Why The Makita LCT300W ?

I’ve got a friend who is looking for a cordless drill which is both light and powerful. Not too difficult you might think, there are plenty of cordless drills to choose from and they all do virtually the same thing. Well I offered to do some research for him and it turns out this is not neccessarily the case. Turns out that cordless drills come in all sizes and shapes and getting the wrong drill would be easy to do. I finally came up with the Makita LCT300W 18Volt Lithium Ion 3 Piece Combo Kit as the best cordless drill for my friend.

What is a driver?

Key Elements In Choosing The Right Cordless Drill

Getting The Right Voltage

The voltage of a cordless drill is arguably the most important component to consider when choosing the one which will suit your needs best.

Higher voltage drills are more powerful (but also tend to be heavier). For some jobs you need a high voltage drill and the Makita LCT300W comes in at an impressive 18 Volts. This is higher than most drills in its class but it also manages to pack all of this voltage into a light package (only 3.5lbs) which means you can drill with all of the power you need without the fatigue.

Extracting The Juice From The All Important Battery

Anyone who has ever owned and used a cordless drill for any amount of time will tell you how important it is to get the right battery.

This is where cheaper models will often fall down, the battery is just not up to the job. When looking at a cordless drill battery you need to consider how long a single charge will last for, how quickly a depleted battery can be recharged and whether the drill comes with a spare battery (important if you are a heavy pro user).

The Makita comes with an 18V Lithium-Ion battery which is considered the best kind of battery for power tools. Lithium-Ion batteries have the highest energe density of all batteries, meaning they can store a lot of energy in a small volume – meaning a lighter battery for you without sacrificing the power. They also avoid the common problem which NiCd batteries suffer from which is that they slowly lose their charge capacity after a number of full recharges. Lithium Ion batteries will keep giving you a full charge for the life of the battery.

Makita claim their battery weighs 40% less than traditional NiCd batteries, delivers 200 cycles (which is two and a half times as many as NiCd) and 5 times lower self discharge meaning if you haven’t used your drill for a while it will still be raring to go.

Dual Purpose – Holes And Screws

A Weighty Problem

Keeping Your Eye On The Job

Does It Include A Warranty?

Yes, the Makita Lithium-Ion tool comes with a full  3-Year Warranty (it covers you for repair due to defects in materials or workmanship if something should go wrong) which gives you longer peace of mind than the industry standard of 1 year.

The Lithium-Ion batteries and charger comes with a limited 1-year warranty. The fine print on their warranty can be found on the Makita website.

What Others Are Saying About It

This Makita Cordless Drill has received rave plaudits on the Amazon website and holds a rating of 4 and half stars (out of five). Here are a selection of the comments people who have bought the drill have left on the Amazon site:

• “Significantly less pressure is required to keep the phillips bit in contact with the screw head. I’ve driven 3″ wood screws all week and not a single stripped head”
• “You would spend twice this to get the equivalent from another manufacturer”
• “I can use the impact drive all day on two full battery charges…”
• “They seriously lighten my load when I’m lugging a bag of tools…”

Where Can I Buy It?

From Amazon

Makes it much more useful.

# 2-speed 1/2-Inch Driver-Drill (0-400/0-1, 500 RPM) with Makita-built 4-pole motor delivers 450 in.lbs. of Max Torque and weighs only 3.5 lbs
# Variable speed Impact Driver (0-2, 300 RPM) provides 1, 280 in.lbs. of Max Torque in a compact design and weighs only 2.8 lbs
# 4-Position Flashlight with Xenon bulb runs over 2 hours per charge
# Makita Compact Lithium-Ion battery and Energy Star rated 15-Minute Rapid Optimum Charger produces 430% total lifetime work with 2.5X more cycles
# 3-year warranty on tools and 1-year warranty on batteries and charge

drilling, driving and fastening in a more compact size

powerful impact driver that weighs just 2.8 pounds

Driver-Drill delivers 450 in/lbs of efficient torque in a compact size and weighs only 3.5 lbs

rechargeable flashlight.

18V compact lithium-ion battery and the ENERGY STAR rated Makita Rapid Optimum Charger.

Makita-built four-pole maximum torque motor that delivers 450 in.lbs. of Max Torque and 285 in.lbs. of PTI Torque

two-speed all-metal transmission that delivers 0-450 RPM in low speed and 0-1,500 RPM in high for a wide range of drilling and driving applications.

ergonomic shape that fits like a glove for reduced operator fatigue

built-in L.E.D. light that illuminates the work area for more efficient work

flashlight with Xenon bulb

The LCT300W includes two 18V compact lithium-ion batteries and a Rapid Optimum Charger for increased battery and charging power–and less downtime on the job site

drilling, driving, and fastening (variety of applications)

pro trades including HVAC, plumbing, electrical, remodeling, woodworking

When compared to traditional 18V Ni-Cd batteries, Makita’s 18V Lithium-Ion batteries have 40% less weight, longer run time, and five-times lower self-discharge to keep cells active and ready to use at any time.

Makita’s 18V Lithium-Ion battery delivers 2,000 cycles–2.5X more than Ni-Cd.

built-in shock absorbing features help protect the battery

16 firm-holding contact terminals deliver constant high power

During the charging process, a built-in memory chip in the battery communicates with the Optimum Charger for a more efficient charge, extending the battery life

Makita’s Optimum Charger is also faster: it will charge an 18V LXT Lithium-Ion battery in just 30 minutes, and an 18V compact lithium-ion battery in only 15 minutes

best power-to-weight ratio for both driver-drill and impact driver

all the pros now do their screw driving with these (impact drivers)

Significantly less pressure is required to keep the phillips bit in contact with the screw head. I’ve driven 3″ wood screws all week and not a single stripped head (no more stripped heads)

Enough to push a 1 1/4″ self feeding bit through 3 1/2″ of pressure treated lumber the high torgue setting.

Has four convenient head angle adjustments from 0 degrees to about 110 degrees and a strap for hanging

You would spend twice this to get the equivalent from another manufacturer (savings by buying the combo pack)

I can use the impact drive all day on two full battery charges (15 min per charge)

I mean i can put the impact driver in the side pocket on my cargo shorts, or back pocket of my carhartts and comfortably climb a ladder like that. They seriously lighten my load when I’m lugging a bag of tools to a gig outside the shop, too.

Warranty
Every Makita Lithium-Ion tool is backed by Makita’s 3-Year Warranty that covers repair due to defects in materials or workmanship up to three years from the date of original purchase.
Makita Lithium-Ion batteries and chargers have a limited 1-year warranty. Please see makitatools.com for complete details.

Whats in the box?
1/2-Inch Driver-Drill, Impact Driver, Flashlight, two 18V compact Lithium-Ion batteries, Rapid Optimum Charger, and contractor bag.