Thanks to a tip from Devin (thank you!), we caught a glimpse at another new Ridgid 18V brushless power tool – the Ridgid Stealth Force Impulse Driver (model R86036K).
Read that aloud one more time – Ridgid Stealth Force Impulse Driver. It sounds more like a futuristic instrument of destruction than a cordless power tool. Or maybe some kind of scifi aerospace engine core. Or maybe something that came straight out of the 1980’s or early ’90s?
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There are 4 things we know about this new cordless driver.
It’s powered by a brushless motor. This of course means more power and longer runtime, often a combination of the two, compared to a similar brushed motor tool.
Related: Power Tool Tech 101: All About Brushless Motors
This is the fastest impact tool Ridgid ever made. Ridgid doesn’t go into detail about this. Is this the fastest impact in terms of RPM speed? Application speed? Both?
Makita’s oil impulse driver delivers very little torque, compared to traditional impact drivers, and so perhaps the Ridgid Stealth Force impact driver, I’m sorry – impulse driver, similarly operates at a high RPM and compact drill-like torque.
It creates half the noise of a traditional impact driver. This means less noise to potentially hurt your hearing (I’d still wear hearing protection and so should you), and less noise in a home or business setting where you’re working.
Ridgid 18V compatible. Saying that we knew 4 things about this new impact sounded better than saying we knew 3 things. Of course it’s compatible with Ridgid’s 18V Li-ion tool and battery platform.
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I’ll bring you more details as they come in.
Is this something that would interest you? If this is anything like Makita’s oil impulse driver, would you want the Ridgid 18V Stealth Force impulse driver or a much more powerful traditional impact driver?
And if you would prefer a traditional impact driver, don’t forget that Ridgid’s 18V Gen5X brushless impact driver is out now.
Price: $199 for the kit (Ridgid R86036K)
Buy Now(via Home Depot)
Mike
Heck yes, this would interest me. The Makita does as well but I’ve never seen one in use or in a demonstration so I could see how much quieter it really is. I don’t need huge amounts of torque 95% of the time and would gladly sacrifice excess power to get rid of the noise.
John
Actually you beat me to it bout Makita also having one. (Though again not US release):
https://toolguyd.com/makita-18v-oil-pulse-impact-driver/
Sometimes I don’t get Makita, a thousand variations of every model of every device and half of them never make it to US. Not to mention their site is horribly behind their current models and updates. To keep up with so many sku’s and production lines has to be an unbelievable logistics nightmare at that company. They really do need to simplify their lineups.
John
Seriously lol, on their site they have 40 models of angle grinder. 40!!! Lol
NERemodeling
It’s avaliable in the US. Bishoptools (eBay username) sells them on ebay. They are makita authorized and have a store in FL. Might even be able to find them another place or two but bishop is great!
Stian Ruud-Larsen
I recently bought the Makita. Was worried it would not be quiet enough. My Dewalt is so loud I avoid using it. I can’t believe how quiet the Makita is. Seriously it is no louder than a regular drill driver. Sounds almost like a cat purr. No need for hearing protection (I normally always wear hearing protection but there just is no need). Also I love the T setting driving screws just flush at full speed and then almost stops completely. Very impressed. I would not consider a non oiled dampened impact for future purchases. I believe Rigid is making a smart move.
NERemodeling
It’s cool that they are coming out with this but honestly I doubt it will stand a chance against the Makita.. some recent head to head testing by Instagram @toolpig has shown that the crazy high torque numbers of the gen5x brushless impact are completely bogus. It gets smokes my the makita xdt09 which is advertised to have around 750in lbs LESS torque.
Jon
Smoked by the Makita how? Are you talking about in a test of maximum torque developed or overall speed of actual application of fasteners?
I believe the torque rating, however it’s not relevant to the tool performance. The tool can be engineered to deliver 5000 in lbs of torque if desired, but at a very slow speed – not very useful for production speed fastening.
This is how the larger impact wrenches deliver more torque than a diesel truck engine, because it’s only at half an RPM.
