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The only changes I would make is on the battery and swivel. We'll have to wait and see about the longevity, but at that price you could buy 3 or 4 replacements. otherwise it's a great tool for the money. I was a little skeptical about what this tool would look like for 26 bucks and change. But I must say after using it on a job, that it performs as well as the expensive ones. I wish it could have a lock on it so when you put it in your tool belt that it would stay facing forward,and it is also kind of hard to get the battery to release from the tool unless you have a very large hand.
all these denali tools have been great, and even greater when you look at the price point. they are obviously built for the do it yourselfer or handy man, so if you treat them that way you will be very impressed. I also bought one of these, used it and bought another one for a backup. if they last it will be the best deal in a long time on tools.
light on the base that can be turned on and off with a seperate switch. They are all good. I have used it to drive several hundred screws and all is well so far. It has a L.E.D. I forgot to shift it into reverse and it destroyed the Bosch screwdriver bit, the end just exploded. This is a nice feature. I was so impressed with this tool after using it I ordered 2 more to have as a spares.Last week I used this impact driver to install drywall in a couple of 8' long closets.
I will amend this review if it develops any problems. The built in light is very nice and since it shines up at an angle it gives you a good view of the screw making it easy to see how far it is being countersunk into the drywall. This thing has some power. I own a 18 volt Milwaukee, Makita, DeWalt and several craftsman 19.2 & 14.4 volt. The first time I used the Denali I was trying to remove a couple of screws. It drives screws great and it costs very little.
The battery also has some cool features but that is another review. Also the rotating battery mount has come in handy in a couple of tight spots allowing access that would not have been possible with a conventional battery mounting system. I have used a lot of impact drivers. I didn't realize what had happened so I just put another bit in it and it sheared the end off in about 1/2 second. I don't know how long it will last, I have only had it for a couple of days but it works great.
My impression is that it has even more power than the Ryobi but it is definitively heavier with its bulky battery. I'm not a contractor, so I don't use this every day but it seems like it's a good value for the money for personal usage. I've purchased this tool in January 2008 and used it side-by-side with a similar Ryobi impact cordless driver (borrowed from my contractor working in my house) that retails $20 to $30 more, plus battery. Fortunately the battery in the Denali can be rotated and this is a very convenient feature, albeit you can't get the white LED to shine on your screw if you turn the battery around.
I was working in confined spaces, near ductwork, and the reversible battery came in handy. The driver drove 2 inch wood screws very efficiently. I recommend it. I purchased this tool in October and finally used it recently. I was attaching a halfwall stud to a beam in the basement. For the low price I wasn't sure how it would come through, but it did very well.
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