I was in the market for a new cordless drill and I walked into Louis Williams Hardware (makitadirect.com) and was tempted by the owner to take a peek at the new Makita. I was amazed at the power of the tiny device but was not sure how it would fit into my needs. I left, but went back and bought one and set to work installing 4 new replacement windows in my basement. Here is what I learned:
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br /1. This is a single speed, impact tool. The impact feature allows the driver to turn long and stubborn screws in hard material using a smaller motor and light weight battery, while also being very easy on your wrist. It does ALL the work.
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br /2. As I said, it IS single speed, giving you somewhat less control for delicate work; it takes some getting used to.
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br /3. As a trade off for its ability to drive stubborn screws, it does make slower, and slower progress as screws get more stubborn. You can screw in screws faster with a standard driver. But, like the Energizer Bunny, this thing keeps going, and going, until it gets there.
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br /4. You are much less likely to strip the head with this tool.
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br /5. Battery life is incredible and recharging is fast with the Lithium Ion system.
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br /6. If you are going to be drilling, you will want to get special drills with a built in impact fitting. It does drill nicely, BUT, there is only one speed making starting a hole tricky in hard materials.
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br /7. It has a nice LED work light.
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br /8. The forward/reverse switches have a definite handedness to them. A lefty might not like it.
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br /9. It is inexpensive. At $99, it is a great, reliable tool.
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br /10. I enjoyed installing the windows, and used the tool for all aspects except drilling into the masonary. For that, I used a corded drill.
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br /11. It comes with a nice little holster.
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br /12. Consider buying the Makita impact accesory kit. It is a bargain way to get the drills and quick change bit holder.
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br /13. In summary, a nice accessory with a thousand uses, but it will not replace your cordless drill.

I recently went to a woodworkers show at one of our local retailers, (Jackson Saw and Knife, Rochester NY...little plug for a local business). My intentions were to look at, and possibly buy, a new table saw, and dovetail jig to assist in building new kitchen cabinets for my own house remodel, since things have slowed up some. Having just bought a new Delta mortiser on Amazon(another plug for our host site guys) along with a Grizzly tenon jig I needed to finish out my shopping list. As I made my way down the gaunlet isles past many of the vendors hawking their wares I happened to glance at the Makita table and saw the rep driving a 3" deck screw into a piece of pressure treated wood with ease with this cordless white screwdriver that looked like an overgrown hotdog. Actually it is very much like the other companies red cordless screwdriver whose company also starts with an M but thats where the similarities end. My partner has the red one and it has been fine so far...until today. Step aside let the BIG DOG eat. This tool is amazing. Let me first start by saying that it IS NOT just a screwdriver...it is a screwdriver impact driver. Less effort and strain on the battery to do the job and more torque. Can anybody say BIG BLOCK motor vs small block? One outstanding feature is the built in led lite up front that allows you to light up the area where you are screwing. In total darkness you can use it as a flashlight to get to your area if need be. The light has a lockout switch to prevent depressing button while in your tool pouch/bag killing battery. The rep had to further convince a couple of guys by showing them that if in a dire strait need to drill a hole thru a 2x with a spade bit to run a 14-2 or 12-2 wire this tool could do it. He chucked in 1 7/16 spade bit and bored thru. It took longer than with a corded drill or 18V cordless, understandably so, IT'S 7.2 VOLT. The fact that it is a impact driver screwdriver is what gives it it's balls...sorry ladies. The unit I bought (there is only one model) came in a very nice deluxe zipper case with: charger, belt holster, TWO batteries, the screw gun, and three drive bits, and a hexdrive 1/8" drill bit. There is additional room in the zipper case for other items. Overall I think Makita has raised the bar so to speak coming out with this tool. I see this tool particularly attractive to electricians and cabinet makers/installers. I only gave it four stars as I have not used all the ones on the market and so it would not be fair to the rest of the field, plus since mine is so new I don't have enough run time on it. Will give an update later.
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br /Bottom line: one of the best/handiest tools for $99 that I have in my repertoire. Thanks for your time I hope that I helped you...Whit

As has been mentioned, this a powerful tool for the size and works well as an impact driver. It is a snap to use and comes with everything you need to get started including driver bits, charger and a nice storage case. The bits are nice enough that I use them with my more powerful LXT drill as well. I actually bought this tool for my wife to use because she wanted a smaller and lighter driver to use in the house.
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br /The biggest drawback is that it doesn't have variable speed. So its either full speed or nothing. That can be a pain if you want a little more control in certain situations, like starting a screw in a tight space. The other small drawback that my wife didn't like is that it looks dingy quickly because of the white exterior. But that doesn't have any effect on the quality of the drill, so its a minor quibble. Overall powerful drill for the size.

