Flex 10.8v impact mini review. PICS and VIDEO

I ordered this Flex 10.8v impact (part number 341.487) and it arrived today. I've never owned a cordless impact, but I thought it could be a handy tool. I'm only a DIY'er, but I can think of several jobs in the last month where this would have been useful.

I bought it from Toolbarn.com The kit cost $74.90 after shipping. I paid a few dollars extra for 2-day shipping. I wasn't sure about ordering from Toolbarn, but it was a good experience. I placed my order on the Memorial Day holiday, and the tool arrived on Thursday.

This set is made in China, according to another member who emailed the company and asked. Flex is is a German company that makes power tools, but they bought these private-labeled cordless tools from a company called Durofix. Link to Durofix page on the impact.

Here are my initial impressions:

The case is high quality. The case is sturdy with a nice handle. It has real hinges, not those thin, moulded plastic hinges that always break.

The charger is very heavy. The charger has quite a bit of heft. It's not one of those cheap ones that has no weight and just constantly charges the battery. There is definitely a transformer or something heavy in there. Note-this is a 1-hour charger.

The batteries are very light. I've never owned a Li-Ion tool before, so perhaps this is normal. They are clearly much lighter than a Ni-cad batter of the same size would be. They are rated at 1.3 Ah.

The fit and finish on the drill seems good. This appears to be well constructed. The molding is well done and the brushes are replaceable.

The impact was made in October, 2007. That's according to a sticker on the tool and batteries. These tools are on clearance, but this is older than I was expecting. However, it was factory sealed in shrink wrap. There was a battery in the drill, and it worked great right out of the box without any charging. The video I took is on the original, out-of-the box charge.

I'm a little confused about the specs. The Flex website lists the max torque as 38 ft. lbs. (460 in lbs.), but the Durofix website lists the max torque as 890 in lbs. There could be some differences in the models, but they look identical.

Overall, my initial impressions are very good, considering this is a $75 dollar impact. We shall see how it holds up over time.

I took a quick video driving some 3" deck screws. This is pretty light duty for this tool, but it worked great.

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Re: Flex 10.8v impact mini review. Pics and video.

Seems like good buy. If my Craftsman dies, I'd consider this.

Thanks for the video and good pictures

Edit: Bigger than Snap-On model, but for the money and power I think this is better deal.

Thanks for the review and video, look like a great deal. Something makes me think its related to the Matco 10.8 volt stuff....

TheGrooveking

TheGrooveking said:

Thanks for the review and video, look like a great deal. Something makes me think its related to the Matco 10.8 volt stuff....

TheGrooveking

Click to expand...

Hmmm....There are some cosmetic similarities, but some differences as well.

The charger looks totally different.

I guess I would be surprised if they shared any lineage.

Great review/video! Sounds like a good buy at $75 otd.

2.5 year update:

I've used this thing quite a lot of times over the last two-and-a-half years. I went with this cheaper option because I wasn't sure I'd use it too much, but I've used it more than I expected. I'll definitely be willing to shell out some decent coin for a more expensive model to replace this one.

I would say this impact has performed very well. It's small, so it isn't useful for many automotive jobs other than interior work or small underhood duties.

The battery life seems pretty good. Both batteries are still working well, but they may not drive as many screws on a charge as they did when new. The batteries don't lose a charge while sitting, at least not a significantly noticeable amount.

The batteries are major affected by cold temps. I have to remember to store this tool in my basement during the winter instead of the garage. If I leave it out in the cold it will perform very poorly until it warms up. But, I believe that's the case with most Li-ion batteries.

I know this was just sourced by Flex and actually made by Durofix. I would not hesitate to buy a Durofix tool in the future or one of the AC Delco tools Durofix makes.

The cold weather affecting the batteries was common in 2007. My Bosch 10.8 which cost almost 3 times your $75 did the same thing,was purchased in 07. My M12/M18 stuff is not affected at all by the cold and I carry mine in my trucks side box. When I was in ND Dec 20 it was -18 and I got the impact out to put on a tag. Worked perfect.

I am surprised the batteries are still working.My Bosch had 3 out 4 bad batteries last summer when I gave it to my friend. You definitely got your monies worth.

Lithium batts are great. Don't drain them and let them sit though, if they drop below a certain voltage, there's a point of no return and they're essentially dead. Tools are usually designed to cut out much before that voltage, so you have a margin of safety, but don't drain a battery and let it sit for a year.

Definetly going to be considered next time!

Before I retired from the electrical trade several decades ago we used Milwaukee "Hole Shooters" with great success. Years after I bought a Makita 1/2" VSR hammer drill for $139.00 and that was very good. About a year or so ago I just just bought one of HF 1/2" VSR hammer drills for $30.00 and it does everything all the others did at a throw away price.
This drill was used to stir drywall mud and you could smell the insulation cooking, but after it cooled down it ran just fine and is still running years later. Because of this I bought two more and have had no problems. They may be more convenient but I don't like charging batteries or replacing them when they die, so I still use corded power tools as much as possible.