why you should buy this kit

My Dewalt cordless drill had served me well, but the batteries were getting weak, and I thought it time to step up to a new technology. There were several choices out there: Panasonic's superb, long-life drills, Hitachi's cool-looking powerhouse, and Milwaukee's 28 v lithium ion kit. Which is the best choice?^M
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I almost bought the Panasonic, which was a great value for the drill alone, certainly from appearances a better buy than the Makita. But I thought I could use the extra tools in the kit. Ultimately, I went for the kit, and I'm glad I did. Put me in the category of those who never had that much use for battery powered tools (other than a drill) because of my perception that they had limited power. I always wanted the biggest, the best. The Makita lithium ion combo kit changed my perception.^M
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First, the drill. That 560 ft-lbs of torque is more than enough. It compares favorably to Milwaukee 28 v.'s 600 ft-lbs, and weighs less, only 5.2 lbs. The drill has 3 speed settings, and within each setting you can also vary the speed by pulling the trigger less or more. You have to wonder how they crammed all of that power in such a light tool!^M
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Well, it's not just a drill. Flip the top switch, and it's a hammer drill. I had never used a hammer drill before, always having forced those concrete bits using a regular drill, which worked okay. But as a hammer drill, this Makita tore right through tiles and concrete so fast I had to slow down--deep, fine holes without overheating the bit, and fast. What a pleasure.^M
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All of the Makita tools in this kit have a light that comes on when you start to work. Touch the trigger, and even before the tool starts spinning, your work area is illuminated. If you are working in an area where a lot of shadows are cast, this is a really nice feature. Unlike the Hitachi which also has a light, this light runs right off of your rechargeable battery (apparently the Hitachi requires separate batteries).^M
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Now, the circular saw. What, pray tell, can you possibly do with a battery-operated saw, I thought. The answer, I have found, is just about anything, and better than I could do it with my electric circular. My other saw is the worm-drive Skilsaw, perhaps the top-rated circular saw. It hasn't come out of its canvas bag since I got this Makita. I really put the Makita saw to the test, ripping 8-ft pieces of bubinga , 1 1/2" thick the full length. Bubinga, also known as African rosewood, is one of the densest, hard to cut woods around. I could get a good 3 8-ft rips before the battery played out. Now, that may not sound like much, but then, you have to know bubinga. On 2" zebrawood (also a hardwood) I could get 5, and I reckon it could get 10 8-ft rips on pine. And for a guy making furniture, it gives me all of the cuts I need between charges. So the power to cut just about anything is there. Just don't expect to run all day on a single charge while sawing. With the extra battery on the charger, you should be fine.^M
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But the real beauty of the saw is in the quality of cut and control. Whether a cross-cut or a rip, the cut is really smooth, with no wood burns. And the blade guard never gets stuck, even when I'm shaving off the finest amount on an edge. It is so well balanced that I can control it with my left and alone (and I am right-handed). Now, compare this to my monster Skilsaw worm drive. Powerful, yes, but difficult to control, with a lurch when you start it up. Both hands are absolutely necessary. On trimming edges, the blade guard often gets stuck (and this is common on almost every other corded circular saw I have used). So, you have to use your hand to slide up the blade guard while holding the monster with the other, which is difficult. Because it is so powerful and hard to balance, wood burns are common. Keeping it flat on the wood while shaving off the edge is next to impossible. I get much better quality cuts with this Makita. A further advantage is the dust reduction. The Makita, first of all, has a finer kerf blade, 1/16" I think. So, dust is reduced proportionately. Most of the dust exits through a cleverly designed hole in the blade guard in a neat little pile next to the cut, instead of blowing it all over me and the workshop. The texture of the dust is different also; it's not fine dust that blows all over the place, but slightly coarse, so it stays put. Now I won't exactly say that I exit the shop dust-free. But I will say, there's a lot less dust on me, and shop clean-up is a lot easier. And unlike the Panasonic cordless saw, the Makita takes standard arbor diameter blades which you can pick up cheap almost anywhere.^M
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Finally, the impact driver. What's this? I'd never used one before. Well, it is extremely light to begin with, just over 3 lbs, and puts out 1280 ft-lbs of torque, which is over twice that of the drill. By using short bursts of power, it knocks in bolts and heavy duty screws with a lot more ease than your drill, without torquing your arm off. In fact, you hardly feel any torque at all. It's not for every screw, because it has no clutch, so it will break off screws and bolts that can't handle the 1280 ft-lbs. Reversable too, so great for changing tires. I've found myself using it quite a bit. I've driven #12 screws into 2" of hardwood without so much as a starter hole. It's the tool to use when a lot of torque is required. By comparison, the Milwaukee 28 lithium ion impact driver delivers 325 ft-lbs of torque. That's nice for lighter screws, which would not break on the lighter torque. But then, for lighter screwing, I use the drill, with its adjustable clutch. Comparing weight, Milwaukee's impact driver weighs over 8 lbs vs. 3.3 lbs for Makita's impact driver and 5.2 lbs for Makita's drill. The hammer drill and this impact drill combined will pretty much takes care of all of my drilling and screwing needs.^M
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The set also comes with a light, which will stand up anywhere and which you can use to illuminate your work area. With all 3 tools providing their own light, I've never used it in the shop. But as a flashlight it's great-lightweight, and 5 hours of run-time on a charge, and the xenon bulb is very bright. You can stand it upright and point it at a white ceiling and it will illuminate the entire room. If you need a broad area lit up for some reason, it does quite a good job. The head is adjustable, so you can point it perpendicularly or at a 135 degree angle as well.^M
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Now, Milwaukee has a 28 v lithium-ion set, but I didn't bite. Check out the amp-hours on the battery, which is the ultimate arbiter of how much work you will get done before your batteries run out. Both Makita's and Milwaukee's batteries are 3.0 amp-hours, meaning that you will get similar amounts of work done. Milwaukee's 28 v are good if you are doing exceptionally heavy work, but I can't imagine doing much more than cutting through thick, dense tropical hardwoods, which my Makita does just fine. And the Makita tools weigh less-a LOT less. Makita's battery charge time is 45 minutes vs. Milwaukee's 60 minute. Since the Makita gives me more than enough power, the choice was clear. And, it costs less.^M
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What about those lithium ion batteries? All indications are that they are supposed to take a lot more recharges than even NiMH, and the weight savings contribute to the ergonomic beauty of this whole set. There is a great discussion at the Tool Barn website on this set, including the advantages/disadvantages of lithium ion batteries, and it is worth a read. Apparently, some believe that they can lose amp-hours over time, even if not in use. Makita denies this. Their charger is fan-cooled to control the effects of overheating on battery life, and it charges them up full in 45 minutes, which I can verify. The 3 amp-hours will go a long, long way on everything but the saw, and even with the saw, it should get you by until your spare is recharged. Personally, I can't say if those batteries will lose power with time yet, but it's not really an issue, given that the cost of a pair of new batteries is reasonable, which I can budget for every couple of years if necessary. ^M
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In conclusion--if you want a set that is lightweight, ergonomically exceptional, will light up your workpiece, powerful enough to drill, screw, or cut just about anything, will last long between charges, and is a lot easier to control than your current mega-tools, the Makita set is cutting edge. It out-specs the competition in every way that matters to me, and at the price I paid, it really can't be beat. If you don't need every tool in the set, check out offers on any individual tool and see if the extra tool for free is still on offer. ^M
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Treat yourself! This stuff will keep you smiling for years to come.

