Have you ever had to drive a screw in a hard to reach place and just wished someone would come up with a simple solution to your situation? Well, Ridgid has come up with a cordless option that just might work for you. Let’s take a look at the Ridgid Impact Screwdriver Review.
Ridgid Impact Screwdriver Overview
For the longest time, you had two options for sinking screws. You could either use an old fashion screwdriver, but that took a long time and could be a workout or you could use a drill driver. The drill driver had some of it’s workload taken away from it as soon as impact drivers came about. The impact drivers are able to overcome the friction that stops a screw from driving. This innovation has nearly eliminated stripped screw heads forever.
Ridgid has introduced another innovation to driving screws. You can now control the speed at which you drive screws by how hard you push on the back of the driver.
Ridgid calls this driver the Ridgid 12 Volt Cordless Palm Impact Screwdriver. As its name implies, it’s a 12 Volt Impact screwdriver that fits into your palm. Since this unit is so simple to use and small, just about anyone can use this screwdriver and obtain great results.
Ridgid Impact Screwdriver Review Features
Ridgid didn’t just change a couple features from a previous model with this screwdriver. It is a completely new design and challenges how you think screws should be driven. The most unique thing about this screwdriver is not any one feature, but how the unit works.
Let’s think about how you go about driving screws. First, you have to put the screwdriver bit into the screw head. Then you line it up where you want the screw to be driven. Next, you have to squeeze the drill driver trigger and push on the back of the drill. If you have ever seen someone who is using a drill driver for the first time, I bet you will notice the drill bit jumping off of the screw head and causing damage to the screw head. I bet everyone reading this has stripped out Phillips screws before.
With the Ridgid 12 Volt Cordless Palm Impact Screwdriver the user can only drive a screw if he or she is pushing down on the screw with sufficient force. This downward pressure on the screw head is what keeps your bit engaged with the screw. Therefore it’s nearly impossible to strip out a screw head.
The Ridgid 12 Volt Cordless Palm Impact Screwdriver is only 5-1/2″ long by 2-1/2″ wide and without a bit, is about 3-1/2″ tall. Even though it is small in size, it doesn’t feel like it.
The switch that controls which way the driver rotates is located on the front of the unit.
There is a button located on the side of the unit that activates a light and shows you how much charge you have left with your battery.
The light on this unit stays on for 15 seconds before it shuts off.
Like most impact drivers, it is equipped with a 1/4″ bit receiver. 
The battery on this unit fits right in the back and helps balance out the weight from the top of the unit.
Ridgid Impact Screwdriver Review Performance
I was able to use the Ridgid 12 Volt Compact Palm Impact Screwdriver on a couple projects where I had some tough to reach spots. With a magnetic bit, I was able to successfully drive screws one-handed and with minimal effort. One thing that I haven’t mentioned yet is how to control the rotational speed of the bit. It’s pretty basic, the harder you push on the unit, the faster it will drive. You are completely in control of how fast you drive screws.
The screwdriver has a surprising amount of driving power. It is listed as having 400 in/Lbs of torque, 3,000 impacts per minute and 2,000 RPM. That is pretty impressive for its size.
There is only one real knock I have on the Ridgid 12 Volt Cordless Palm Impact Screwdriver. When you need to remove a screw with it, the only way to do it is by pushing on the unit the same way as you did when you drove the screw. This can be an issue if your screw does not have any threads grabbing in the wood. I had one instance when this happened and I had to resort to other means to remove the screw. Just something to keep in mind when using it.
Ridgid Impact Screwdriver Review Value
Ridgid was thinking outside of the box with this tool. They have priced this specialty tool at a very reasonable price and with the Lifetime Service Agreement, you can be sure to have a working tool for quite some time. You can find this at your local Home Depot for about $100.
One thing that I would like to see Ridgid improve upon is the number of tools in their 12 volt line. With only a few drills, this screwdriver, a light, and the jobmax tool, Ridgid hasn’t put much effort into developing this line. So, if you like the idea of this tool, don’t expect to be able to expand much on this battery platform.
Ridgid Impact Screwdriver Review Final Thoughts
Coming up with a truly new idea or way to do something is extremely difficult. Think of all of the different types of tools out there and how they do work. Can you imagine doing the work in a different way? It’s not easy. This is basically what Ridgid has done.
I can’t say this is the driver that I will be using on a daily basis going forward, but with its small size and unique easy operation, it will most certainly be in the rotation.
