Best Kobalt Impact Driver in 2025?

[@rolotexas5839]

Great work Jim! I like the graphs and time overlay, but mostly I appreciate the running "scorecard" on the side. Looks like the Next Gen is definitely the impact driver to get if it's cheaper than the XTR.

[@davidfroese357]

I don't use kobolt but I love seeing these tests being done especially the way u do it with the graphs its so easy to see thanks alot for your time and effort.

[@ManCaverTools]

Great Content bro. Love this style of video.

[@PhillyFixed]

Thanks Dave! Appreciate you stopping by.

[@ARCMASTER1130]

Picked my set up recently.Noticed at work the impact driver trigger is way too touchy if you are trying to slowly tighten your fastener.Very powerful both.

[@Toolsareus]

I have the old model and I use it for Lugnuts all the time and it’s crazy how easy it takes them off compared to my Milwaukee fuel

[@dsrogersjr]

I was a two clicks away from ordering a DeWalt driver and then saw this at a much better price and had to go back to the drawing board on the price and specs. Looks like it's holding up pretty well in KZbin reviews, so might be worth switching over

[@IMPACT-NATION]

The XTR still going strong. For $99 though the New Gen takes the cake. Huge improvement in performance. Awesome video man

[@nicholasdonin1465]

199 currently for an xtr combo. Charger n 2batt included

[@ProToolsApproved]

Great video Jim! Great look at the new impact for the Kobolt fans.

[@georgeferlazzo7936]

Hello again Jim Thank you for another Great Video 👍

[@MindfulMusic]

I hope they make a next gen XTR line up. We're going on about 4 years now.

[@kristopherward8503]

We need to see side by side the new Hercules tools Pleasseee. Has yet to really be done on KZbin. It would be the battle of budget performance.

[@phillipmoody710]

Like the new setup/format.

[@ccbowers]

Would like to see that next gen Kobalt comparisons to the competition, like that DCF845 you're waiting for.

[@ericnichols9275]

Got it over a week ago it's nice but it's not a MILWAUKEE M 18 Fuel gen 4

[@ccbowers]

@@ericnichols9275 When you consider you could get a 5 tool kit over the holidays for the price of what the Fuel kit would be (although they didn't have an exact equivalent), it is way closer than it should be. The Kobalt is a bit larger too, but these impacts are getting smaller than they really need to be

[@ProxyFinal]

very underrated tools

[@ThriftyToolShed]

Great video Jim! Thanks for testing and sharing this info! God Bless!

[@jeffmorefield]

Second! When are you getting the new Dewalt 845 impact for testing? Excellent work Jim.

[@PhillyFixed]

Supposed to arrive Tuesday!

[@KosmicHRTRacingTeam]

Bought a next Gen for the $99 sale, then doing some research I found an XTR for $137 clearance. I was going back and forth and then realized the XTR has the higher end 4 amp battery not the cheap 2 amp and that sold me. Plus on Tool Torque Channel, the XTR beat everything, including Flex, and multiple DeWalt and Milwaukee impacts.

[@smarksruinedwrestling5020]

Do you still have the next gen? And how is it holding up?

[@jonathansherwood5841]

First! 🐺🔧 I like the times right over the bolts and the live timer on the nuts.

[@doctorlefthandthread]

Hi Jonathan I must be second

[@TacticalThib]

Wow 😳 I didn't expect those results so the old model is the best for putting a 3/8 anvil on lol and the new model is well worth the 99.00 price tag!!! Again Jim another amazing video brother you knock it out of the park you're videos are second to none I put your videos up there with project farm absolutely amazing!! #IwannabelikeJim

[@FyrFytr998]

Just a note. Only the XTR gets the full capability out of the Ultimate Output batteries. I believe like the Ryobi HP tools, the XTR’s have an extra battery contact that the regular tools don’t for added power. Would be interesting to see you run the Next Gen vs. the XTR with standard 24v batteries. Also, the XTR is still the #2 rated impact driver on TTC’s ranking list behind the HF Brushless Hercules. Would also make for an interesting vs. video. I imagine a new XTR is probably on the way.