I purchased recently and have been using for numerous home renovations projects. The impact feature, and cool holster, make this one of my favorite tools. Only draw-back is no variable speed. Be careful when driving bolts - so much torque on the impact that I have stripped my fair share.

Powerful, and fast, bought one to assemble a full closetmaid system just the right amount of power , yes a clutch would be nice but just pay attention to the trigger speed and it works great , the light was great in back of the cabinets ,anchor bolts were a breeze, everything on one charge . case and charger are cool as well. A must have in the arsenal of tools.

My husband bought this for me. We are remodeling contractor and use drills on a regular basis. We always buy Makita tools, some tools are over 25 years old and still working. We like tools with their own carring/storage containers, this case is really great. This drill is small and lightweight, and very powerful (because of the Lithium-Ion battery). We gave it a four star rating for the following reasons. First, it is not variable speed, so when you do not need much power, it delivers too much and strips the screws if you are not careful. Our other Lithiun-Ion tools have a light that turns on when the trigger is pulled. This one has a light, but you have to turn it on seperately. This does not sound like much, but the addition of the light to these tools is incredible, and makes the job much easier when it is lit up infront of you.

Pros: Plenty of power, 2 Ion Battiers a plus, size/wght OK, Light a plus,
br /plenty of accessories w/unit.
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br /Cons: Color, no variable speed, Light has to be turn on manually two(2)times to use, no written charger instructions, trying to register the product over the Internet is a lesson in nonsense.
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For those that have used impact drivers you know. For those that haven't you should know. These are great tools and this particular one is an amazing bargain. These tools don't use clutches like cordless drills so you can easily overtighten a screw but the feedback given by the impaction mechanism clearly indicates, at least to me, when the screw is tight. The advantages are you can drive much larger screws without effort and, perhaps even more significantly, any type of back torque on your wrist. Additionally, you can drive screws much faster with an impact driver than you can with a clutch type drill.

Why didn't I buy one sooner!?!?! This one is great; great price for a brand name like Makita, lithium batteries instead of NiCads, lightweight, and built-in flashlight.

This is an impact driver, not an ordinary cordless screwdriver. It works like a small rotary hammer.
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br /It is extremely fast and powerful, with no adjustment for torque.
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br /Use only good, impact driver, quality bits or you will break the bits.
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br /Make sure the bit fits the screw, bolt, etc. or you will strip the head off the screw.
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br /If you pre-drill any wood screw holes as the directions state you can avoid splitting the wood.
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br /Screws that may take a long time with typical small cordless screwdrivers, particularly NiCad types, will take only seconds with this unit.
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br /It charges extremely quickly and comes with a spare battery where it would probably be extremely difficult to wear down one battery before the other is fully charged.
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br /It only comes with a basic set of bits, but quality bits are available from Makita stores, Sears, etc.
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br /If you ever use one, you may have a lot of trouble going back to a normal medium priced cordless screwdriver.
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br /The impact style driver is great for coaxing corroded screws nuts and bolts to loosen, particularly if given a shot of PB Blaster or similar first.
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br /I do wish the torque limit was adjustable.

I like the fact it is compact and light. But it only has one speed and that's fast! It doesn't come with a speed control option. It works nicely as a small compact drill for drilling pilot holes because of the speed but not for fastening screws. Go with the Bosch compact drill that is out on the market now. That is a beautiful tool to have in your hands! It's compact, plenty of power for driving 3" screws with no problem....

Makita TD020DSEW 7.2-Volt Lithium-Ion Cordless Straight Line Impact Driver Kit
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br /A great household tool. Strong and lightweight.

It's a great little driver, well-balanced and light-weight thanks
br /to the L-Ion battery. The impact function (which can't be switched
br /out) does a good job of driving screws into tight materials. However,
br /the lack of a variable speed system makes it a little difficult to
br /use to start threaded screws into tapped holes and is the reason I
br /had to drop it down by one star.

This driver has plenty of power to do most any job around the house. screwdriver, drill, nutdriver, it does it all. The only reason I gave it four stars is that it could use a clutch adjustment and variable speed. But once you know how it handles, it truly becomes indispensable. I would highly recommend this cordless driver.

