Milwaukee M12 Subcompact Brushless Impact Driver Review

In February we learned that Milwaukee was releasing 2 new M12 Subcompact Brushless tools – a drill and impact driver and here’s the review on that new impact driver. Let’s check it out below.

Make sure to also check out my review on the matching M12 Subcompact Brushless drill by clicking here.

Boring Legal Stuff. Milwaukee sent me these at no cost to me and are not paying me to write a positive review. These are my thoughts and will do my best to provide both good and bad. If you purchase through a link on this site, we may get a share of the sale.

Milwaukee M12 Subcompact Brushless Impact Driver 3450-20 Review

Size & Weight

Manufacturers continue shrinking 18V power tools with the “Subcompact” category and have been making these 18V tools the size of 12 volt tools. Compact size and weight has always been the main reason for 12 volt tools in the first place, so what is a brand like Milwaukee supposed to do with their 12V tools? Well shrink their 12 volt tools even further. And thus they have with their latest M12 subcompact brushless drill and impact driver.

Milwaukee somehow found a way to shrink these 12 volt tools even further, and this little guy is a puny 4.3 inches according to Milwaukee. I measured it and it comes out to 4-5/16″ not including the belt clip that protrudes the back a bit or the handle and battery pack. The tiny size and length will no doubt help it fit into tighter spaces where larger tools could only dream of. That and you can stuff a small tool bag with more 12 volt tools.

The size is amazingly compact! Above we see it compared to the M18 Fuel Gen 3 impact driver for a size comparison. Now, the M18 Fuel Gen 3 impact isn’t large by any means, but it does stand head and shoulders above the tiny M12, even with a compact battery pack.

Size & Weight Continued

Above we see a length comparison. I will admit that the M12 doesn’t look that much shorter in length here. But that just shows us how compact the M18 Fuel Gen 3 already is. Though we can see that the M12 is considerably slimmer.

And no matter how small M18 tools shrink, they still can’t touch the lower weight found on 12 volt tools. This little impact weighs in at 1.7 lbs with a compact battery installed (according to Milwaukee). I weighed it in at 1 lbs and 11.5 ounces meaning Milwaukee’s recorded weight is pretty accurate. The low weight makes it easier to wield, especially for longer periods before fatigue starts to set in. The lower weight also makes it perfect and easier for overhead work.

Though it’s very light, it does have some heft to it. The best way I can describe it is that it feels heavier than it looks, in a good surprising way. All while being way lighter and smaller than 18V tools.

Features

Now let’s move on to the features and since this isn’t a Fuel branded impact, it doesn’t have all of their best features. Starting with the business end, this impact driver has a double handed 1/4″ hex chuck. It’s not a single handed chuck. What this means is that you need both hands to insert and remove bits. One hand to pull on the sleeve while the other hand inserts and removes bits. This is in contrast to more premium chucks with one handed use that allow the bits to slip into place and lock automatically. This is a feature found on their FUEL impacts.

Behind the chuck we find rubber overmolding so you don’t scuff delicate surfaces and offers a bit of protection to the impact from drops. Below that we find the single LED light. Again, since it’s not a FUEL impact, no triple LED light ring here which offers 3 lights for less shadows. However a single LED light is good enough and offers an afterglow that stays lit for a few seconds after you release the trigger. Brightness is about average and also good enough.

On the top of the impact driver, we find the 4 bar fuel gauge. Milwaukee M12 batteries don’t have fuel gauges so the fuel gauge must be on the tool itself. This is standard fare for all M12 tools. This impact driver is also a single speed tool, so no speed selector on the impact. Though it does have a variable speed trigger so you can take advantage of the full range of this tools speed and performance.

Features Continued

On to the sides, we see the belt clip installed on the left side for right handed use and can be installed on the right side for left handed use. Just behind the trigger is the forward/reverse button with lock function in the center. The lock function is great for when storing in a tool bag so the tool doesn’t activate during transport. We also see little rubber bumpers on the sides so it doesn’t scuff delicate surfaces.

The handle is ergonomic thanks to the slimmed down section at the top of the handle which better fits the web of your hand between the thumb and pointer finger. You find plenty of rubber overmolding around the handle for comfort and grip.

The rubber overmolding continues to the rear of the tool. I also really like that the back of the tool is flat which makes it easy to rest flat on its back. And the back makes it clear that this is a brushless motor power tool.

