Wish they made a holster for it so that I could carry it in public, show it off some, and maybe even help out someone in need. This is my first cordless impact and has become my go-to tool for every teardown project. If you’ve been on the fence about getting a cordless impact, have been wondering which one to get, or are just now learning that they make such a thing, then I do not see you going wrong with this one.

This tool was bought to replace the Milwaukee 18V cordless drill that I once used. It did a nice job on small fasteners; it was primarily used for M6 bolts and nuts holding covers, trim pieces, etc. However, it was big, bulky, weak, and it’s old enough that the batteries are just about done. The CT725 seemed like a perfect fit when looking for replacements for the old Milwaukee, and it has been.

The impact absolutely excels at speeding up jobs with small fasteners, and has the power for some larger tasks to boot. I mainly use this tool for trim and other odds and ends. Some pieces that come to mind are fan shroud bolts, upper core support cover fasteners, plastic intakes, timing covers, oil pans, differential covers, and pretty much any kind of cover you can think of.  Tiny fasteners are not the only place in which the CT725 can be handy though, I have used it on several different parts to see what it is capable of, the toughest of which being connecting rod nuts on a Ford 4.0 SOHC, on which it had a 50/50 success rate. On the connecting rod nuts that did not budge, the gun showed its durability while I hammered away like crazy on it.

Now that you have the low down on the overall usefulness of the CT725, let us look at some of the finer details, the finest of which may be the trigger assembly. The trigger is a rocker style variable speed switch that makes it very easy to swap from forward to reverse rotation and gives nice control over power output. Another very useful detail of the gun that I’ve come to like are the headlights. There are two forward-facing LED’s mounted below the drive end, which are activated by the drive trigger. A very light touch of the trigger will activate the lights before the drive starts turning. This is very handy for when you’re wedged under a dash trying to remove a blower motor, you can’t see the screws holding the motor in, and there’s really not much room for your flashlight that you’re wedged in too tight to reach anyways. A light touch of the trigger and you can see where you’re going, then a little more pressure after your socket or bit is on the fastener, and out she comes.

The final handy features would be the battery charge indicator, screened motor and integrated brake. A nice green LED that lights up on the handle lets you know that your battery is fully charged, or that same LED in yellow or red lets you know that it is not. The LED comes on any time the trigger is depressed. The openings in the plastic to allow air to get to the electric motor has a nice hefty metal screen that keeps me from worrying about anything getting caught up in it. The brake comes into effect whenever the trigger is released, and will keep you from having sockets and fasteners go flying after everything is loose.

Pros

• Lightweight
• Powerful
• Headlights
• Brake

Cons

• Doesn’t have me a pot of coffee made when I show up in the morning

Manufacturer: Snap-on
Torque rating: 60 ft lbs