will sell by putting out 12 and 14.4V versions, it would seem the wrong way to go. These tools (Impact Wrenches) aren't the meat and potatoes of tool manufacturer's lines, and I would hate to see DeWalt discontinue making them due to low sales, because of folks like myself who are going to wait for the real tool (an 18V version) to hit the market.