20V MAX Hammer Drill and Impact Driver, Power Tool Combo Kit with 2 Batteries and Charger, Cordless Brushless XR Premium 4.0Ah, LED Light, Tool Bag (DCK299M2)

I upgraded from an old DeWalt 18V combo set, and it was worth every penny. When compared to a brushed motor, brushless has more power. Less energy is wasted as friction (heat) since the rotor and stator have an air gap between them. A brushed design has brushes that make contact as the rotor spins. That generates friction, heat, and they eventually wear out and need to be replaced. Brushless motors are more complex and expensive but do away with that, generating more power output at the rotor for the same power input. In addition, brushless motors tend to be smaller. This means the drill and impact driver are both smaller than my old ones, and this is critical for the drill. I am a big fan of Irwin Speedbor drill bits - specifically the three-bladed bits with flutes and the screw nose. That pulls the bit through wood, making it quick and easy to drill holes at least until you get to the back edge. Anyway, drilling holes through joists or studs to pull wire where the framing is already fully installed can be difficult or impossible without a right-angle drill: the drill and bit can be wider than the stud/joist cavity (14.5"). However, a 4" Speedbor bit in this drill (shorter because brushless) easily fits in a standard stud cavity with plenty of room to spare. I no longer need to beg borrow or steal a right-angle drill. The impact driver is an impact driver. Nothing special to report on that, just that it does its job as one would expect. Same with the charger. I like that this kit comes with a 4AH battery. Many of DeWalt's kits come with wimpy 2AH batteries. Those will not last as long - half as long, to be precise. Better to have the extra longevity to get the job done without swapping batteries in the middle. This may be more expensive than the non-MAX variety, but it is worth every penny and I regret nothing. Go big or go home! Update: After a year and a half of use and abuse, these tools are still going strong. They may be nicked up and dinged up, but they just work and work well. Since buying into this battery system I have bought a few other tools and I am even more grateful for the 4AH battery. I use it for the orbital sander and the extra runtime over a smaller battery is nice. I also bought a 6AH battery. Swapping between them when sanding bigger projects works well and I never run out of juice, thanks to the rapid charger in this kit. As far as I am concerned there are two power tool systems worth buying: DeWalt 20V Max, and Milwaukee Fuel. You spend a little extra money up front, but you also don't need to replace a broken tool a few months later which is actually more expensive in the long run.

I've had Dewalt drills and other tools before (still do), and I have always been very pleased. The last set of drills I had was a comparable Milwaukee 18 volt set that I used for the last 8 years or so. I bought them when I started building my new house. They worked very well, and I have no complaints. Lately though they stared losing battery power (both batteries), so I decided to get new drills. The drills I got are the extra run time 20 volt set. One of the reasons I decided on the extra run time (the larger batteries on both drills opposed to one large and one small, shorter run time battery) is because I already have the 1/2" Dewalt 20 volt impact driver with the same batteries. Now I have 3 batteries, and 2 chargers, all the same. After reading some of the other reviews, I was hesitant to get these drills because of complaints about loose batteries, switch problems, and the chuck apparently not tightening down (or whatever). On those things I have comments. On the loose battery issue... I see that the battery moves around a bit by about a 32nd of an inch. After having the impact drill already with the same battery setup, I never noticed that until it was suggested in the reviews on these drills. I went out to my shop and looked at it, and sure it does that, but it is not noticeable at all (like I said, had it not been suggested, I would not have noticed!). So when I got these drills, they are exactly the same movement; no big deal (not even a small deal). On the switching issue... I have been a contractor for 20 years building aluminum patio covers, etc. I have used many different brands and sizes of cordless drills over the years. I have never had one that didn't need to be turned on for a second to get the gears to sort of "mesh" (for lack of a better term). Every drill I have ever used, period. When building those patio covers you are running in hundreds of screws a day, and drilling hundreds of holes, every day switching from speed to torque. There is no issue here. On the chuck issue, I cannot speak for the drill that apparently has an issue, as the chuck that came with these drills has the black, all steel, knurled chuck (vs. the one with the black plastic grip and the shiny chrome looking chuck. I believe those are the ones that get the complaints. Mine works perfectly. I am no longer a contractor, but (besides building a lot of stuff) I am in the process of converting a 45 foot bus into a motor home. This will be about a 2-3 year project, and I am looking forward to using these new drills. They are nice and heavy, and balanced (even with the extra run sized battery, the drill motor is heavier than the battery, providing good balance). Keep in mind that a heavy drill doesn't kick back as easy as a light one (when the drill bit suddenly gets stuck in the material). Also, I don't know how necessary the "3 speeds" are, but I'm ok with them. I don't want to forget to mention the little LED light that comes on when you drill. I LOVE the 3 brightness levels. The highest one puts me in mind of those high powered flashlights. It is VERY bright, and will come in handy. I highly recommend these drills. Thank you, Glennman

It's the tool I use most at work; it's very powerful and includes batteries and a charger. For me, it's a 10/10.

They're amazing, the best tool purchase I've ever made.

Items work as advertised.

