The Best Impact Drivers For All Your Fastening Needs

The DCF887 is the DEWALT we drove through sleepers in our video, and it did the job without any fuss. There's plenty in reserve for long timber screws and coach screws in softwood, with DEWALT quoting 205 Nm of torque from the brushless motor, a no-load speed of 3,250 rpm and 3,800 impacts per minute.

Three power modes and DEWALT's PrecisionDrive setting let you slow it right down for small screws and soft materials, so it isn't only a brute. A triple LED ring lights the work without the shadow you get from a single light, and it weighs 1.5 kg with the battery fitted. The M1 kit adds an 18V 4.0Ah battery, charger, belt hook, magnetic bit holder and a toolbox. Our one gripe from the sleeper job is that it got through batteries quickly, so a second pack is worth having.

Makita is the other brand we rate most highly, and the DTD153Z is a compact brushless driver that's easy to live with. Its real strength is size. At 117 mm long and 1.5 kg it fits between joists and studs where a bulkier driver won't go, and Makita still quotes 170 Nm of torque and 3,600 rpm, with three power settings and forward and reverse.

The brushless motor runs cooler than older brushed models, which helps on longer sessions. There's also a TEK mode, which drops the impact power as a self-drilling screw finishes so you don't overtighten it or strip the thread. It's sold as a bare tool, so it makes the most sense if you already have Makita 18V batteries in the shed, like the 5.0Ah packs in our photos. We can't read the model number on the Makita drivers shown, so they aren't necessarily this one.

On paper the Ryobi R18IDBL-0 is the most powerful driver in this roundup, with up to 270 Nm of torque and an impact rate of 3,900 per minute. Four power modes let you match the output to the job, from small screws into softwood up to long fixings through sleepers.

Ryobi says its brushless motor runs cooler and lasts up to 10 times longer than its brushed motors, and it quotes up to 284 screws per charge with a 2.5Ah Lithium+ battery. The box includes an impact screwdriver bit and a 3/8 inch socket adapter, which lets you use sockets for coach bolts. It's bulkier than the Makita or Bosch, so it's less comfortable in tight spaces.

The Bosch GDR 12 V-105 runs on a 12V battery, and that keeps it light at 1.2 kg with the battery fitted. The head is only 137 mm long, so it slips into cupboards, between studs and up into loft spaces where the 18V drivers feel clumsy.

Bosch quotes 105 Nm of torque, a no-load speed of 2,600 rpm and an impact rate of 3,100 per minute, and says it's 44 percent faster than the model it replaced. An LED work light, forward and reverse, and protection against overload, overheating and deep discharge round it out. It won't match the 18V drivers on sleepers or long coach screws, but it suits fixing plasterboard, battens and furniture.

We recently got hold of a Milwaukee M18 Fuel impact driver, and it impressed us when we used it to fix down a new deck. The model number isn't readable in our photo, so the figures below for the M18FID-0 come from Milwaukee. Four modes cover different speeds, impact rates and torque levels, so you can switch between full power for long decking screws and a gentler setting that stops small screws snapping or heads stripping.

Milwaukee quotes 203 Nm of torque through a 1/4 inch hex drive. The M18 battery system uses cell monitoring to manage run time and protect the pack, and the driver adds digital overload protection, an on-board battery gauge and a bright LED work light. Register it and you get a three-year warranty. It's relatively expensive, and it's sold as a bare tool.

The INGCO comes as a complete kit, which is where it saves you money against the big brands. In the bag you get the driver, two batteries, a fast charger, screwdriver bits and nut holders, so you're working as soon as the batteries are charged. INGCO says the charger fills a battery in an hour.

It's rated at 170 Nm of torque with up to 3,300 blows per minute, and it has a charge display, an LED work light and a comfortable, lightweight grip. It isn't as high performing as the branded drivers here, but for flat-pack, shelves and the odd fence repair it does the job.