3/4-Inch Cordless Impact Wrenches: One Van vs Milwaukee M18 vs Makita LXT

Introduction

If you are stepping up from a 1/2-inch high-torque impact, the 3/4-inch drive class is where things get serious. These tools exist to break loose stubborn fasteners, and the three covered here represent very different answers to the same question: the Milwaukee M18 3/4-inch, the Makita LXT 3/4-inch, and a heavyweight newcomer called the One Van, bought from Alibaba and put through a dyno to see whether its wild spec claims hold up.

The Budget Contender: One Van 3/4-Inch Cordless Impact Wrench

The One Van claims a headline-grabbing 2,286 foot-pounds of bolt breakaway torque, and at a sticker price of around 215 dollars plus shipping it is by far the cheapest tool in this group. It runs on Makita LXT batteries, which keeps the overall cost down if you already own Makita packs. It is also genuinely industrial in feel: nearly nine pounds bare and 10.4 pounds with a battery attached, with a massive cast aluminum head and heavy through bolts at the base.

Its design is unusual in a good way. Rather than putting motor and hammer housings inside a nylon body like most modern impacts, it uses straight metal throughout, an epoxy-filled board, and a hammer assembly that alone weighs three pounds five ounces. The trade-off is speed: its impacts per minute are incredibly slow even for a high-torque tool, and the motor is too small to spin that huge hammer back up quickly.

Real-World Torque Performance

On the dyno, the One Van’s claimed numbers proved wildly optimistic. In forward it managed only 422 foot-pounds, which most 1/2-inch high-torque impacts beat these days. In reverse, where 3/4-inch tools earn their keep, it peaked at 780 foot-pounds, with a best-case run reaching 823 foot-pounds and 830 foot-pounds with a larger custom pack. Additional battery capacity did nothing further, suggesting the tool is designed around a Makita 5Ah pack.

For context, the Milwaukee M18 3/4-inch delivers noticeably more, the Makita LXT 3/4-inch sits close in overall score, and neither makes exaggerated claims. If advertised torque accuracy matters to you, the One Van is the weakest of the three by a wide margin, even though its price-to-performance ratio is still a genuine record.

Milwaukee M18 3/4-Inch Impact Wrench

The Milwaukee M18 2867 is described as the most powerful somewhat one-hand-wieldable impact on the market, delivering up to 1,800 foot-pounds as a pistol-shaped tool that realistically wants two hands. It is the most refined option here, with a compact modern design and strong forward performance where the One Van struggles badly.

Makita LXT 3/4-Inch Impact Wrench

The Makita LXT 3/4-inch takes the same battery platform as the One Van and is only about two pounds lighter, but it delivers more consistent, honestly rated performance. It is the closest mainstream alternative for anyone already invested in LXT batteries who wants reliable 3/4-inch grunt without jumping to a one-inch D-handle tool.

Inside the One Van: Build and Design

Teardown reveals why the One Van behaves the way it does. Six isolator shock absorbers surround the hardware, the hammer cage is held with large bolts and blue Loctite, and the hammer mechanism is comically massive, partly hollowed out to fit around the reset spring. This design adds head diameter but shortens the tool relative to its hitting power, and it is likely to appear on more modern impacts going forward.

Not everything is clean: grease has migrated into the cooling fin area of a motor that probably should be substantially larger for this hammer mass. Quality control shows its budget origins in the details, but there is also not much that is outright bad, and the overall approach works better than expected for the price.

Which One Should You Buy?

If you have Makita LXT batteries and want more grunt than a 1/2-inch tool at a fraction of the cost of an M18 mid-torque, the One Van is an entertaining, oddly charming option that simply smashes things with a giant hammer as fast as it can spin it up. Its spec inflation is the main caveat.

If you want proven, honestly rated performance with strong forward torque, the Milwaukee M18 3/4-inch is the safe premium pick. The Makita LXT 3/4-inch splits the difference for existing LXT users, and if you truly need maximum nut-busting you are stepping into one-inch D-handle territory at over 24 pounds anyway.

Conclusion

The Milwaukee M18 3/4-inch remains the most complete tool of the three, the Makita LXT 3/4-inch is a solid platform-consistent choice, and the One Van is the wildcard: rough around the edges, wildly over-claimed, and yet genuinely fun and surprisingly capable for its price. Choose based on whether you value polish or value.