How to choose an Impact Driver. Impact Drivers Compared

I review the uses for different style impact drivers to help a person choose the correct type and voltage of an impact driver for residential use.

Chapters:
00:00 – Welcome
00:30 – What is in this video
00:47 – 12 Volt Impact Driver – Testing
02:59 – 20 Volt Entry Level Impact Drivers – Testing
05:11 – 20 Volt Impact Drivers Testing AND 20 Volt Brushless Impact Drivers – Testing
07:50 - 20 Volt Impact Driver – Conclusion

Tools Tested in this Video

Group 1 - Very Entry Level 12 Volt Impact Driver
Tool Tested: 12 Volt Hyper Tough from Walmart – Sells for about $34 with battery

Group 2 - Entry Level 20 Volt Impact Drivers
Tool Tested: From Walmart - Hyper Tough 20V Max --- Sells for around $45 with battery.
Tool Tested: From Harbor Freight - Warrior 18V --- Sells for around $40 with battery.

Group 3 -Brushed 20 Volt Impact Drivers
Tool Tested: From Harbor Freight – Bauer Impact Driver (Brushed Motor) – Around $60 with battery.
Tool Tested: From Walmart - Hart Impact Driver (Brushed Motor) – Around $79 with Battery

Group 3 - Brushless 20 Volt Impact Drivers
Tool Tested: From Walmart – Hart Impact Driver (Brushless Motor)- Around $128 with Battery
Tool Tested: DeWalt Atomic - Newer version is around $120 to $149 with Battery

DeWalt products are sold at Home Depot, Ace, Lowes and many other retailers.
The DeWalt Atomic, Bauer and Warrior are often on sale.
The Hart tools can often be found on the Walmart website in combo kits for less money per tool.
Prices subject to change.... a lot!!!

Video Overview

I compare 12 Volt impact drivers to 20 Volt Impact drivers.

I compare 20 Volt entry level impact drivers to 20 Volt Brushless Impact drivers.

I test 12 Volt impact drivers with Decking Screws and small Lag Bolts.

I test 20 Volt impact drivers with larger Lag Bolts.

General advice on what to think about when buying a battery operated tool, such as an impact driver.

Test Results
The Hyper Tough 12 Volt impact driver was able to handle small screws, limited numbers of decking screws and perhaps some very skinny lag bolts. Anything beyond that I would go to something larger. I use the 12V Hyper Tough Impact driver when working with Philips screws to help avoid cam out provided the screw safely can handle the torque.

The entry level 20 Volt tools were OK with skinny lag bolts, but as the diameter got wider they struggled, especially the Hyper Tough Impact driver. The 18 volt Warrior impact driver did a bit better than the Hyper Tough 20 Volt impact driver in these limited testing. Off camera I had the Warrior finish the "stuck" bolt that the Hyper Tough could not drive in just to be sure the test was fair.

In the $50 and over crowd the surprise for me was the Bauer impact driver. The Bauer did very well despite being the cheapest in Group 3. This does not reflect how long the product will last, but based on simple testing it did very well up to 1/2 lag bolts into non-predrilled pressure treated wood. There is also a Bauer brushless model impact driver that was not tested in this video, so if you want Bauer but want to avoid brushed motors you can do it.

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