18V LXT Lithium-Ion Brushless Cordless Combo Kit 5.0 Ah (2-Piece)

The best hammer drill / impact driver all around...

So far I have been BLOWN away! I purchased my first Makita power tool set back in the mid 90's and enjoyed them for over 15 years. Then when Makita came out with their LXT Lithium line I thought I would upgrade to those so I bought a combination set and again was very happy with them. Now with the advent of brushless motors I figured I would once again upgrade to the latest and greatest that Makita had to offer. I just spent the weekend running both of these through its paces and couldn't be happier. It will take me weeks if not months to fully explore all of the features. I've been exposed to other powered tool manufacturers and keep on coming back to Makita time after time.

I'd compare this Makita Combo Kit to your favorite "Top Shelf" Adult Beverage - live a little and reward yourself with the best! Build quality, attention to detail, and engineering excellence are clear when you first open the box and take one of these beauties in your hands. You can get lost in the acronym soup in the product description and marketing: LXT, XDT, BL, and XPT. To simply all this: you are getting a "top shelf" Impact Driver (Model XDT16) and a "top shelf" Driver / Hammer Drill (Model XPH14). Impact Driver pros: compact, lightweight, powerful and cons: a lot of settings and controls to understand. Driver/Hammer Drill pros: beautiful knurled steel Yukiwa 1/2" keyless chuck and cons: a bit heavy coming in just over 5 pounds, with battery. Brushless Motors are awesome! Kit also has a nice carrying bag, two 5.0 Ah batteries, and fast-charger included. Two thumbs-up!

This is an excellent kit. The drill is very well made, the driver has plenty of options and both have 5Ah batteries. This drill has two variable speed options at 0-550 and 0-2,100 and will work in hammer mode at both speeds. Hammer mode is selected by rotating the torque setting ring at the front of the drill. There are a few things that set this apart from my old Makita (non hammer XFD11) drill - this one is quite a bit heavier (it weighs 5 lbs 1 oz with 5Ah battery) and slightly bigger which no doubt is because of the hammer mechanism, however it also feels a lot more solid and has a metal gearbox case at the front (instead of plastic like many drills). Another difference is that this drill uses a very nice ll metal Yukiwa 1/2" keyless chuck with a knurled steel (instead of plastic) collar for tightening the chuck and the chuck feels much better made than my non hammer Makita drill chuck. I had no problem using this on cinder block but not had a chance to try it on concrete yet. The XDT16 impact driver has many more options than my old Makita XDT15 driver and may take a few consultations with the manual before remembering what they are. It has 4 levels of regular impact force mode and then 4 different "assist" modes - one for screwing into wood, one for bolts and two modes intended for driving self tapping screws into thin and thick sheet metal. A nice change from my older driver is although you still change the driver mode by pressing buttons on the base of the driver (see pic), there is now also a really handy button right above the trigger that allows you to change between the current driver mode and one that you pre-selected or "registered". Other improvements over the older Makita driver are: * It has two LEDs to illuminate your work instead of one - either side of the bit. * The driver is more compact and should fit into tighter spaces. * The sleeve where you insert the bit sticks a bit further and is flared slightly so it is easier to grab with gloves on when changing bits. The tools each come with a 5Ah battery and the included bag is great for keeping the tools and charger all together along with drills and bit sets.

Makita 18-Volt LXT Lithium-Ion Brushless Cordless Combo Kit 5.0 Ah (2-Piece) I’m a believer in the quality of Makita products and the long battery life for their cordless tools. This combo features a drill / driver / hammer drill with 1,250 lbs of torque and an impact driver with 1,600 lbs of torque. Both of these have the power to really drive home screws and drill through tough material. The set comes with two 5.0 amp batteries and a charger. If you compare it to other companies' premium sets, you will see that the Makita has more torque and larger (longer lasting) batteries for the money. Truthfully, I did a full day of building a deck with my other Makita driver using two 3.0 amp batteries so these 5.0 amp batteries should handle any job that you have. You won’t be disappointed with this set. Also, it comes with a high quality bag to cart them around in.

Overall, I like these tools, and they are extremely effective. Both are powerful, and feel well made. I mean, it’s a drill / driver combo kit- that is comparable in quality to the other name brands in this price range. A few minor things to note, the electronic mode selection on the driver was not intuitive to me, and I doubt that I personally will get much use out of that feature. Also, the charger is massive, and the status lights again, we’re not intuitive to me.

