Staring at the prospect of installing a few hundred square feet of decking should not make you think “screwdriver.” It should make you think: cordless impact driver. These secret weapons for backyard carpenters combine drill-like bit spinning with internal, hammer-strike blows that force a screw through tough materials. They also tend to be bulky. Bosch’s new 10.8-volt model, the Litheon Impactor, is not—you could paint it black and use it as a sleek ray gun for a homemade video. At 6 inches tall and 6.5 inches long, it’ll fit between joists and inside ducts. But with 800 inch-pounds of torque (more than most larger models), you won’t have to rely on buckets of elbow grease to get the last turn of a screw. —Adam Rogers
WIRED Fast recharge time and long battery life. Bright LEDs light the target. Makes as satisfying a machine-gun noise as any larger driver, but lighter weight—2.2 pounds—means you can use it longer and at more awkward angles.
TIRED The quick-change chuck feels a tad flimsy. Batteries and chargers can’t be used with bigger Bosch gear.
$199, bosch.com
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