I’m wondering if it’s worth the jump. The brushless are said to “run 57% longer”. Looks like the chucks are better...I’m sure other things too, but is it worth it? Anyone have both and have some feedback for me?
I have both a brushed and brushless impact drivers and drills (not Dewalt but I have used their brushed 20V offerings) and I'm not sure it's really worth it when it comes to the impact driver unless it makes a significant difference in how compact the tool is or if the multi speed control has a specific benefit to how you use it. Like it if has a self-tapping mode, small screw mode or whatever.
The reality is that a lot of these new impact drivers are already strong enough to snap socket adapters, strip out screws, etc. From a power perspective I think they're reaching their useful limits. I recently had to go back to my old brushed impact driver when running 6" x 3/8" T40 lags and both ran the them fine. Yes my new Makita was more compact and was likely a little faster but I barely noticed it. And if anything I like the trigger on my old Hitachi better.
But again, from a power control perspective I think some of the tech on these new drivers is interesting. I don't have that type of speed control on my Makita brushless driver and I'm not sure if the Dewalt you linked to has it so I can't really comment further.
I do appreciate the power on my new brushless drill. I used it to pre-drill 1/4" thick angle iron and for drilling pocket holes with the Kreg HD kit where I didn't have access to electric for my corded drill. Very impressed with that new Makita drill.
So I guess this really depends on the specific features the kit you're looking at has. You mentioned the drill chuck but also look at how long/heavy each tool is and what sort of multi speed control they have vs your current set.
I also now have several other brushless tools (circular saw, reciprocating saw, angle grinders) and having compared them to fairly recent brushed versions I can say that's where I think it's worth spending the extra money. If I were in your shoes I'd be looking at spending the money you've saved on those sorts of tools, assuming you need them in cordless in the first place.
And as long as I've brought up other tools, I'll also say I seem to have an awful lot of overlap in my driving & impacting tools (clutched 1/4" driver, drill/impact driver and compact impact wrench).
Personally I think I'd be better off with an oil-pulse impact driver instead of a regular impact driver. If it wasn't up to the task for some of the lag work I do then I'd get some torx impact sockets and use my compact impact wrench for those.
Not sure what other cordless tools you have or need but I thought I'd mention that before you make your decision. For example, if you have or if you're considering a compact impact wrench then maybe see if Dewalt has or is coming out with an oil-pulse driver.
