There is no denying it brushless tools are taking over. The extended runtime, compact size, longer motor life and higher power output make the choice obvious. Makita was one of the first to really push their brushless impact driver with the 3 Speed LXDT01 ($295, Amazon) which includes (2) 3.0Ah batteries. Their latest brushless impact driver keeps the same basic brushless motor but loses the 3 speed option and lowers the cost LXDT08 ($275, Amazon).
The big question for us is do you really need a 3 speed impact driver? We have been using our single speed impact driver for years now and we love it. Our thought has been there is pretty good control for small screws to lag bolts but we have grown accustom to the feel. Not to long ago we were hanging drywall with some volunteer help not familiar with impact drivers and it was amazing how difficult it was for them not to over screw with the impact.
Our thought from then on was honestly that the 3 speed controls on the impacts were for people who really don’t know how to use the tool properly. Like the stogy old carpenters we talk to that get offended by fractions on the a tape measure because it’s second nature to them to know every hash on that tape. We really don’t want to be that pessimistic so we thought it would be a good opportunity to stick these impacts side by side and see if we could duplicate the output of a 3 speed with the single speed in the video below.
We actually did several more tests while not holding the camera in one hand and for the most part we could fairly accurately match the torque on the low setting but there were still some torque spikes. Applications this might apply towards would be very small brass screws or something along those lines. No question on these types of application the 3 speed is going to be a better tool all around.
The 3 speed also offers several additional features such as a glow in the dark ring on the tool, a battery indicator which alerts you if the tool is overheating, the LED light has on/off and LED stays on 5 seconds after trigger is released (single speed LED only on while trigger is pulled).
In testing the 3 speed unit also produces slightly higher torque which should not be the case based on rating of 1420 in.lbs. for both tools. However we were also breaking the ¼” hex to ½” square adaptors left and right were getting lower numbers as these bits failed. This does bring up the obvious problem with all impact drivers whether Makita, Milwaukee, Dewalt, Bosch, etc that even with impact specific accessories (used here) torque at these levels are going to have trouble pushing the limits of any ¼” hex shanks.
Overall we like the features of the 3 speed and even though part of me is still saying it’s not necessary if you know what you are doing. Truth is however if there was a very small screw currently we would probably use a drill (that has 20 speeds) not an impact. With this low speed perhaps now we will go for the impact driver and really at the end of the day the goal of any impact driver should be to handle all fastening application better than a drill would.