Harbor Freight Earthquake XT vs Milwaukee Fuel M18 1/2" Impact Gun

[R18Civic]

I'm betting on the Earthquake XT 3/8" ratchet and 1/2" Impact for automotive work. Milwaukee and Snap-On on a bit too pricey.
I've seen reviews on Amazon for the XT battery powered tools and there's quit a few people who use them professionally and don't have an issue with them.

 

[Rand]

If I started with milwaukee I'd be happy, since I'm mostly dewalt.. and the dewalt gear is available on sale frequently so its not outrageous.. I'm happy with dewalt.

even have their outdoor gear such as hedgetrimmer, string trimmer and small chainsaw.

The dewalt fan is GREAT to put in the corner of the cabin(10x12 shed w/loft really) when the propane furnace is on.. runs over 24hr on a 5ah battery.
Not all their gear is perfect but it is good when used properly.

I actually have bosch drill and impact because it was a really good clearance.. as soon as the batteries poop out I'll replace with dewalt.


Also love my M12 gear. I'm trying to condense from 4 battery systems to just dewalt 20v and milwaukee m12.

 

[Kruse]

I just bought that kit. I bought the Dewalt over the Milwaukee since it was American made and the Milwaukee was imported. Rather support America than Vietnam!

If you are happy with your Dewalt product over the Milwaukee, that's great. But don't buy Dewalt because you consider it American-made.
The parts are sourced overseas and the minimal final assembly is in the U.S.
My post is not a knock on Dewalt, just mainly their advertising.

 

[HoosierJeeper]

If you are happy with your Dewalt product over the Milwaukee, that's great. But don't buy Dewalt because you consider it American-made.
The parts are sourced overseas and the minimal final assembly is in the U.S.
My post is not a knock on Dewalt, just mainly their advertising.

Rather pay Americans to assemble it than someone else!

 

[willbur]

I have the HF electric 1/2 inch. Lug nuts always win.

Garbage.

And HF batt non brushless impact XT is way overpriced. $219 vs $120 (4 amp batt, charger and bag) for Kobalt brushless equivalent (fathers day sale.) I think the HF 20% coupon does not apply to it as well

 

[Mtnhaul]

The Horror Freight/Harbor Fright impact is priced absurdly given their reputation for spotty quality. No way I would touch an HF tool if I could get a Makita or Millwaukee for not much more. I really like the Makita 1/2 impact and found it for $230 on sale, tool only. I've been using cordless Makita tools over the last 25 years and never had one problem, at least not a problem that wasn't to be expected. When I did concrete work we regularly threw the screw-guns into sand and occasionally cement so yeah eventually they began to grind a bit, but they took the abuse for quite a while before rolling over. Sometimes a deal is a good deal, but I prefer the "buy one cry once" approach with tools.