Makita has come out with a new 18V sub-compact brushless 1/2″ impact wrench, XWT13. About one year ago, we reported about the then-new Makita 18V sub-compact 3/8″ impact wrench, XWT12. The new Makita XWT13 looks similar, but features a 1/2″ drive and upgraded powertrain.
In addition to respectable specs for a tool of its size, the Makita sub-compact 1/2″ impact wrench also features 2 speed/torque settings, and a reverse rotation auto-stop mode that turns off the tool when a tight fastener is successfully loosened.
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- 1/2″ square drive
- Brushless motor
- 155 ft-lbs max fastening torque (1860 in-lbs)
- 245 ft-lbs nut-busting torque (2940 in-lbs)
- Compact size for working overhead or in tight spaces
- Variable speed trigger
- 0-1,300/0-2,400 RPM
- 0-2,000/0-3,600 IPM
- 5-15/16″ length
- Weighs 2.7 lbs with battery
- Dual LED lights
- Reverse rotation auto-stop mode
- Extreme Protection Technology (XPT) for improved dust and water resistance
There are bare tool (XWT13ZB) and kit (XWT13RB) options. The kit comes with an 18V rapid charger, tool bag, and (2) compact 2.0Ah batteries.
Price: $229 for the bare tool, $289-$299 for the kit
Buy Now(Bare Tool via Amazon)
Buy Now(Bare Tool via Acme Tools)
Buy Now(Kit via Amazon)
Buy Now(Kit via Acme Tools)
First Thoughts
I was surprised when Makita added a 3/8″ impact wrench to their sub-compact cordless power tool lineup. A sub-compact 1/4″ impact wrench? For a compact, or sub-compact tool size, that’s not very unexpected, as it’s a small leap from an 1/4″ hex impact driver, engineering-wise.
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3/8″ drive impact wrenches usually feature added power and size. I wouldn’t have expected for Makita to come out with a sub-compact 3/8″ impact wrench, as they did a year ago. Now, they’ve surprised me again, delivering a cordless sub-compact 1/2″ drive impact wrench. Not only that, they bumped up the max torque, and without any decrease in speed (at least on paper).
Length-wise, the new Makita XWT13 1/2″ impact wrench is 5-15/16″, compared to 5-5/8″ for the 3/8″ impact wrench. Both are said to weigh 2.7 lbs with battery.
The 3/8″ impact also featured the reverse rotation auto-stop feature, so that’s not brand new tech. The 3/8″ is rated at 130 ft-lbs max torque, compared to 155 ft-lbs for the new 1/2″ impact.
It looks like the new Bosch 18V brushless Freak impact driver/wrench just got some competition.
In product photos, Makita shows the new impact being used in both construction and automotive applications.
This isn’t the kind of 1/2″ impact wrench that can loosen the tightest lug nuts, and that’s okay.
I am sure that some of you will ask: “Why a 1/2″ cordless impact wrench that’s not as heavy duty as the much larger and even more capable tools also on the market?” Different users have different needs, and for lower torque applications, a lighter and smaller tool can get the job done while being easier on your body.
What I like about compact and mid-torque 1/2″ impacts, aside from their smaller size and lighter weight, is that they work with 1/2″ impact sockets. That means that you can have a compact and lightweight tool and a heavy duty high-torque tool, with both using the same 1/2″ socket set and accessories. 3/8″ impact wrenches of course have their place, too.
Could you use an ultra-compact 1/2″ brushless impact wrench in your work?
Jim Felt
While I like the idea of the “Sub-Compact” tools and the black color I’ve just got too darn many Bosch and Milwaukee 12v and 18v overlapping tools already. Grrr.
Maybe others will enter the Sub market too?
Wayne R.
Where do all the performance improvements come from in these cordless tools, across motors, gears & batteries? I’d presume it’s mostly from batteries, but that’s just a guess. Can someone elaborate on that a bit? Thanks.
XRH07
for tools like this one it’s solely the motor/electronics & gearing.
