The major players in the plumbing tool market have some competition with the announcement of the new Makita 18V X2 right-angle drill. As Makita’s first cordless right-angle drill in this class, it has some serious muscles to flex.

Pros

Powerful right-angle drill with no cord
Excellent runtime
Excellent kit value
Bind-up protection

Cons

Bare tool price is a little more than red and yellow

$529 at Acme Tools

$504 on Amazon

Build Quality and Features

The 2-speed Makita-built brushless motor has 2 speeds. 0 – 350 RPM is where you’ll work in your high-torque applications. That gets you up to a 6-1/4-inch maximum hole saw diameter – 1/4-inch more than what’s recommended for the Milwaukee M18 Fuel Super Hawg.

The second mode shifts you to 0-1400 RPM. That top speed is higher than most of the right-angle drills for this class, and it opens up some possibilities. When you’re working with bits that don’t need your high torque mode, you’ll drill faster through studs and joists.

As you can tell from the name, the Makita 18V X2 right-angle drill is part of the 18V X2 line of high-performance tools. The big deal here is that you get the advantage of 36V power without having to pony up and add another battery platform.

Makita 18V X2 Right Angle Drill Highlights

Drill up to (160) 2-9/16″ holes in 2x SPF on one charge
Makita-built brushless motor
Automatic Speed Change
Metal gear housing
Built-in clutch limits torque in low-speed bind-ups
Electric brake
LED work light
Tether notch
Adjustable top handle
Auxiliary handle included

Performance

Our crew typically uses a corded Milwaukee drill with an auger bit to make holes for wire, and I know many crews use a similar tool. It’s a fine tool for the application, but it’s really not optimal. First, it won’t fit between the studs, so you have to start drilling at a slight angle. The cord is a pain, of course. It also leaves us at risk of injury during a bind-up, especially if one of us hits a nail. We’ve all had the painful experience of getting our wrists wrenched or even getting thrown into the wall during a bind-up.

Since the average home requires around 400 holes, all the sub-optimal aspects of our regular drill situation really add up. The Makita 18V X2 Right Angle Drill, however, doesn’t have these drawbacks. With a short auger bit, the Makita fit comfortably between the studs.

Makita 18V X2 Right Angle Drill XAD03 Review

We were using an exceptionally long auger bit in the photos, which makes the tool much longer. A couple of the guys on our crew like using the long bit because they can drill through top plates without climbing a ladder. But using a shorter bit makes drilling between studs a cakewalk.

You Know The Drill

The hole-making speed alone of the Makita 18V X2 Right Angle Drill isn’t much different than our regular drill, but it still makes the job faster because we aren’t fighting with studs, pulling a cord, or worrying about a torque accident.

Makita’s reliable torque limiter, which only operates at low speeds, disengaged the gears several times during the review. The green power light turns red to indicate that the tool hasn’t stopped because the battery is dead, but rather because the safety feature has kicked in. Reverse works as normal so that you can get out of the bind and spin it up again.

I thought low speed was a bit on the slow side, but it’s actually right on par with Makita’s big, red competitor. Of course, if you’re drilling multiple boards or using big hole saws for plumbing, you need that high-torque, low-speed mode.

Although the Makita is bigger and heavier than our typical setup, I didn’t feel nearly as tired using it. The excellent ergonomics of the handles certainly help.

The runtime is impressive, too. On one 1,530-square-foot house, I drilled out about 80% of the holes before needing to recharge the 5.0 Ah packs. You receive a dual-port Rapid Charger with the kit, allowing you to regain a full charge in approximately 45 minutes.

The air-cooled charger has a super-convenient USB charger for phones, which all the guys love having access to. In any event, it only takes about 45 minutes to charge the batteries, during which time we were busy running wire through the holes we already drilled. It’s nice to have the big voltage and stay on the 18V platform.

Pro Tip: Lithium-ion batteries don’t have memory like Ni-Cad. Put your batteries on the charger at lunch and you can run all day on one set.

There is one issue Makita has with the length of the auxiliary T-handle – it’s just way too long. It makes the drilling more unstable. I’d rather have the handle right up close to the drill head so I can apply direct pressure. Understandably, all auxiliary handle lengths on any drill are a function of how much torque each one has, so that’s not a knock against Makita’s design. But I’d still like a shorter one.

Price & Value

The Makita 18V X2 Right Angle Drill comes in around $529 as a bare tool and $630 with two 5.0 Ah batteries (180 total watt-hours) and a dual-port Rapid Charger. Here’s how the competition shakes out:

Milwaukee M18 Fuel Super Hawg (2709/2711)
- $349 bare
- $549 kith with two 5.0 Ah batteries (180 total watt-hours)
- $649 kit with 9.0 Ah battery (216 total watt-hours
DeWalt FlexVolt Stud & Joist Drill
- $249 bare
- $349 kit with 2.0/6.0 battery (108 total watt-hours)
- $399 kit with two 2.0/6.0 batteries (216 total watt-hours)
DeWalt FlexVolt In-Line Stud & Joist Drill
- $399 bare
- $549 kit with 3.0/9.0 battery (162 total watt-hours)

Clearly, the three leaders are all around the same price. Makita stretches its capacity (a function of its power) a little higher than Milwaukee’s. DeWalt claims their new model is the most powerful corded or cordless, but I haven’t seen the documentation to prove it yet.