[@jroark101]

I bet the Gen 2 of XTR will be monsters

[@actualperson9628]

I hope it soon and I hope it’s compact.

[@ccbowers]

That next gen recip is also a great upgrade, except the blade change which seems worse. Has longer stroke and 2 speeds now. They had that incredible 4 took $249 deal with additional free tool pre-Christmas. Still good deal without free tool

[@shawnfarnham9649]

The recip sawzall? I know there's a new generation one. But I use the kobalt one handed hackzall. It's a beast and lot easier to handle. One of the best one handed sawzall/hackzall I've had.

[@ccbowers]

@@shawnfarnham9649 That one you are talking about has a 1 inch stroke which is best in class I think. I don't have that because I have already have the Ryobi HP, and not worth it for me to buy even though Kobalt one is better performer.

[@playingwivwood]

I’ve had the og impact for about 7 years used it for commercial work. Mechanics for many years after that.built a whole house with it last winter. And then I got back into commercial used it for another month then decided to retire it and switched to Milwaukee for work. Still use that damn Kobalt every weekend for just about everything. To bad there prices are going up

[@milleradam98]

Awesome video, hey we need to see some time trials with the new Hercules impact and hammer drill. Pleeeeeez. Lol I'm seeing some crazy shorts with that impact, beating the Milwaukee gen 4, the dcf887 quite handily... I dunno man gimme a stopwatch it's killing me

[@PhillyFixed]

Working on it! But yeah Marius has some great head to heads, those tools are no joke

[@milleradam98]

@@PhillyFixed thank you man can't wait to see it! Also would love to see the 4ah battery with the 21700 cells on both

[@BlindMansRevenge2002]

The blue 24 V max line at Lowe’s are not bad tools at all. If you don’t have fistful of cash to go for the yellow or the red, these tools will serve you well. My dad‘s been into this line for close to 10 years and the gun city has have not let him down. With the latest generation I’m not a big fan of the blister buttons to control the different modes. I’m much prefer the 3 Position Center left and right switches of the older generation because it seems a little bit more durable. I wonder how many oil and gas splashes it would take to cause those new blister buttons to malfunction. I recently acquired the quarter inch stubby impact wrench to throw in my roadside bag. We’ll have to put it through its paces to see what the durability and performance is like long term.

[@ScootsMaGoots1717]

Just bought it along with the hammer drill and saved $100. $74 for the impact driver before tax!

[@Joethetoolguy]

Busting nuts, that’s what I like Jim

[@IMPACT-NATION]

Before even reading the comments I knew I would find this one. 😎🫡

[@nayy31]

The next-gen seems to start off quick then slow down when the trigger is only slightly pulled, in every gear. Not sure if it is on purpose...

[@PhillyFixed]

Yeah it was weird behavior for sure.

[@mikeydc1977]

What's calculating the force or pressure you are exerting during these tests?

[@PhillyFixed]

It's an impact driver. It relies on torque, not downward force.

[@p24t]

Weird on the slower-each-bolt thing... looks like the right battery...

[@baseballdude8491]

Metabo HPT 36V belt sander just dropped Perfect tool for cordless/AC hybrid system ACME tools/Amazon $169

[@jamesclouse3184]

lights are in a stupid spot 😒 other than that the 4 tool kit(drill,impact,large recip saw,light,4ah batt/charger) with 2 free tools is unbeatable. grabbed the max because the xtr drill and impact was sold out. i got an sds and 1 handed recip saw for the 2 free tools. they also have a $99 deal with 2ah + 4ah batt/charger that comes in a casestack tooolbox and i got the rolling tool box as a free tool with that 👌 cut a bunch of 8" pvc at work today with the 1 handed recip did great

[@PFab]

Great video Jim. I feel like Kobalt needs to go back and test their own tools before they bring them out to the market first. Seems like they just randomly built tools and give numbers to them.

[@PFab]

What was wrong with the torque testing bench? You skipped the first and 3rd?

[@PhillyFixed]

@@PFab The bolt threads seem worn, even though they haven't been used much. You can see on the 350 ft lbs test the second bolt keeps the tool impacting even after it's broken loose. They're grade 8, kind of surprised they didn't hold up.

