My 2 yr old Hitachi 12V impact is showing signs of battery fatigue so was looking for a replacement (new pair of batteries costs more than 50% of new tool price). Talking to the Makita rep at a recent trade show and said I love the impact’s great torque for driving long screws, but the one catch is spinning larger diamter drill bits as the impact ratchet cuts in and most of the bit’s speed is lost. Aha, he says, there’s something new that deals with that: the new Makita BTP130 4-mode cordless impact. It’s basically an impact driver and a 2-speed cordless drill/driver/hammer drill all rolled into one tool. Looked great but at $CDN 400 I could make do for a bit longer. Then at the end of the night I won a $500 gift cert so I had them bring one in for me.

http://www.makita.co.jp/global/product/category/cordless/btp130/images/btp130_big.jpg

More details http://www.makita.co.jp/global/product/category/cordless/btp130/btp130.html

I couldn’t find anything about this tool on Amazon or the Makita US or Canada sites, just the parent corp site. They do show the BTP 140 which is the 18V version. The torque and drill speed numbers are virtually identical for both so I opted for the lighter and cheaper 14.4V tool.

So far the torque claims seem true: in impact mode I was able to drive 4″ and 6″ #10 wood screws into rough cut spruce slabs repeatedly without hesitation. The tool is a bit longer and heavier than a straight impact, but lighter and more compact than a conventional driver/drill. Balance is good, with the centre of gravity right at the trigger; the extra half pound (compared to regular impact) is hard to notice.

As with most cordless hammer drills, the ‘percussion drill’ mode is OK for very small diameter holes but very slow for anything over 1/4″ or so. It would be useful for doing small finish jobs such as installing threshholds or floor stops into concrete slabs. The drill and screwdriver modes work in the same way any regular cordless does.

The charger is a MAKstar style unit with built-in fan and microprocessor as per all the other Li Ion tools in the range and turns a charge in 40 minutes. I like the tool’s LED light feature: it comes on every time the trigger is pulled and it stays on for 10 or so seconds before fading out.

I found shifting between modes took a bit of getting used to. Sometimes the slide selector appeared to be stuck; the trick was to touch the trigger just enough to turn the spindle a quarter turn or so. In reality, I’ll use impact mode most of the time with occasional drill mode when I need to spin larger items like spade bits or hole saws.

There’s nothing new here really – impact driver and cordless drill/driver work as normal. Just they have put them into a single tool that’s light enough to hook on your belt or climb ladders with. Makita has a 2-pack impact and driver drill combo for $50 less – consider spending the extra few bucks and getting it all in one.