The point is the Ridgid gen5x may in fact be able to achieve a higher maximum torque than competing brands, however they are not claiming it will sink more fasteners quicker than competitors.
Daniel de andrade
Smoked in the sense that my 1420 inch lb Makita can tighten a 3/8 bolt tighter than the brushed Ridgid claiming 2000 in lbs. it also beats it in speed when the Ridgid claims 2750rpm and my Makita claims 2500rpm. The old x4 for example rated at 1,750 by Ridgid but in the tool manual was 1,400. The x5 rated at 2,000 by Ridgid says 2,300 in the book, but neither are true. I have a Milwaukee 12v rated at 1,000 in lbs and it tightens a 1/2 bolt tighter than the Ridgid. All being 1/4 hex with same socket and adapter.
Daniel de andrade
Being a real big Ridgid guy, and having opened an x4 up and an x5 up I can say is that ridgids torque numbers are a little inflated. How so? You know that little 12v impact driver from Ridgid that sold for $99 bucks with a drill? Yup that one it has the same impact mechanism as of the 18v Ridgid x4 , the x5 has the same mechanism as the x4 with a little bit bigger weight. When I first bought my x4 kit I put it up against my buddies ryobi driver and a Milwaukee fuel. Both of which claimed 1600 in-lbs of torque and the Ridgid 1,750 in-lbs. both the ryobi and the fuel were able to tighten a 3/8 bolt and pull it off from each other except the Ridgid it sat there hammering failing to take it off. 1 year after we did the same test with the x5 when I bought one, same result the x5 just sat there rattling away impacting failing to pull the nut off that a ryobi tightened. The x5 has great power but it’s lost a lot during impact because of the way the impact mechanism is allowed to move in the body. They are awesome tools very reliable but in my field of work if I ever had to break victaulic loose that my buddy put on I had to do it by hand. I did at one point put a 3/8 chuck that I had machined on my Ridgid x5 impact it got a lot better but it still was limited to small stuff as it could tighten a 1/2 bolt but I’d still be able to turn by hand easily, where a 12v fuel 3/8 impact would torque it good. Last month I sold my Ridgid tools and invested in snap on and Makita. Still keeping a look out on Ridgid because they were so reliable.
Jerry
The impulse drive mechanism sounds interesting. Sometimes things like usability get lost in marketing hype. In the rush to have bigger numbers somewhere over the competition, for bragging rights, did the manufacturer compromise something else? I think noise reduction is a great thing for impact drivers, and even if maximum torque is sacrificed, just how many users would notice? You can only really have so much maximum torque/maximum speed and still have good usability? I have a cordless 1/2 square drive which blows impact drivers out of the water in terms of torque, but it is about useless on screws, except maybe for large gutter screws, lag bolts, or timber fasteners. In an impact driver,I need control more than maximum power. When driving a lot of fasteners, fatigue comes into play, so I also want lightweight, and less noise. These impulse drivers seem to be going in that direction.
Daniel de andrade
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=V_5mwR2n8G4
Hugh
I like this concept an impact driver with lower noise. I’ve had projects in the past were the GC wouldn’t allow me too use impact drivers because of the noise. If it has a reasonable amount of driving force it might be worth the perchance.
I agree with prior posts some of the max torque on the impact drivers are getting to be too much. I’ve found between 1200 and 1500 range is all you need for most fasteners. If you need more than that time to use an impact wrench.
Nathan
So ridgid is going to have a fluid drive, or damped impact driver. (impulse driver – whatever).
would this mean a milwaukee one isn’t far behind? I like the idea in premise. not so much for the noise factor but more for the smoothness and control.
speciality use – most likely – but I can see the appeal for some things. little stronger than a basic screwdriver – ability to have jarring motion when needed – but smooth and quick. I think about when I use my impactor on furniture and the like. one reason I bought the dewalt 895 was the speed/torque settings. I’d consider something like these impulse drivers for the same purpose. setting 1 or 2 is often plenty for anything I do into a pre-drilled hole and I dont’ consider it loud because it often doesn’t need to impact.
deck screws into pressure treated or lag bolts – setting 3 and hang on, but then I wear ear protection.