All 18v impact drivers & most compact/subcompact impact wrenches don’t draw that many amps, relatively speaking. This is why you see so many impact driver kits that ship with compact batteries. But compact batteries in a grinder/recip/circular saw kit are virtually nonexistent.
Makita is an especially good example of showing this by just looking at the bottom of the tool.
A yellow battery receiver indicates that it’s a low draw tool, and will accept any and all batteries that Makita has made over the past ~14 years. From the long discontinued 1.3/1.5 Ah all the way up to the newer 6.0s.
While the black battery receiver indicates a high drain tool. And the older 1.3/1.5 Ah packs cannot be inserted onto these tools without some sort of modification. This is because the batteries are from an era when Lithium tools were still in their infancy, and the batteries didn’t have proper thermal protection to shut down if a high drain tool was drawing too much power from the cells.
Compact 2.0 Ah batteries can be inserted into any tool nowadays. Although you should not expect the tool to perform as well well on anything with a black battery receiver. These batteries can also go into thermal timeout on rather easily with larger tools if you push them hard enough.
Devon
This is incorrect. I have 36v high drain Makita tools and they are also yellow.
PHILIP JOHN
I believe its mostly from new brushless motors. Gearing can definitely add power but also adds size and length.
Battery improvement is also moving fast.. driven by cars …but right now it’s a bigger cel that’s changing the form factor for tools.
We may see a new type of lithium bat soon… that will be on par with gasoline in terms of price … refueling time… and range. That would also be true for tools.
John
Makita is pretty darn good at brushless motors. I think they are underestimated, but Makita is all Makita. Too many other brands are just part of some larger conglomerate of questionableness.
Eric
Batteries and motors. They’re getting more power from the batteries and more efficient in using that available energy to get more out of the motors. There are much more powerful motors in similar form factors available for r/c cars. But they’re using LiPo batteries to do it. They can deliver a lot more amperage than the Li-Ion in power tools. They have some downsides though. They’re more expensive to manufacture. They have a much shorter lifespan. And they have less energy density.
Gearing doesn’t really have much effect on the power available. It’s just turning it into something that you can use for the task at hand. The motors are going to be turning 20k-30k rpms regardless of what speed your getting at the output of the tool. So it’s more a matter of choosing the gearing so the tool does the job you need it to do. You wouldn’t want a drill spinning 20k rpms but stalling out when you tried to drill drywall with a 1/4″ bit. Or a die grinder that never got overloaded but only spun at 500 rpms and didn’t end up doing much real work.
Corey
I own the ¼ and ⅜, and I’m honestly not sure where I land on this one. I use the same regularly, but I feel like it’s because I don’t own another and gave up snapping adapters. I keep eyeballing the DeWalt 20v brushless ⅜, but I’d have to say I’m most envious of the stubby M12 fuel. High hopes for the new yellow 12s. Also likely I’ll continue not buying any until I lose or break the makita lol Cheif complaint with the subs though, as I’ve mentioned before, is that the “sub” compacts impacts are no shorter nose to end than any number of premium impact drivers out there. If seeking “smallest” bang for buck, makitas subs may well disappoint.
Colin
I don’t think going from the 18v Makita to the stubby M12 will last long. I have both and the Makita is on a different level. I still love my Milwaukee M12 rachets tho.
Bill Russell
The tool aside (and I’m certain that it’s a great impact), to the person(s) who wrote this article, please do some spell checking. There are numerous grammatical errors herein. Not being petty, just pointing this out. And, I’m certain that I’ll get called “grammar Nazi”, along with a host of other names
Stuart
Thanks! I caught one egregious typo that I thought I had already fixed just before publishing, and don’t know how it still made it through.
There was one tense error (upgrade instead of upgraded), and a missing hyphen that I had debated over when writing the post. I believe that some of what you’re seeing as grammatical offenses were intentional, for brevity, and because they’re meant to answer questions that are typically asked about tools like this, but a fresh read (and your comment) prompted me to tidy them up. I guess what seemed like a good idea actually appears to be a lazy effort, and that’s not good.
I never mind being corrected, or even told to straighten up my spelling or grammar. Sometimes, regardless of how many times I read something over, I’ll still miss something. In this case, I missed a few things, and could have used more words elsewhere.
