Makita LCT300W 18-Volt Compact Lithium-Ion Cordless 3-Piece Combo Kit
Posted on
August 25th, 2010
by Alan
Makita LCT300W 18-Volt Compact Lithium-Ion Cordless 3-Piece Combo Kit
- 2-speed 1/2-Inch Driver-Drill (0-400/0-1, 500 RPM) with Makita-built 4-pole motor delivers 450 in.lbs. of Max Torque and weighs only 3.5 lbs
- Variable speed Impact Driver (0-2, 300 RPM) provides 1, 280 in.lbs. of Max Torque in a compact design and weighs only 2.8 lbs
- 4-Position Flashlight with Xenon bulb runs over 2 hours per charge
- Makita Compact Lithium-Ion battery and Energy Star rated 15-Minute Rapid Optimum Charger produces 430% total lifetime work with 2.5X more cycles
- 3-year warranty on tools and 1-year warranty on batteries and charger
? New combo kit offers best power-to-weight ratio for both driver-drill and impact driver. Also includes a flashlight ? 1/2″ Driver-Drill delivers 450 in/lbs of efficient torque in a compact size and weighs only 3.5 lbs. ? Impact Driver provides 1,280 in/lbs of maximum torque and weighs only 2.8 lbs. ? Xenon Rechargeable F l a s h l i g h t with 4-positon head pivots for greater versatilityThe Makita 18V Compact Lithium-Ion Cordless 3-Piece Combo Kit is built for the pro-user who requires Best i
Rating: 
(out of 144 reviews)
List Price: $ 544.00
Price: $ 262.31
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Review by Jeff Pike for Makita LCT300W 18-Volt Compact Lithium-Ion Cordless 3-Piece Combo Kit
Rating:
I’ve been using this kit heavily to finish a basement room. I did some shopping around originally to upgrade my old 9.6 V cordless. I had narrowed it down the Dewalt DC720KA, the Milwaukee 18v compact, or the BDF142 when I came upon this kit. I never used an impact driver before this, but I discovered all the pros now do their screw driving with these. I’m glad I decided to give it a try!
Impact Driver: I will never drive wood screws with a drill again! Significantly less pressure is required to keep the phillips bit in contact with the screw head. I’ve driven 3″ wood screws all week and not a single stripped head. It can install a fastener in tight places where a drill or hammer/nail just can’t go. Superior torque will bury the screw (head and all) as deep in the wood as you want to go. I will use this more than any other tool in the kit. It is a little beast!
Drill: Good combination of power and speed. Enough to push a 1 1/4″ self feeding bit through 3 1/2″ of pressure treated lumber the high torgue setting. 5/8″ self feeding bits eat through studs in a flash on the high speed setting. It is light like a cordless tool should be, and has the best power/weight ratio of any cordless by far. It comes with a quality chuck and plenty of torque. I think the drill is slightly better than the compact 18v Milwaukee and just a shade behind the Dewalt DC720KA which are both fine products.
Light: Has four convenient head angle adjustments from 0 degrees to about 110 degrees and a strap for hanging. Not a primary reason to buy this kit, but it’s come in really handy for me.
Kit positives: Nice compact case has room for drill bits and accessories. Batteries do charge in 15 minutes. These tools have serious power. The combo of the drill and impact driver is unbeatable at this price. You would spend twice this to get the equivalent from another manufacturer. All three of the tools are a pleasure to use. The led light on the drill and impact driver does come in handy when you are working in dark corners.
Kit negatives: Run time might not be enough for heavy duty users. Not a problem for me; quick charge time makes up for it. I can use the impact drive all day on two full battery charges. Most of the black on these tools is rubber except for the raised Makita logo, which is paint. I’ve jammed the impact driver into some tight places which has caused some of that paint to scratch off. You can buy belt clips for these tools off e-bay which is only a minor inconvenience.
Overall: Considering what you get for the price, this is a five star kit.
Review by D. Nowakowski for Makita LCT300W 18-Volt Compact Lithium-Ion Cordless 3-Piece Combo Kit
Rating:
First off, I’m a professional fabricator, and i’ve been typically really hard on my tools, especially cordless tools, but these have far exceeded my expectations. I bought this setup when i was in a jam, my heavy duty 18v Milwuakee crapped out after only 2mos of service, and only a week back from its first warranty repair (I’m no longer a milwuakee fan, sadly). Well, needing to finish a project for monday, and stuck looking for a new driver/drill on a saturday night, I picked up the combo kit at a Home Depot minutes before closing, figuring it would get me through the project, and the impact driver might come in handy for some light duty projects later on.