Brushless is better than a brushed motor because there are no brushes to replace so less maintenance and longer life. Brushless motors are also more efficient meaning they help tool brands make smaller more powerful tools and while using less battery than similar performing brushed motor tools.

Performance

Now on to the part you’ve all been waiting for – its performance! This impact is crazy tiny but it also packs a punch. Thanks to its brushless motor, it’s rated at 1,100 in-lbs of torque, 0-3,000 RPM, & 0-4,100 IPM.

So how do those paper stats translate to the real world? Let me demonstrate that for you my friend. Please check out the video below which shows what this little guy is capable of.

This impact driver as a kit comes with compact 2.0ah batteries. That’s what Milwaukee supplied me with and that’s what I tested it out with.

As you can see in the above video, this little guy is capable of quite a bit. Possibly more than its tiny size would suggest.

Driving Performance

It handled everything I threw at it. From 3 inch all purpose screws, to a really long screw (I forgot what the screw was for but I’m thinking for decking purposes), and a couple of 5/16″ lags in 2 and 3-1/2″ inches. The 3 inch and crazy long screw as well as the 2 inch lag were easy for the little impact and handled them with relative ease. The longest 3-1/2 inch lag made the little impact work hard to get it done, and it took its sweet little time.

Going into more detail, the 3 inch screw test was considerably faster than Milwaukee’s own M12 brushed motor impact driver rated for 1,000 in-lbs of torque but noticeably slower than the OG M12 FUEL impact driver which is rated at 1,200 in-lbs.

Driving performance is well suited for light duty to light-medium duty fasterners. It’s not meant for medium duty fasteners but can handle them although slowly.

Drilling Performance

Believe it or not, impact drivers are capable of drilling. Just make sure to use impact rated drill bits. I’ve broken several spade bits in my early days of working with power tools because they weren’t impact rated. Anyways, I went ahead and tested this impact drivers performance with a variety of drill bits and sizes.

I used a mixture of Diablo Speed Demon spade bits and Irwin Speedbor Max bits. In the past, I would use Bosch DareDevil spade bits however they weren’t available in store so I went with the Diablo speed demons.

I’m going to let you in on a little secret, impact drivers aren’t fast at drilling. With that in mind, we’ll keep our expectations low where they should be for an impact. The first drilling test was drilling with a 1/2″ speed demon spade, then a 5/8″ speedbor max, then a 3/4″ speed demon, and lastly a 1″ speed demon spade.

Performance was good for an impact rated at 1,100 in-lbs of torque. Nothing groundbreaking, but as expected it performed better than impacts rated for less torque and slower than impacts with more torque. No surprise here but again, it’s performance is better than its puny size suggests. It even handled the 1 inch speed demon spade bit, although it did struggle slightly at the end of the hole for a brief moment before it finished the hole.

Drilling performance is well suited for light duty drilling – slow and steady. It’s capable of drilling up to 3/4″ inch holes and can even handle a 1 inch hole but not without a struggle.

Price

This impact driver is available now and is priced at $119 as a baretool, $149 as a 2-battery kit, and $199 as a 2-tool combo kit with the matching subcompact brushless drill.

Conclusion

Milwaukee’s latest M12 Subcompact Brushless impact driver makes a statement by proving that 12 volt tools are still relevant and more compact and lighter-weight than even 18V subcompact tools. It offers a nice blend of performance to size ratio with performance that’s better than its puny size would suggest.

I can’t think of a more compact impact driver, especially in the front to back length department and has good middle of the road performance. In fact, it has 12 volt performance in the upper mid-range. It performs better than Milwaukee’s M12 brushed motor impact while giving the performance and features crown to their M12 Fuel impact drivers.

Pros:

Incredibly Compact – Class leading short length (front to back) of 4-5/16″
- can fit into tighter spaces than larger tools
Low weight with battery pack at 1.7 lbs
- for less fatigue
Upper mid-range 12V performance
Great build quality

Cons:

More basic feature set – missing more premium features like LED light ring, Multiple speeds, One-handed chuck, etc.

MNFR Specs:

Volts: 12V
Torque: 1100 in-lbs.
RPM: 0-3000
IPM: 0-4100
Tool Length: 4.3”
Tool Width: 2.0”
Tool Weight (With Battery): 1.7 lbs.

Kit Includes: (3450-22) – $149

3450-20 M12™ Subcompact Brushless ¼” Hex Impact Driver
(2) M12™ REDLITHIUM™ CP2.0 Ah Battery Pack
M12™ Charger
Contractor Bag

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