Accessories

Makita
Makita LXT401 given as a Christmas present. Son is very happy.

something just aint feeling right
So I was excited to use my new li ion kit but i've been somewhat disappointed with it. drill and cir saw are great but....using the sawsall I was cutting a shower in half(fiberglass) and 3 minutes later the thing is smoking!!! not sure if this is normal but certainly stinks. my dewalt never did this just ran out of batteries. The sawsall heats up really really fast and burns through batteries like no tomorrow, i probably have a defect.

Decent set of cordless
I am a carpenter by trade and do all aspects of home building from frame to finish and remodel jobs. I use the hammer drill the most out of this kit, the cicular saw has seen work once since i've owned it and the recirocating saw i usually reserve for demolition in crawlspaces, attics, and high on ladders. I am most impressed with the simple idea of a light on the tool, great idea! (sometimes your hands and tool itself block the light from your headlamp) Also the charge time on these batteries is terrific, 45min and you got a battery ready to go, sure beats NiCd. The light broke rather quickly, can't remember if i dropped it or it burned out.
If you get this kit i would recommend that you buy two more batteries and the impact driver. (or the impact driver kit, whichever is cheaper)

Makita lxt 401
I purchased the makita lxt 401 kit with sawsall circ. saw drill, flashlight and carring bag. I bought new on ebay for about $500 dollars and got a free impact driver. Ill start with the sawsall its light powerfull and the led light helps in dark places. The quick attach blade takes a little getting used to but holds the blade tightly and and works well. The circlar saw is well balanced the saw guide makes cuts that look like they were done on a table saw. The original blade is super thin and does'nt seem to throw out as much saw dust as would be expected. I ruined mine by accidently hitting a piece of angle iron while cutting, replace with a marathon and still works fine just a little more dust. I had never used a hammer drill before but I'll never do without one agin. The drill is very powerfull light and the 3 speed settings are a nice feature. Of all the tools the led light is most helpful on this one. I've always owned dewalts before and I'm impressed with the way this thing feels when using it, well balanced, powerfull, lots of torque, and best of all light. I used the hammer feature to install windows drilling into brick and it worked great. The light comes in handy and sits flat and the adjustable head is a nice thought. The tool bag is great. lots of pockets for bits blades etc. The bag makes me wonder why dewalt never came up with this instead of the funky plastic cases that no one uses. The only negative and the reason I did'nt give a 5 star is I've already had to replace a battery afer 6 months of non industrial use. Makita made it good but took service center about 6 weeks to get a new one in. Just when I was doing a large remodeling job on my house. This is my first makita purchase. I've been so impressed that when I needed a sander I purchased A makita 3x21 belt sander.

Definitely worth the money
I purchased these tools specifically for finishing my basement. I new I would need a hammer drill and instead of adding yet another battery type to my cordless tools I decided to sell my Makita 14V circular saw/drill combo kit and trade up to this one.

I also have two 12V Panasonic cordless drills which are fantasic. I think they are the best actually. Don't laugh. If you've never used a Panasonic cordless tool try one.

Right now I'm doing a lot of hammer drilling in my basement slab to secure Tapcon concrete screws and the Makita cordless hammerdrill is working great. It has plenty of power and the battery lasts quite a long time. I have also done direct comparisions with my Panasonic cordless drills and the 18V Makita is more powerful and only slightly heavier. The Lithium Ion batteries are remarkably light.

The circular saw is also more powerful than my old 14V model. That one would bog down pretty quickly if you accidentally twisted it during the cut. This one is much stronger.

I love the cordless saws all tool. This one is really powerful and easy to handle.

Oh yeah, the flash light is a nice feature. I especially like how the head can be rotated so you can sit it on an object and point it where you need it and it will stay there. Great for doing electrical work when the power is shut off for safety reasons.

I'm only hoping Makita offers other battery capacities and tools in this 18V tool line.