If I may, if you’re going to point out an error, it’s more helpful to be specific, than to simply encourage “some spell checking.” For instance, punctuation goes inside “quotes,” and sentences end with a period. Although both forms are commonly accepted, I personally believe that “spellchecking” is more proper than “spell checking.”
glenn
Spelling is different in different countries, as is grammar.
ie: USA spells a 1000mm converted ,as a meter, unlike most of the english speaking world, which spells it as a metre. And on it goes.
I feel no need to correct people, particularly American’s as they simply spell and annunciate differently from other English speaking people from other countries.
Emilio Gonzalez
More proper? Like more better may be incorrect. Thoughts?
Gordon
To me, this is exactly what Makita has been doing with the Sub-compact line, going straight after competitor’s 12v line. This competes quite well with the venerable M12 Stubby. The Makita is 5.93″ long, has 245ft-lb breakaway, 2,400 rpm, 3,600IPM, and weighs 1.88lbs (without battery). The Stubby is 4.9″ long, 250ft-lb Breakaway, 2,700 rpm, 3,700 IPM, and weighs 2lbs.
The stubby definitely still has an advantage. But the Makita is pretty close behind.
I do a lot of work on cars and have been using my XDT15 with an adapter. It’s OK, but leaves me wishing for more power. Plus the adapter significantly increases the length. I was trying to figure out how to slip a Stubby and ratchet past my wife, but this might be a lot easier. Especially because it looks just like my XDT15.
Gordon
Followup for Stuart.
The bare tool price at Acme is $179, much better than the $229 Amazon lists.
Acme has the $20 off $100 Makita code that appears to work with both the bare tool and kit. The bare tool also seems to be a part of the “buy two bare tools, get a free 4.0ah battery” deal, despite not being in the list of tools. This might be a listing error though, given that it’s brand new.
Colin
I have the 3/8 version and it’s awesome. I also have a Milwaukee ‘stubby’ m12 1/2 impact but I don’t use it much because the smaller Makita is much more capable and easier to handle.
Chris
How do you figure that?
As “Gordan” points out:
Gordon says
Mar 30, 2019 at 8:18 pm
To me, this is exactly what Makita has been doing with the Sub-compact line, going straight after competitor’s 12v line. This competes quite well with the venerable M12 Stubby. The Makita is 5.93″ long, has 245ft-lb breakaway, 2,400 rpm, 3,600IPM, and weighs 1.88lbs (without battery). The Stubby is 4.9″ long, 250ft-lb Breakaway, 2,700 rpm, 3,700 IPM, and weighs 2lbs.
How is it “more capable”?
I have the 3/8″ stubby and it has earned a permanent spot as my “go to” tool for almost everything involving a bolt or nut.
Colin
The way I figured it out is the stubby M12 gets left behind in the drawer unlike the Makitas. Natural selection perhaps?
RC
I have the subcompact hammer drill and a regular impact. The drill easily does 90% of what needs to be done around the house. I wish they would have made the new subcompact circular saw in blade left configuration.
Chip
This is a, depends on the user.
I use 1/4 drive, upto 15mm and 9/16.
Next 3/8 gets 99% of everything bigger.
I use pro sockets, swivels, extensions, and ratchets.
So I work my small tools harder then most.
I use M12 3/8 impact wrench until it doesn’t have enough power, then I switch to the big fuel gun.
The big guy very, very seldom sees the light of day.
Woollybooger
In my little world of heavy industrial manufacturing, Milwaukee is king. They offer more relevant tools in the cordless lineup than their competitors. The decision makers who buy tools from their offices adore team red. However, they do have a weakness. Milwaukee sacrificed weight and ergonomics for high numbers. For the unseen maintenance technician who works 12 hour shifts, much of it overhead on a ladder or scissors lift, all of the marketing achievements are just “meh”. Restoring machine production back online as quickly as possible is stressful. These Makita subcompacts are what you will find in the hands of seasoned technicians. Not the most powerful but with the right technique and experience, are preferred over the heavy duty tools.