[@PFab]

@@PhillyFixed you might need to use a tap and die set to clean the threads. Maybe a little anti seize to avoid the stress and failure again in the future. Metal to metal heat will cause that.

[@mikeydc1977]

Great video though keep it up.

[@varga13zsolt]

Kinda like the new one, except the light and the speed/mode selector, the light placement is horrible 😅 lots of time useless and the speed selector buttons are so sensitive just touching little bit the tool belt and the speed is changed and that can be annoying. But overall for that price it’s a great tool so far

[@PhillyFixed]

I can't believe they didn't jump on the tri-LED bandwagon. It's a worthwhile trend!

[@bk-0627]

what adapter is he using?

[@PhillyFixed]

1/2" socket adapter is Hercules from Harbor Freight. I've since switched to Husky at Home Depot since I can warranty exchange when they break, though.

[@gcoffey223]

So next gen is their latest? I thought xtr was

[@PhillyFixed]

XTR is their top of the line, but it came out in 2020.

[@gcoffey223]

@PhillyFixed I'm gonna start going, Kobalt. Starting with that 7 1/4 miter saw

[@Enriiquegomez]

Don’t care about kobalt but its a Philly video I’m watching!

[@chaddles623]

Can ya us the New Kobalt Gen 4 in a video

[@robertcasey3528]

Why am I not getting notifications for your videos anymore?

[@PhillyFixed]

🫤 it happens sometimes. Best you can do is make sure notifications are on and set to "all" rather than "personalized". KZbin seems to hold it against me that I only post once per month or so.

[@Apache-Helicopter-Life]

Wait, isn’t 350ft lbs over 4000 in lbs?

[@TheBigern22]

they got slower due to heat of the battery and motor which causes the efficiency to diminish

[@XerxezsX]

The Ridgid R862311 impact driver does 500 ft/lbs.

[@nicholasdonin1465]

As far as impacts go, it's Milwaukee/ flex trading 1st and 2nd and XTR in third. That's vs metabo, dewalt etc. Milwaukee takes 1st for me cuz they have the variety for pros that flex and kobalt lack. But when it comes to batteries, the only thing keeping your tools running, kobalt may be the best to start with. Significantly cheaper priced batteries.

[@danwickson4634]

KoBalt duh we made it a little smaller now we need to made the bit collet longer to add to the length cause nobody wants smaller power tools right?

[@tedmcdonald3377]

😎🛠️😎🛠️😎

[@IMPACT-NATION]

🫡😎🫡😎🫡

[@joshuaewalker]

Meh. I just found a DCF850 for $85 on Mercari. Just because the big names want you to pay $200 for a mass produced tool doesn't mean that's your only option.

[@KosmicHRTRacingTeam]

Meh, I just found 1/2” and 3/8” impacts, Kobalt next gen at Lowe’s for $39 each!!! I bought 2 of each (I’ll throw a set in the truck and use a set for home as a thrasher set and keep my DeWalt 921 and 887 nice 😉).

[@markm0000]

Competition is good.

[@Charly-hz4xk]

Das ist nicht echt der link zum Gerät ist Fakt

[@jerryrupe1696]

You missed the original kobalt, they started out as 18v.

[@PhillyFixed]

The 18V platform was discontinued ~10 years ago. Just testing models currently available here.

[@elvis7094]

GO BIRDS 🦅

[@PhillyFixed]

E A G L E S EAGLES

[@go5582]

Hi handsome compare hurcules with colbot. Thant would be awesome. The hurcules driver will bust 450 ft lbs.

[@tyomanvrsk8345]

У нас такого не производят, и не продают

[@CSTLLNS]

I think the solution is to use DeWalt next time not KoBalt.

[@toolnerd]

💪🏻💪🏻🏴‍☠️🏴‍☠️😎😎 nice 😎😎

[@ReefMimic]

Skip the kolbalt crap get yourself a dewalt

[@KosmicHRTRacingTeam]

Umm the XTR here destroys the DeWalt 850, 840, 845 and 887 (and I own several Dewalt Impacts. It also beat out the Flex, And all of the Milwaukees. Go check out Torque Test Channel.