DEWALT 20V MAX Cordless Drill Combo Kit, 2-Tool (DCK240C2) Review

I would have bought them a long time ago if I knew how powerful these drills are! I have built many things with them, and they have never disappointed. I didn’t experience any fatigue from using the drills for long periods like I have experienced working with other drills. I own several expensive brand drills, but find that I always reach for the Dewalt. The Batteries last for a very long time & they charge up fast. The drills are easy to use, and are very powerful drill set. I would highly recommend it.

The Dewalt DCK283D2 MAX XR Lithium Ion Brushless Compact Drill and Driver set is, at the time of this review (Aug 9, 2016) the latest and greatest iteration of Dewalt’s 20V Compact Drill and Impact Driver. I bought them as an upgrade for the older 18V Dewalt tools (hammer drill, compact drill, and circular saw) which I have owned for almost a decade. All I can say is HOLY COW THESE ARE AMAZING!

It’s stunning how far technology has come. Compared to my older 18V tools–which were very good–these are considerably smaller, lighter, and more powerful, plus just as durable or more so! Seriously, I should have upgraded sooner. Of course, it’s probably a good thing I waited, as these newest versions (DCD791 Compact Drill and DCF887 Impact Driver) have the advantage of better illumination options (brighter LEDs, with a 20 second standard shut off delay after activation, as well as a 20-minute illumination option). Far from a gimmick, the brightness and placement of these lights is a major convenience any time you have to drive a fastener from inside a dark cabinet or other confined/poorly lit space.

Dewalt also makes a hammer drill version of their compact drill, as well as a full size regular and full size hammer drill. I decided that if I ever need the power of a hammer drill, I will invest in the full-size hammer drill. But for 95% of all things I do or make with my tools, this DCD791 Compact Drill has PLENTY of power, and the light weight and slim form factor are amazing. I can get into small spaces much easier, and support the tool for much longer without fatigue. Need to drive a 2-1/4″ hole-saw through 3/4″ plywood? No problem! I’m totally thrilled with this compact drill’s performance.

The Impact Driver is equally exciting. Even more compact than the drill, it offers a nearly ideal balance between brute power (especially on setting 3) and delicate driving tasks (settings 2 or 1). Thanks to the reduced speed as well as reduced torque on setting 1, I am comfortable driving even relatively delicate #6 and #4 screws into wood with it. And on setting 2, it drives #8 1-1/2″ screws very quickly, with the impact function kicking in just as the head of the fastener begins to seat. Perfect! I’ve driven a few hundred screws with it now–about four times faster than I can drive them with my old 12V Bosch driver–and not one seated too deeply or tore out. 90% of the time I leave it on setting 2 and the sensitivity of the trigger gives me enough control to drive fasteners anywhere from reassuringly slow to blazingly fast. As I previously alluded, I also find that the level of control with an impact driver is markedly better (compared to a standard cordless driver) when seating fasteners flush. The ratchet provides audible and palpable feedback at the moment the fastner is beginning to seat and tighten, making it a lot easier to avoid over-driving the fastener below the surface of your material.

A couple of things to know about these 20V tools…. First, 20V is the max operating voltage; these are technically 18V tools, so the 20V claim is a bit of a marketing gimmick. What makes them “more powerful” is not the voltage but the fact that they use better parts/components than the 18V tool line that Dewalt also still sells. At the same time, they are also more compact than most equivalent tools in the 18V line. The chief advantage over the older 18V tools is the use of Lithium Ion (memory-less) batteries. My older 18V batteries HAD to be fully discharged and recharged at least once every month or they would go bad alarmingly quickly. Since I’m the kind of guy who tends to tackle a nine-month boat-building project, and then take a few months off before I start something else, this meant I kept finding myself needing to buy expensive replacement batteries. After doing that twice–and spending WAY too many years juggling four half-dead batteries between my tools and two charging stations–I finally upgraded to this newer 20V system. WOW… the batteries are so much lighter, smaller, and more powerful… and they don’t seem to discharge (let alone go bad) at all, even if left unattended and uncharged for more than a month. This is a major improvement over the NiCad 18V batteries, which would need to be replaced or would barely hold a charge if neglected to that same extent. Also, just for reference, I recently built a rolling kitchen island for my wife (22″ x 36″ x 35-1/4″), plus four small portable tool-organizer cabinets (11″ x 11″ x 18″) over the past two weeks using this drill and driver. At present, I still have not recharged anything. The impact driver battery still shows a full three bars of power and the drill battery shows two bars of power when I press the battery gauge. So not only do they hold a charge well, but they obviously operate quite efficiently. I’ve been doing a lot of drilling and fastening on these projects, including making a few cutouts for power cords with a 2″ and a 1-1/4″ hole-saw. I’ve also dropped them three times already from approximately 3′ height–hard enough to bounce them–but the plastic and rubber cladding are so durable there is no sign of any scuff or crack. This is the familiar DeWalt build quality that I’ve come to know and love!

If you are still using the older 18V tools with batteries that don’t hold a charge like they used to, or if you’re still using corded tools, or if you don’t have a drill/driver and think you might like one, do yourself a favor and BUY THIS SET. It is outstanding, and it will do 95% of what most DIY’ers need to do with these tools. The only reason to look at the full size or hammer drill versions is if you’re pretty certain you will need to drill into stone, brick, or masonry at some point (and more than once or twice). In that case, a hammer drill is pretty much a necessity and will save you considerable effort.

[UPDATE 8-20-2016: Today my drill’s battery dropped to one bar for the first time since I began using this set. So that means the 2Ah battery lasted approximately three weeks, during which time I built a rolling kitchen island, three mini tool-organizer cabinets, a rack for organizing my clamps, a large drawer, and a few miscellaneous small tool holders, plus drilled over a dozen holes through 3/4″ plywood with hole saws ranging from 1-1/4 to 2-1/4″ diameter. That’s a LOT of drilling and driving, and I’m sure I could have kept going for awhile since it just dropped from two to one bar today. The impact driver currently still has two of three bars when I check the battery gauge, so it has yet to see the charger. This is such a great set. So lightweight and compact, yet very powerful. Not once have these tools bogged down or even slowed in operation. Awesome.]

A great upgrade to my older Dewalt Drill Drivers, The battery life isn’t as good as the older drills, but they recharge faster so there’s give and take. I bought a set of spare batteries and I swap and charge pretty often. That keeps up with heavy use very well. I put the steps and landing together in a part day using the drill to pre drill, and the impact to drive the screws. Never had to wait for charge with the extra set of batteries. The impact wouldn’t set a 3 1/2″ deck screw through a 2×4 and into a 4×4. It killed the battery dead with one screw. However, the drill/driver did it just fine. It has to be the gear ratio, because the impact is really fast.