I've only had them for a week and only used them on one small house project, but I'm happy with some things and not so happy about one. The Happy: Power - both the drill and the impact have much more power than my 15 year old predecessors Battery life/power - The lithium batteries seem to run forever - 4 AH and I haven't been able to find the end Light - nice to have a light, but this model has the one down by the base, wish it have them around the chuck Speed options - The 3 speeds combined with the variable trigger really give you control The hammer feature on the drill - Something I find I need only once a year, but it's nice to have it onboard Several other features - the push to insert on the impact is nice, the batter "bar" indicator, the fact it came with two 4AH batteries, even the carrying bag, all are nice touches and have noteworthy value The Unhappy: Really only one - the weight. These are top heavy even with the 4AH battery on the bottom. I had no idea they would be that way. I presumed with the brushless motor they would be super light. Conclusion for now: I got these at a reduced price and feel I got a really good deal. They are well made, as mentioned have a lot of power and useful features. I suspect they will last the rest of my life - TBD of course - LOL! I do recommend them especially if you can find a deal.

This is a fantastic kit! DeWalt sells lots of different kits with the impact and drill, but this one (DCK299P2) is the best one in my opinion. You get two 5ah batteries, and they're the perfect size/weight batteries for these tools. The next-best kit they sell is the DCK299D1T1 which comes with the FlexVolt (6ah) and a 2ah battery, but you're better off with these better-balanced two 5ah batteries. The FlexVolt battery weighs a ton and is really meant for their bigger tools like their circular saw. You also don't get the hard carrying case. I noticed my tools in this kit (sold by Amazon) were freshly made. Both tools and batteries had either a March or April 2020 stamp on them indicating they are going to last a very long time. The tools themselves are great. You get the DCF887 Impact and DCD996 Drill, two of DeWalt's best tools in their class. I used the impact to drive some wood screws for a small fence repair I had to make. It worked out real nice, and even on the highest (3) setting, the Impact didn't get hot at all. I didn't experience any overheating like in the VCG Construction YouTube videos, but then again, this was a fairly small job in comparison. It's true that Makita makes a better impact, but if you want the Made in Japan Makita, you have to spend even more money than this kit to get a kit of theirs with *just* their impact. To top it off, the Makita drills are now only made in China (even their expensive new 40 volt version). So you can't even get a matching Made in Japan drill to go with the impact. The DCD996 DeWalt drill is actually one of the best you can get according to reviews. DeWalt did come out with a slightly more powerful drill this year (DCD998), but it is made in China, not USA. Unless you need the extra power, the DCD996 is totally enough. The charger took about 1.5 hours to fully charge the batteries from 1 to 3 green lights. It's a little slow (they do provide a faster charger in the FlexVolt kit), but one could argue you're actually better off with slow-charging so it doesn't degrade the battery life as much. Plus, 1.5 hours isn't that long a time to wait. Finally, their support is surprisingly good. I noticed my tools didn't come with the Made in USA stickers that go near the trigger (circle-shaped). So, I contacted support through their website -- not thinking they'd even reply, since it was such a minuscule issue. It took a month, but they actually got back to me and even UPS next day aired me the stickers! Overall, I highly recommend this kit and company!

This combo is a fantastic deal. I loved my 5 year old 18V lithium Ion drill driver and it still worked great but the batteries were starting to go. A direct replacement of the old style batteries was $99! It didn't make sense to spend nearly $200 on batteries for old tools when I saw this combo which was only $279 in June of 2020 my mind was made up for me. My DeWalt cordless 18V drill/drivers have always been the tool I use most as a DIY guy. This is my third such item and it is a huge improvement on my last 18V lithium ion. Speed, torque, size, the sureness of the chuck are all dramatically better. The hammer setting my previous unit was kind of useful not a big plus, the hammer performance of the DCD996 is probably the biggest upgrade as I see it so far. It's not a lot smaller or lighter than my previous drill but enough that I feel and see the difference every time I use it. I've got pretty bad arthritis in my left shoulder an my right shoulder was recently replaced with titanium components. Point being, it's very painful working at or above head level and the reduction in weight has allowed me to get things done with a lot less pain. That's a deal I'll take any day. The DCF887 impact driver is a beast. It's kind of like a genetic experiment that combined the most aggressive traits of a honey badger, a wolverine and a tasmanian devil. It's been a while since I'd used an impact driver but I was completely unprepared for the power and speed of the tool. On first use I drove 3 1/2" deck screws through 3/4" pressure treated ply over pressure treated 2x4 so fast it was 1/2" below the surface before I could release the trigger. That was entirely my fault. I had it on top speed and leaned in just as I did with my older drill/driver. The three power settings and the variable speed trigger make it very easy to apply just the right amount of speed and power for any job. It's size make it easy to maneuver in tight spaces. I utilized it's size and power to handle 80% of the nuts a bolts when I recently did a complete remove and replace of the front suspension of my Honda CR-V, (everything except the knuckle and wheel bearing, which I replaced last year). In combination with my monster DCF899P1 impact wrench(which I really love), the DCF887 made the job dramatically easier. No scraped or smashed knuckles. No straining to get enough torque on a breaker bar. Just pull the trigger and the nut/bold comes off... every time. It helped make the job much quicker and nearly stress free. Bad thing is that the tool was only a month old and already looks live a veteran of many rears in the garage. It cleaned up a little, but avoid accidentally grabbing the wrong rag and getting any brakleen on it. The lettering will come right off. I found that out the hard way. The two XR 20Volt Max 5 amp hour batteries are fantastic. I've used these tools extensively for 10 to 12 hours in a day and they have never dropped lower than two lights on the three segmented charge meter. With an adapter they make by old style 18 Volt recip saw run better than ever. My only gripe about this entire kit is that the batteries don't snap solidly into the tools. There is a good bit of sloppiness and rattle. They have never come loose and for all I know this may be a feature rather than a error. Just something that dampened my enthusiasm a bit. I see this combo has gone up dramatically in price. Hopefully they will have sales or special buys to bring the price back down.