In the early 1990s I bought Makita's 9.6 volt pistol grip drill kit and that was serious innovation at the time (and cost over $200 in 1990 dollars!). Fast forward to today and Makita drills are packed with power and innovative features unthought of then. On the driver, at first I struggled to figure out what the assist features were all about. But after trying them they make total sense. On 'Assist' it starts your screw or bolt driving slowly so it doesn't wobble all over the place and drive in crooked or take flight - no more losing flesh trying to hold onto the threads with our fingers while the screw starts. The back out reversing mode will help with not losing nuts if you use this in a mechanic setting by slowing/stopping as it senses the fastener spinning out faster and with less torque needed. Any fastener you can toss at this it can most likely handle - deck screws, HeadLOKS, Tek screws, lag bolts etc. The length of the body is extremely short too, so tight spaces shouldn't be a problem. The drill component of this it is a beast. I've used a massive right angle drill with auger bits to drill holes in studs for wiring and those will break your back and wrists. I think this Makita could handle 95 percent of any kind of drilling an electrician or plumber would encounter. I chucked a 1 1/2 inch spade bit into and had no problem drilling into the edge grain of a piece of oak pallet on hammer mode. I'm sure concrete and steel are no problem for it with the appropriate bits too. With the 5 amp hour batteries attached, they are a little on the hefty side though, so something to consider. The bag is of nice quality and has a shoulder strap included and a lot of pockets on the inside and outide for bits or nut drivers/sockets. The gatemouth is reinforced with steel to keep it's shape and the zipper is a quality one with a large pull. The fast charger should keep you in a fresh battery even working the drill or driver hard all day. And it took me some time to figure out but the charger plays a little royalty free music when the battery is done. The fan will stay on though, until you remove the battery. Like everything Makita I have - track saw, pad sanders, belt sander - this is a quality set of tools with monster torque and well-thought out features. Plumbers, electricians, deck builders, handymen, farmers, mechanics...this has a place with all of them.

This is my second Makita cordless tool set. I’ve used many brands of professional cordless tools over the years and these definitely do not disappoint in the quality and ergonomic feel of them in my hand. The grips are very comfortable and the forward/ reverse switch can be maneuvered easily one handed. They feel well balanced in my hand with the supplied 5ah batteries. The 5 ah batteries are pretty much the same size and weight as other brands. The charger took about hour and a half to charge each one initially but subsequent charges were much faster with the supplied rapid charger. The drill was the same weight as my much larger 3 speed yellow and black hammer drill, but was about 2” shorter and had no noticeable difference in power so it seems it’ll do the same job just with the advantage of fitting in more places. The impact driver is where this kit lost a star. I was initially thinking having 4 speeds would be better then the other guys 3 speeds, but when I started trying out all the options on this impact it just became very confusing to know what setting I was actually using and also I couldn’t tell if I had gotten back to a previous setting I had been using. See the attached photos of the multiple setting buttons and of the owners manual on those settings. I’m still not sure how to change to the setting I think I need without consulting the manual. Makita really dropped the ball on this design and over complicated things in an attempt to offer more options then the competition. It just makes the tool difficult to use and I don’t use it as often as a result. Otherwise, I really like the kit and if you already have other Makita tools I think you should give this a consideration.

Let me start by saying that I took a while before doing this review. I gave both of these tools a workout. They are the most powerful cordless tools I have ever used. Let me start with the hammer drill driver. The drill has plenty of features and accessories. It comes with the handle and depth gauge and hook to hang the drill, which can be installed on either side of the drill. All of the controls are easy to operate, such as the reversing switch, speed change lever, the adjusting ring for selecting between the different drilling modes and to adjust the screwdriving clutch. The impact driver is also powerful and well designed. All of the controls are also easy to operate. It is simple to change the application modes in order to customize the operation of the drill depending on material you are working with. You can easily change the force of the impact. Both tools also have useful LED lights. Two batteries and a charger are included as is a storage bag. The batteries have built in charge indicators and they are long lasting, they also charge quickly. Another feature is the brushless motors with their extreme protection technology for improved dust and water resistance. I am sure I am missing some of the features, but I am extremely pleased with this combo set.

Good power to battery life and good grips. The brushless motors are efficient and provide feedback to the trigger for speed and torque control. The drill has a 2 stage mechanical transmission - low is 0-500 RPM (best for driving) and high 0-2000 RPM (best for drilling). The drill has some modes that I'm still learning about. The assist handle can be attached on the left or right side for the depth gage stop without any tools for the hammer drill operation. It locks onto the front aluminum housing of the drill by turning the handle. The chuck is keyless and 1/2". About 5 pounds with the battery installed, without the assist handle. The driver has amazing torque for a tool this weight and size. Multiple modes, selectable to the amount of torque applied for the job. The chuck is a quick release 1/4" hex. About 3.5 pounds with the battery installed. Both have LEDs to illuminate the contact area. They stay on for ~10 seconds after the trigger is released. I like this; just touch the trigger for a second before you want to engage the socket or drill bit and I can see what I'm doing in poor light. No vents on the back so you can add additional contact pressure if needed. Belt clips are included for both if you want to use them on either side for right/left hand use. The smart charger base has a cooling fan that can help cool hot batteries before charging them and a 8' 2 pin 120VAC plug. These high capacity batteries take about an hour to recharge from empty to full. The included carry bag is a nice touch. It holds the drill and driver (with batteries), charger and has several pockets with Velcro and clips inside to secure bit cases and the external pockets (6) hold misc tools. It comes with a shoulder strap that I don't use...the handles are comfortable and I don't need to carry it long distances.