DEWALT 20V MAX 1/4 Inch Hydraulic Impact Driver,Quiet, Brushless Cordless XR Extreme Runtime, LED Halo Ring, Tool Only (DCF870B)

Love it. I'm finally migrating from my first generation 20v brushed motor DeWalt impact. I expected it to be less powerful, and somewhat less intuitive. I was totally wrong. The torque multiplication is fantastic, just as good if not BETTER than my old unit (I can't say how it is relatively with the other brushless units, but it's probably a little bit lower performance. Three phase brushless systems are superior in every way you can slice it). It's very quiet, I mean probably less than half the decibels of my original. I set some of the iron works bolts that support my first floor to test; the tool itself makes so little noise it's amazing. The only thing that stood out, noise wise, was the actual impact cycles resonating with the steel beams. My 5 year old was sleeping directly above, and he didn't wake up for any of the eight large fasteners. The speed setting is awesome, but it's not just speed, the torque output is higher on speed two for sure, and I do not mean it makes more impact cycles per second (though it does), the actual torque is significantly higher. The speed setting should not be used as a drive restrictor, even though it probably could be with some practice (ballpark, thumb at arms length with one eye closed type of accuracy). I don't think the few mentions of non intuitive feel are fair or even accurate. Fire off one high friction screw into two pieces of pine, and consider your meatware calibrated. It weighs a lot.... A good deal more than my first gen unit. I'll put it this way, I put one of my 60v flex batteries on, and it was almost balanced just right. Price point is.... Eh. Could be better, but honestly, you get what you pay for. Hydraulic cavitation feels very nice, almost unnatural, but very very satisfying. Overall power is in range of expectations for the class for sure. I'm keeping my first gen for dum dum work, this unit is going to my workshop floor to use with electronics and other sensitive equipment. I frequently use a step down converter to use 5/32 bits with specialty types (no, I don't crank anything down with this, but I sure do break old fasteners free at full force!). The 20m work light is brilliant. Not that I don't already have an entire Division of purpose built lighting... This is just convenient when I don't want to drag another tool out for something quick or unforeseen. Battery consumption is very efficient due to the the phase solid state driven motors. I build these systems at the component level, I know them very well, you can't beat the efficiency and the power at such precision. This is a tank just like most of my DeWalt tools. I seriously doubt I'll be able to break it. You'd have to be a real a***hole to break one of these. I expect it to last indefinitely. I'm not 100% on how the hydraulic housing is configured, and if it will leak in 15 years or something, but I expect it was designed appropriately. Recommended, 10/10 ....and as a very picky engineer, I don't give anything full marks.

Nice driver, bought as tool only. It's compact , quiet operating, and powerful. Should be very useful for anything needing screwed fastening. It does not have an adjustable torque setting like many hammer drills, but not a problem for most construction tasks.

My coworker used his regular dewalt impact next to me the other day and holy cow that thing is loud. I’ve forgotten how loud my old one was. We service/install automatic and manual pedestrian doors. We are in all types of medical facilities about 75% the time and the patients and staff don’t want to be hearing that kinda noise. This dewalt hydraulic impact is SO MUCH more quiet and more powerful. No issues so far. I’ve had it now for about 6 months and use it at least 5 days a week the whole time at work.

Quiet and powerful. For those that are Delwalt users, this is driver to get. To be fair, here at the end of 2025, the DCF860 is still the king of the driver's, but the DCF870 gets it done. I will take a little less power for the much lower volume when drivinf fasteners. I ran 2-1/2" #9 deck screws in and had to watch that i wasn't overdriving them. I stepped up to the 5-1/8" and its dropped them like a rock. The grip is comfortable as most Dewalts are today. No Hotspots with barehands. It feels solid but I haven't dropped it out of 2nd story window. The compact head will be great for working between studs. But the headline is how quiet it is. With predrilled holes i didnt even hear impacting until I got to the bigger fasteners. Granted this was all white pine. But when driving the aforementioned 5" mini lags, it was quieter than my 12V driving 2" #8's. When i put up plywood sheeting in my garage, everyone for half a block knew it using my old 887. If I'd have had the 870, no one would've had a clue. Its unquestionably by favorite impact these days. Now Dewalt how bout a fluid impact in a lower power form factor for furniture, trim work, and the like.

I have five other older dewalt impact drivers that I need to wear hearing protection when I use them. This one is far more powerful and super quiet in comparison. The best driver I have ever owned. A must have. I purchased a second one as soon as I used this driver for the first time. On the high power setting (2) you have to be careful or you will shear the head off the screw if you hold the power too long. Super happy with the upgraded unit. The older drives are going out to the street in front of my "Free" sign.

Fast, powerful and quiet. What more is there to say? Worth every penny

Super happy with this purchase. I have a couple other impact wrenches that I use when working on my Jeep for nuts and bolts. They have way to much torque though for certain tasks though where softer materials are in play. Recently while have a hardwood floor installed I was able to borrow our professional installers hydraulic impact driver (different brand) and found it to be much quieter and offered better control. I borrowed his because I was having trouble using mine and kept over sinking screws in temporary stair treads. This unit delivered on what I wanted. The "clacking" you get occurs quickly due to the low torque of the driver which means you're less likely to overdrive a screw into and through your surface. The sound is also much quieter than my higher torque drivers. Each "clack" turns/taps the screw just a little bit further into your material and the variable speed lets you slowly and carefully sneak up on your desired screw depth. Much better control than my old high torque drive. I've used it to assemble beds and to dial in some drywall screws that stuck out too far. I will be using this to install new wall cabinets in my garage. I also tried this out for driving screws through 3/4" OSB flooring and while it did work, I switched back to my higher torque driver for that task. Yes - this one operated much quieter but the hardness of the OSB meant driving the screws took a bit longer and my higher torque was faster while still not overdriving the screws. I won't give up my high torque drivers, but this was a sorely needed addition to my toolbox. Highly recommended.

Smaller, lighter, quieter and great tork