Well I was amazed after working with these for 4 mos solid. So small yet so powerful, and far more rugged than i would have expected for their light weight and plastic-y feel. And wow, did i say they are small? I mean i can put the impact driver in the side pocket on my cargo shorts, or back pocket of my carhartts and comfortably climb a ladder like that. They seriously lighten my load when I’m lugging a bag of tools to a gig outside the shop, too.
The only drawback I’ve found is an entirely acceptable compromise for the light weight and easy handling, which is short battery life between charges. But Makita makes up for this by including a sophisticated and fast charger.
In short, this works really great for the sort of work that cordless tools do well for; tough intermittent tasks where access is tight. Sure it doesn’t have all of the brawn of some of the full-size makita 18v line, but really when i need that sort of power, I’ll want to be using something Pneumatic or AC-driven.
Buy it if you need a lightweight tool for intermittent use. If you need something to replace a corded/pneumatic tool out in the field, you might want to bump up to the full size (lxt) line.
Review by Mary A. Behm for Makita LCT300W 18-Volt Compact Lithium-Ion Cordless 3-Piece Combo Kit
Rating:
The new LiOn driver usually runs near two hundred by itself. Add the impact driver that goes for close to this price AND include the spotlight and you definitely have a winner.
I’ve used the driver myself and it is a joy to use. It is very lightweight and the batteries charge in 15 minutes. So even if I’m using the drill full time, I can’t run out of juice.
Review by MeredithJL for Makita LCT300W 18-Volt Compact Lithium-Ion Cordless 3-Piece Combo Kit
Rating:
Have had this kit for just under a year. The weight of the tools is phenomenal. Very light and excellent balance. The impact gun is pretty impressive. The drill, however, doesn’t really have the ooomph I was hoping for. And if you are doing a lot of drilling, expect your batteries to get very hot, and also to take a very long time to cool down before the charger will start charging them. I’ve had these guns heat up quite a bit while under heavy use, so much so that I’ve had to put gloves on. This is drilling into steel, by the way. These are great guns for the price and the weight, but under heavy usage (I’m a scenic carpenter in the entertainment industry), the drill is less than impressive. And the clutch just died on it. I’m going to stick with Makita, but I’m going for the more powerful guns.
Review by B. Warren for Makita LCT300W 18-Volt Compact Lithium-Ion Cordless 3-Piece Combo Kit
Rating:
I purchased this tool to replace a severely aged Dewalt 18v drill/driver. I build cabinets and needed a drill that weighed less than my old Dewalt boat anchor, so I purchased the lightest serious tool I could find, this Makita.
The drill:
- excellent ergonomics, very light weight, excellent balance, excellent run time per charge (especially given the 1.5 amp/hour battery rating), power to spare for normal usage.
- The LED light is excellent, and the fact that it stays on for a few seconds after the trigger is released is even better.
- I change bits a lot while working and have had no problems whatsoever with the chuck.
- My only very minor gripe is that the trigger isn’t quite as smooth as my old Dewalt…it is not as easy to finesse small screws as I would like. I imagine this will improve over time, if not then wax, lithium lube or graphite will fix it.
Impact driver:
- I didn’t purchase the kit specifically for this tool, but it was a handy addition. Same basic comments as above, except that the trigger seems less sticky.
- Just to see what would happen I clamped up 8 scraps of yellow pine 2×4 and drove a 4″ #12 hardened steel screw (from McFeely’s) into the stack. I used a 6″ long square drive bit normally used for driving pocket screws. The screw broke when the head was approximately 5″ BELOW THE SURFACE. Pretty cool.
Light:
- the unit is significantly brighter than my 6-cell Maglight with fresh batteries, and will run seemingly forever on a charge.
- As I’ve read in other review it is lightweight to the point of feeling cheap, but in the end it performs very well. Also includes an extra bulb.
Charger:
- intuitively easy to use, provides lots of information about the batteries and charging progress. One neat feature is a programable tone when the charge is complete. Charged a completely drained, hot battery in about 20 minutes.
The bag:
- Its a small thing, but the internal design of the bag makes it very easy to insert and remove the tools. In my opinion it performs much better than a hard case where you have to fidget with the tools to get them to fit. The bag is large enough to easily fit all the tools and charger with room left over for a container of driver bits or drill bits.
Overall the only thing that keeps the kit out of coveted 5-star territory is the slightly sticky trigger on the drill, an issue that would most likely not bother most users. As a previously loyal Dewalt customer, I wholeheartedly recommend this kit and all of its components.