If I didn’t have a driver with speed/torque settings, I could see having 2 tools. the impulse stuff for furniture and other lighter needs, and the hard impactor for large construction.
Stuart
Not necessarily. My understanding is that Milwaukee and Ridgid, despite the former being owned by TTI and the latter having their power tool business entirely run by TTI, don’t work together at all.
James C
I have a few M12 tools. I find the first gen hammer drill is plenty powerful for most my needs. I hardly use my first gen impact since it’s so loud and I hardly need the extra but of power over the drill it can provide.
I was planning on getting M18 tools at some point; however, I’m thinking some sort of quieter impact driver-like tool is going to be the deciding factor as to what brand I invest in.
Stuart, I could probably look this up, but do you know if Ridgid 18v li-ion tools from about 10 years ago are still compatible with the current generation? The batteries look similar. I have an old drill that still works (in part due to lifetime warranty). Maybe all I need is this driver kit.
Stuart
I really don’t know. TTI and Ridgid entered their power tool partnership in 2003, and I agree that the battery packs from 10 years ago resemble today’s Ridgid Li-ion battery packs.
Your best would be to arm yourself with the model number and fire off an email to Ridgid.
Even a modern battery pack does fit, cordless tool tech has improved by leaps and bounds. You might be better off putting the older tool to rest and splurging on a kit rather than just a new battery pack.
Derek
Emailed rigid several days ago for ETA still no response. Any updates?
Stuart
They haven’t responded to my emails either.
Derek
Standard reply:
“Hi Derek
You will need to check with Home Depot, possibly a local stores customer service desk. Home Depot handles all of the aspects of the retail distribution for the line of RIDGID products, which includes pricing, and on-line and in-store level item availability within their distribution system. If a particular item cannot be found in the Home Depot distribution system, then it is not available.
Best regards,
Tom C.”
Really doubting my local HD will know anything about it.
Toolpig
Jon I am the one who compared the new Gen5x to the Makita xdt09 the Makita easily out torques it with 12″ x1/2″ lag screws. This is a good indication of developed torque. With every turn of the bolt, the torque required to turn it again is increased. In this test, the Rigid brushless driver got slower and slower. The Makita with a 700 inch lb deficit powers right on through. I do not have a torque meter but the numbers rigid claims are overinflated. Also torque increases with time spent impacting. At 2 seconds it will be less than 4 seconds and so on. So maybe the Rigid will eventually produce the 2,250 inch lbs but then again the Makita will eventually produce more yet.
Taylor
Is the Rigid stealth impact driver out yet? I take it that it will be a two piece kit?
Stuart
No, and I don’t think so.
Derek
It’s listed here now: https://www.ridgid.com/giftsforpros/
Model: R86036K
$199
Stuart
The price and model number were both already mentioned in the above post, but I appreciate your sleuthing efforts!
Derek
Yes I know. I was just relaying the page its listed on. It’s from an official source. Thanks.
Nathan
Interesting conversation. To be honest i have never really felt that my impact driver was loud enough that it was dangerous, and out of curiousity i looked it up. Of course it’s not on the Milwaukee US page, but the euro page (http://www.milwaukeetool.eu/powertools/cordless/m12-cid/), shows that the sound pressure level of the m12 fuel impact driver is 84 dBa, which is right about the level where prolonged exposure can cause hearing loss.
I wonder how far from the driver that is measured? It really doesn’t sound very loud to me at “normal distance”.
Nathan
Oops here’s a reference page on hearing loss http://www.dangerousdecibels.org/education/information-center/decibel-exposure-time-guidelines/
Toolpig
I personally feel that these post drivers are going to become extremely popular. While they don’t have the high torque numbers that impact drivers enjoy, they have plenty of power for driving a wide range of even large fasteners . I just posted a video on Instagram of the oil pulse driver from Makita next two to traditional hard impact drivers and the performance of the oil pulse driver is very impressive with a 6 inch screw in treated lumber??
Derek
Saw your video. It seems if the fastener your driving doesn’t need the extra power, impulse drivers drive much more quickly.