Makita HP2071F

Well balanced & powerful – I bought this drill a few weeks ago after my 10 year old AEG 700W drill burnt out. Compared to that one, the Makita is lighter and better balanced. No problems using it single handedly. So far I've used it for driving tek screws (75mm long into hardwood), drilling 18mm holes into hardwood using a spade bit and drilling 10mm holes into brick for masonry anchors. It did all jobs well. Most other drills have a reverse lever above the trigger, but this drill has a sliding/rotating device at the rear of the drill body, above the handle, which seems easy to use and doesn't get knocked the wrong way accidently. The gearbox is a bit annoying; you can't simply turn the button to change gears, but need to rotate the chuck at the same time. The side handle has a number of "stops" that positively hold the handle. This was one of the things I didn't like about the AEG - when the drill bit jammed and the drill twisted, the handle would move. With the Makita that shouldn't be possible. All in all a good drill that should last me at least as long as the AEG did. good value, lightweight, powerful, innovate reverse function, stops or keys for side handle gearbox - need to turn chuck while changing gears