I love this tool. There are so many great things and so few bad. Let's start with the great.
It's small. It has a nice weight to it. It has a quality build. It's both fast and powerful. It has a little LED on the front to illuminate your workarea. And of course it uses lithium batteries, which are far superior to the NiCd batteries you would get in 18v tools. That's the basics. I will delve more into this later. Now onto the bad.
The only bad thing about this drill is that there is no where to store your extra bits on the drill. Most larger drills have something for that. This one doesn't. Other than that, this tool is definitely louder than normal, non-impact drivers. But that's the price you pay for power.
I suppose the lack of a chuck is a negative. However, it's also a positive because it's far easier to switch bits using the bit-holder on this tool. But if you have legacy drill bits, you will need to either go get new drill bits that have a hex on the end, or you will need to buy the chuck attachment, which is probably a good idea anyway. Having a chuck vs having a hex bit-holder is really a matter of preference, so that's up to you.
This tool comes with few accessories. You get a hard plastic case with plenty of additional compartments for additional components. You get 2 batteries and a quality charger. A word about the charger... I was pleasantly surprised with the charger for this tool. Other drills I have owned give you a very generic charger. This tool comes with a charger that has some intelligence built-in as well as dual indicators that tell you what's going on with the charging. For example, it will blink when it notices the battery is too hot. It will then wait until it's the correct temperature to continue charging. This is a very nice feature that will prolong the life of your batteries (because they're expensive).
Other than those (mandatory) accessories, you get 2 bits -- a Philips head and a flat head. That's it.
As I said, this driver is both fast and powerful. It's fast enough to use it as a drill, and it's powerful enough to cause a screw to strip the wood you're screwing it into, so be careful. The impact mechanism is fantastic. It provides increased torque while also almost completely eliminating the possibility of cam-out (when the bit pops out of the screw and strips it a little bit). Compared to other drivers in its class, this one is much faster, and the impact mechanism gives it tremendous power.
The size and weight make it possible to hold the little guy under your armpit when not using it. Plus, the handle is very comfortable and the batteries are easily removed.
This really is a fantastic tool. I own a Skil 18v driver as well (paid $100 for it). That one uses NiCd batteries that need to constantly be on the charger (and cost $45 a piece). Those batteries have the worst shelf life. They will be dead by morning if you leave them there sitting overnight off the charger. Plus, they take 3-6 hours to charge. The batteries on this tool have excellent shelf life, excellent usage life and charge in 30 minutes. That's incredible. Plus, they have a 2 year warranty. Absolutely fantastic. I really couldn't ask for more.
Compared to other drivers in it's class, I have used a Rigid 12v lithium with a chuck and a Ryobi 12v with the bit-holder. Both of those were fine tools, but didn't compare in speed or power to this Milwaukee. But this Milwaukee is slightly more expensive probably do to the impact mechanism, which as far as I'm concerned is a must-have after having used this tool.
A note about the ~850lb torque specification. Another reviewer has complained that this is inaccurate. He is both right and wrong. Because this is an impact drill, whatever the device used to measure torque would probably register ~850lb maximum, but it comes in bursts. It's not constant because of the impact mechanism. I'm not exactly sure what the term for this phenomenon is in physics, but it has to do with friction. A still body must overcome some threshold of friction in order to begin moving. But a moving body experiences less friction. It's like when your tires spin out. So, when a screw binds up in the wood, much of the energy of the impact is lost overcoming the greater force of friction needed to begin the screw moving again. Because of that, the actual "effective torque" of this tool is probably lower than the ~850lb in the spec. But if the screw doesn't bind up, it will drive in like butter.
UPDATE: There was a free tool rebate offer that went along with this drill at the time I ordered it. It said 8-10 weeks for delivery. Well I received it within 2 weeks. That's very impressive for a rebate offer. Way to go Milwaukee! You guys are awesome.
Also, my dad, a professional contractor, is very impressed with the 12-volt impact driver as well. Milwaukee 2450-22 12-volt Impact Driver Kit
This is a very high quality tool with extremely good battery life. Good light suty tool, not as powerful as a 3/8" cordless impact, but very lighweight. Overall I use the tool everyday in the shop as a Volvo Technician and am satisfied with the performance and value.
Few things grind my gears like a negative review for a tool in which the reviewer describes using a tool INCORRECTLY ea: I read a review (or two) where the person descibes using this with a forstner bit & another with spade bits. This is a 12v impactor it's not meant for boring, nor is an 18V model, it is predominantly a "fastening" tool, not so much drilling, much less boring holes. Yes as an impactor it has high torque but only in short bursts when it's impacting, for boring, a "continuous" torque tool is in order (drill/driver, hammer drill, hole hawg etc) It's "beefy" heavy (that's a good thing). It has a built in, trigger activated battery gauge & LED light. Other 12v impact drivers have higher RPMs, advertise more torque, are more compact, have a better work light, but none combines all of those things like this tool. It's superiority is seen when tapping light metal, or smaller lags. Upgrade the battery to a Milwaukee "XC" M12 battery and the competition is toast. The kit: Tool, tough plastic case with plenty of space for glasses, gloves, bits & attachments, 2 standard M12 batteries + charger. As usual I have to mention the Milwaukee 5 year tool warranty. - 12v - Milwaukee - Impact Driver - Cordless'
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