I previously posted about a new Makita 18V sub-compact brushless cordless drill, and it’s accompanied by an equally sub-compact brushless impact driver in a combo kit, CX200RB.
The individual tools and the combo kit were all excluded from Makita’s holiday promos.
About a week ago, Ben emailed me about an in-store Home Depot Makita 18V tool promo that someone had posted a photo of on Instagram.
Buy the combo kit, CX200RB, at its regular price of $229, and get a free Makita 18V 2.0Ah Li-ion battery pack!
I couldn’t find anything at the time, and didn’t see the deal at my local HD, but the deal appears to have gone live online!
I have a lot to say about this new Makita sub-compact brushless cordless combo kit in an upcoming review, and you’ll see both tools mentioned favorably in my next Best Cordless Drills and Best Cordless Impact Drivers update.
These are essentially 12V-sized tools, with 18V-sized battery packs. They are almost freakishly compact, and I say “almost” in case you see “freakishly compact” is a bad thing.
The tools are not quite perfect. I’m not yet used to the adjustable clutch on the drill, which I find to be a little too rearward. If this was to be my primary drill, I’d get used to it. I guess the choice was to push the clutch wheel back a little, or to modify the grip and balance. If so, they went in the right direction – I can get used to adjusting the clutch with my fingertips, but there would be no adjusting to an uncomfortably or imbalanced grip.
Both tools have brushless motors, and are lowered powered than most standard-model compact 18V drills and impact drivers. But they’re more capable than I would have expected. I still have to push them to their limits, but I can see them serving as everyday tools for a lot of users. You might want to keep something higher powered in your truck, tool bag, or toolbox, just in case.
These aren’t flaws, but compromises.
I could see these as being “12V tool killers.” The fit the role of being super compact and lightweight, while working off of a battery platform size that more people find to be most practical.
The tools themselves are comparable in size to 12V Max-class drills and impact drivers, and might even be smaller! The battery pack is still 18V-sized, so you don’t quite get all the way down to 12V Max-class size.
Price: $229
As part of this deal, you get a free bonus 18V 2.0Ah Li-ion battery pack, the new one with built-in fuel gauge. The battery typically retailers for $70-79 each, or $109 for a 2-pack.
For a new cordless combo kit that has been excluded from recent discount deals, this is a good combo.
While I prefer money-off deals, with this one you at least get something extra for the regular retail price.
Buy Now(via HD)
Compare(via Amazon)
Deal Expiration: Unknown
I didn’t explicitly say it yet, but I REALLY LIKE both tools. The size and surprisingly-still-reasonable capabilities of the drill let me overlook the clutch wheel comfort compromise, and the impact is quite nice as well.
Drill Specs
- 350 in-lbs max torque
- 0-500, 0-1700 RPM
- Weighs 2.8 lbs with battery
- 6-3/8″ long
Impact Specs
- 1240 in-lbs max torque
- 0-1300/0-3000 RPM, 0-1600, 0-3900 IPM
- Assist mode (A mode)
- Weighs 2.6 lbs with battery
- 5-5/16″ long
The Assist mode helps to avoid camming out and cross threading by starting fasteners at a slower speed until the impact mechanism engages.
The kit comes with (2) 2.0Ah Li-ion battery packs, a charger, and carrying case, and this bundled adds in a 3rd battery pack.
The included charger can fully recharge a 2.0Ah battery pack in 25 minutes.