This tool is awesome. I work for a major utility company and use this tool for work in the field. It is light weight and very reliable. The battery life between charges is great! It has plenty of power to drive screws for even the toughest jobs.
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br /I highly reccommend this product.

This little guy is deceptively strong but it would have been nice if Makita included a variable speed setting as this tiny tool has plenty of power and it can't be tamed! That's the only con to this tool.
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br /I unscrewed a power outlet and it was lightening quick but when I screwed it in, the plus became the minus--it got screwed in lightening quick too which might sound good but you better release the trigger quick! I didn't and the plastic plate nearly cracked.

I purchased the Makita for some production personnel to use at work. After getting the tool and using it to do a machine set up the operators loved it. The supervisor immediately asked me to purchase another.
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br /My main recommendation is to know what you want to use the tool for. If you're looking to use it for more delicate work you might want to try something else. If you're looking to drive medium to large screws into wood or perhaps larger machine screws (5/16" or larger) into tapped holes it will probably work well for you.
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br /One important thing to know is that their is no control over how fast the tool runs. It is either on full-blast or off. It has a lot of torque for it's size but it will certainly not break your wrist. The women that use it on a daily basis are happy with the size / weight of it and have only spoken positively about it.
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br /I had previously purchased a Bosch PS20-2 Litheon. If I wanted to do lighter duty work I would go with something like the Bosch but if I wanted to drive a lot of 2" to 3" screws into wood I would definitely go with the Makita. Again, know what you want to use it for.

This is a great product if you are looking for light to medium duty work. drives screws with ease, convenient for assembling just about anything. The only thing that could be an issue is that there are no torque settings, but again what did you really purchase this for. anything heavy duty you should be using a full size drill. Also, you may have to get use to the trigger placement on the side. The light is a plus, but it doesnt have a always on or off botton or delay to keep it on for 10-15 seconds after you press it. Comes with everything from carry case, extra battery, screwdriver bits (which lock into place), and charger.

Good enough for the homemaker but not much more. Strong enough for household tasks, but not up to doing job site stuff all day long. Great for just around the house, and if you get it free :) you can't beat it.

Great Item. Great torque, holds charge for long period of time. A great tool for around the house things.

This device turns much faster than a typical handheld electric screwdriver when turning force is low. It still suffers from inadequate torque to drive hard to turn screws. There is no torque limiter as is commonly found on battery operated drills. Overall it is lightweight and useful. The included hex based drill bit works well but is a little slow

OK tool. White color will look dirty and worn a lot more quickly. Tools do get scratched and dirty. No bit holder and cant buy a double ended screwdriver bit that will fit this model. Cheap black and decker would use a double end bit so did not have to carry around a phillps and common bit. Nothing to lose.
br /Do not like the impact feature since you can not tell how tight the screw is as you are driving it. It will keep trying to drive a screw when the screw is tight. Like the Hatachi one a little better just because of the impact feature.

This is what we all want, a lightweight, powerful and verstile drill driver that we can keep on our toolbelt at all times. There hasn't been any screw in any wood I haven't been able to sink yet and that's impressive. I picked this up at heavydutytools dot net and I have had it for about two months now. I am very happy with this purchase and tell everyone that might benefit from it!

I have owned several different cordless screwdrivers, including Bosch, DeWalt, and the Milwaukee model that this one very closely resembles. All of them have had an adjustable clutch to limit the torque applied to the screw, so I assumed that this one did as well. I was disappointed to discover that it does not, and I have broken a number of screws with it already.
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br /It's a convenient size and I like the lithium batteries, but it's usefullness is limited by lack of a clutch. It is worthless for smaller screws that can break easily.

CET OUTIL TRAVAILLE TRÈS BIEN. COMME AVANTAGE PRINCIPAL, IL EST TRÈS LÉGER, LES BATTERIES DURENT LONGTEMPS ET RAPIDE À CHARGER. LA TORQUE EST SUFFISANTE POUR LA PLUPART DES PETITS TRAVAUX. J'AI 5 VISEUSES, MAIS C'EST CELLE-CI QUE J'EMPLOIS LA PLUPART DU TEMPS À LA MAISON ET POUR LES PETITES VIS. JE SUIS BIEN CONTENT DE LA RAPIDITÉ DE LIVRAISON ET LE BON ÉTAT DE L'APPAREIL COMPLÈTEMENT NEUF. LE PRIX EST CONCURRENTIEL.