Best buys · The garage

The best impact driver worth buying

Our pick is the DeWalt 20V MAX impact driver. Below: why, what actually matters when buying one, what to get for less, the step up, and whether today's price is a good one.

The impact driver

DeWalt 20V MAX impact driver

Drives a long screw into a joist without stripping the head or wrenching your wrist, which a drill struggles to do. Buy it as a bare tool and run it on the drill's batteries.

Buy it for
Decks, fences, sheds, anything held together with long screws.
Skip it if
You only hang shelves and pictures. The drill already does that.

What actually matters when buying an impact driver

  1. The same battery platform as your drill. A bare tool on batteries you already own costs far less.
  2. Brushless motor and more than one speed, so it can drive a small screw without snapping it.
  3. A hex chuck that takes bits one-handed.

Either side of the pick