Makita - LCT208W (Rating: 5)

I just wanted to share the latest addition to my cordless tool set. I have been building my Makita LXT inventory throughout the years. In the past I have used several brands of the 12 volt lithium sets.

I first bought a Sears Nextec drill/jigsaw/flashlight set. It actually was a good set, but I found a few annoying things about the tools. The sears drill had a sticky speed switch and the jigsaw was awkward to hold in your hand and switch on. It worked better as a reciprocating saw. To often the blades (U shank) would fall out. Needless to say I gave the set to my son and he enjoys it for the small projects.

Second I purchase the Bosch Multimax 12volt and afterward bought the the Bosch PS20 so I could build on a custom set with additional batteries. I read the reviews on the Multimax and it seemed the downfall was the battery life. The PS20 has the hex bit attachment and a much better tool than the nextec in performance, but I felt I didn't need another driver since I had my Makitas. I did keep the Multimax because Makita did not have such a tool. I have found this to be indispensable while remodeling and as far as I am concerned the batteries have held up just fine during cuts/scraping and sanding.

Yesterday I was browsing through Home Depot and came across the new Makita LCT208W 12volt set. Seems to be Makita has wanted to keep pace with all the other companies in the 12 volt series. Makita had the 10.8 volt series Driver/impact. After reviews it seems the 10.8 is equal to the 12 volt and Makitas have always been on the upper level of quality and performance. I decided on getting the Makita set for several reasons. 1. Its been advertised for $200 and Home depot had this one set on the shelf on sale for $120.. Hard to pass it up especially when its so new and not any reviews. I brought it home and tried both drill and saw. In my opinion after trying several 12 volt drivers its really a matter of preference and budget. They all will do what is expected of them. They are not meant to be the power house, but a go to tool for lots of applications on the job or home. The saw as I tested is designed for materials less than 1", mostly sheet goods which is ideal cutting down stock or trim. It cuts very clean and has a great fit in your hands. It seems to have enough power and is super quiet. About as loud as a drill. Which I believe uses the same engine as the drill. I still need to give both tools a real workout to truly evaluate the performance, but wanted to share a few thoughts so far.

I probably didn't need another cordless drill or saw, but the price was hard to beat and Makita has always served me well. In the end I hope that Makita decides to add to this line of tools as the other companies have done. I try to buy quality tools at affordable prices. With some you get what you pay for, so the brand is not as important. As I own tools from Bosch, Makita, Milwaukee, Porter Cable and Hitachi.. I am sure you know all this.. Cheers, hope this was helpful and I can update soon on the real performance specs.