contractor

I bought this combo kit as an impulse from home depot. There was a mail in promo for a free Makita recipro saw. There was also a Home Depot promo for $100.00 off. I paid $399. for everything. The impact driver alone is worth almost that much. Makita makes great tools. They are durable and comfortable.

Great Product

I would say that I'm an occasional "Do-it-yourselfer" from Mililani, Hawaii but this combo kit from Makita just blew me away. I can't believe the technological advances of their product since my first Makita cordless, a 9.6 Volt Drill-Driver 20 years ago-and I still have it. You'd expect an 18 volt cordless tool to be very bulky, but the tools in this kit are compact, very ergonomic, well balanced and not bulky. You won't be wasting energy, straining to work the tools. You'll also appreciate LED lighting on the all the tools. The power and torque behind the Circular Saw, Impact Driver and Hammer Driver-Drill are impressive compared to other brands I've tried. The free mail-in offer for the Cordless Reciprocating Saw was impressive too. It packed power just as my corded Reciprocating Saw. The High Capacity Lithium-Ion Batteries did not fail me. They packed a lot of juice and lasted a while in between charges. Also, I came to appreciate the 4-Position Flashlight. With all the rain that we've been having lately, the flashlight came in handy during blackouts. I didn't need to bringout my gas lantern; flashlight supplied all the light we needed. Overall, the tools performed flawlessly and I had joy using them. This 18 Volt Lithium-Ion Cordless Combo Kit from Makita is truly a great product. Aloha.