Panasonic EZ1A PD1 Review: The Shortest Impact Driver in the World

Introduction

Most impact driver buyers compare power, battery platforms, and price. Every so often, though, a tool appears that competes on something different entirely: size. The Panasonic EZ1A PD1 is exactly that kind of tool. Marketed and sold only in Japan, this compact impact driver measures just 98.3 mm from the back of the body to the front of the chuck, which makes it shorter front-to-back than any other impact driver currently available, including the well-known ultra-compact DeWalt.

Because it has never been released outside Japan, getting one means importing it. That alone makes it an exotic choice, but the tool also brings a genuinely different feature set to the table. This review covers what it is, what it does well, and what you should think about before going through the trouble of importing one.

What Makes the EZ1A PD1 Unusual

The headline feature is length. At 98.3 mm, the Panasonic is roughly 2.3 mm shorter than the DeWalt ultra-compact impact driver, which measures about 100.6 mm at the top. That gap is small on paper but meaningful in a category where every millimetre counts when working between studs, inside cabinets, or in tight framing cavities.

The trade-off is at the bottom. While the top half of the tool is impressively compact, the base is chunky, particularly with the large 5.0Ah battery packs that come in the kit. The battery hangs out beyond the base of the tool, so the overall footprint with a battery attached is not nearly as svelte as the body alone suggests.

It is also worth noting that Panasonic is not the only manufacturer working in this direction. At least one other major brand is reportedly developing an even shorter impact driver, around 97 mm, with a less bulky battery. The compact-driver race is clearly on.

Batteries, Charging, and the Bulky Base

The EZ1A PD1 is part of Panasonic’s newer compact tool range and works with both 14.4V and 18V batteries. With a low-capacity 14.4V pack, the whole tool becomes noticeably smaller and lighter, which is handy for overhead work or tight spaces.

The battery mounting is different from what most users know. Instead of sliding the pack on from the end, you drop it in vertically and give it a tiny slide until the arrows line up. The connection includes a protected communication section, similar in purpose to the contact block on Makita 18V packs but better shielded against knocks.

There is also a clever bit-storage trick built into the base. Pull the driver bit out of the chuck and push it into a slot at the bottom of the tool, then clip the battery on, and the bit locks in place. You have to remove the battery to get the bit back out, which some will find annoying, but it does give you a secure way to carry a spare bit without any external bit holder.

One charging quirk to know before importing: the included charger is a 110V unit. If you live in a 220-240V region such as New Zealand, Australia, or the UK, you will either need a step-down transformer or a local charger, which Panasonic sells separately. The charger itself is a fairly basic box, and its indicator logic feels backwards: a solid green light while charging, a slow flash around 80 percent, and a rapid flash when full. It also handles an unusually wide voltage range, from 10.8V up to 28.8V, so one charger covers the whole battery family.

The Modular Attachment System

This is where the tool stops being just a short impact driver and becomes something closer to a multi-tool. Remove the front nose piece and you expose an aluminium toothed ring. Attachments clip onto that ring and can be set at eight different positions, with alignment marks so you can line them up precisely.

The standout attachment is a right-angle chuck, and unlike the installation-driver attachments from other brands, it connects directly to the tool with no extra bit sticking out the front. That keeps the whole assembly far more compact than the setup you get when stacking an attachment over an impact driver bit. The right-angle chuck has a proper chuck of its own and works well for driving fasteners in corners, against walls, or overhead where you cannot get the body of the tool in line with the screw.

A second offset attachment shifts the drive point nearly flush with the top of the tool, which is genuinely useful for cabinet work where you need to reach right into the top corner of a cupboard without the tool body marking the workpiece.

Beyond the two attachments included in the kit, Panasonic also offers a crimper attachment and a cable cutter rated for material up to about 19 mm in diameter. Those extras are sold separately and, notably, the cable cutter reportedly costs more than the entire kit reviewed here, so treat them as optional specialist purchases.

Real-World Driving Performance

The rated spec is 155 Nm of torque with an 18V battery. Speed settings run at roughly 4,100 impacts per minute on top speed, 3,100 on medium, and 2,100 on low, plus a tech mode that also runs at about 2,100 impacts per minute. The tech mode starts fast and slows down near the end to prevent camming out or overdriving small screws, which works as intended on delicate fasteners but is not suited to big structural screws.

In practical testing with large structural timber screws, the tool got a shorter screw flush, but a 10-inch screw proved a step too far. It repeatedly struggled to seat the head flush on the longest fasteners, where a more powerful comparison driver drove them in faster and with less effort. With the right-angle attachment fitted, that last bit of seating was even harder to achieve. In short: this is a compactness-first tool, not a brute.

Two smaller design points worth noting. The LED work light can run only while the trigger is pressed, stay on continuously, or be switched off, which gives you more control than most drivers. On the other hand, there is no fuel gauge on the battery itself; you have to pull the trigger to see the remaining charge indicator on the tool. Build origin is also mixed: the tool is made in China, while the batteries are made in Japan.

What Comes in the Kit

The kit reviewed here includes the impact driver body, two 5.0Ah high-output batteries with contact covers, a charger, the right-angle chuck attachment, the offset attachment, a protective front cover with mounting screws if you want to run it purely as a standard impact driver, and a manual in Japanese. Everything ships in a well-organised black hard case with a bonus top-lid compartment for bits and screws, which opens far more easily than the hidden lids on comparable cases from other brands.

Buying Advice

Importing the EZ1A PD1 makes sense if you specifically need the shortest possible impact driver head for tight-space work, or if the eight-position attachment system solves problems you regularly face, such as cabinet installation, corner fixings, or overhead driving. If your work revolves around driving long structural fasteners all day, a conventional high-torque impact driver will serve you better.

Budget for extras beyond the tool itself: a voltage-appropriate charger if you are outside a 110V region, and potentially the specialist attachments if your trade needs them. Also keep an eye on the market, because competing ultra-compact drivers are on the way and may undercut Panasonic’s bulkier battery footprint.

Conclusion

The Panasonic EZ1A PD1 is a genuinely interesting tool that nails compactness where it matters most, at the head of the driver, and adds a modular attachment system that no other short impact driver currently matches. Its weaknesses are just as clear: a chunky battery base, modest high-torque performance on long structural screws, and a Japan-only release that complicates purchasing and charging. For the right buyer, though, those trade-offs are worth it, because nothing else on the market does what this tool does in the same footprint.