MakitaXNB02Z 18V LXT Straight Finish Nailer, 16 Gauge, 2-1/2"

This is my first battery powered nailer and I am now a firm believer. It's a little heavy but it works really well. If you take off the rubber anti scratch nose piece it will drive the nail in further.

Having a cordless nailer is freedom. No cord, no hose, heavenly.

I read the reviews before I purchased this item. Almost went with DeWalt based on complaints. Went with Makita because of a recommendation. This Nail Gun is GREAT! Don't understand the negative reviews. The only time it has failed to perfectly set the nail was when the battery ran out of juice. I had 18V 2amp battery that came with a Makita Drill. Works just fine with the 2amp.

First, I bought this gun because I had to buy a few other Makita battery tools that no one else had. I was happy with those so I thought, why not the trim gun. I have used a porter cable trim nailer for about 6 years now. It has been great. It will drive a 2 1/2" 16g nail with no problem and drive all the way in 100 percent of the time. Now this Makita, I'm shaking me head as I'm writing this. It's bulky and heavy. Now if worked like it was supposed too, I would be okay with bulky and heavy. This gun will not drive a 2 1/2" nail through butter. I'm nailing up 1x6 V groove pine into rafters. I've done this for thousands upon thousands of board feet with my porter cable and never had to come back and drive in nails(unless I hit a knot). This Makita will only drive them In about 1 1/2". Now here's what you have to know about a battery nailer. You have to fully depress the plunger, pull the trigger and not pull it away until the nail is fully driven. If you pull away even a fraction of a second too soon, the nail may not fully drive in with any battery nail gun. With that said, using two hands, I can push down on the gun, pull the trigger wait three seconds after the nail is shot and it still will be sticking out of soft pine at least an inch almost every shot. I shot two racks of nails with only about 10 of them setting properly. I'm sending this gun back. Could not be more disappointed. If it's a defect with this gun in particular, I will edit this post. Until then, I paid over $300 for this gun and only about $150 for my porter cable. You should not have these kind of problems with a $300 to right out of the box! Do a quality check or something!

Its not a perfect tool, but its a marked improvement over the cordless Brad. This nailer is much better balanced, and drives a ton of nails before needing a battery change. I just finished hanging crown in a few rooms of a house with it. I was pleased with the nail depth, its not as consistent as a pneumatic nailer but decent over all. I drove several hundred nails with it and only had go go back with a nail punch on 3 or 4 nails. The depth adjustment is really tough to do by hand, to get mine moving I needed pliers. I would recommend this gun, Its nice not having to drag out compressor. I do have one complaint / warning. It's crazy loud, make sure you have hearing protection especially in small rooms.

Got it today and tested: it does not drive any nails; it misfires all the time. Maybe I got a defective item? I decide to return it for replacement. This review will be updated when I get a replacement. I love Amazon Prime defective item replacement policy - it just works! Review update: few days later received replacement Makita Finish Nailer, seems like it is working fine. So, this mean that Makita has some quality control issues. I have put around 300 nails size 2 1/2" - only one time was misfire. Also noticed that gun will stop working when all nails are used except the last 7 nails in magazine. I also noticed that the dial for regulating nails head deepness is not working very well: I have dialed it all the way to the limit to drive nail’s head as deep as possible into the wood but still have some nails with head above the wood panel's surface, so I must use a small hammer to put those nails heads down, not sure, but this could be another Makita quality control issue (there is a label on a tool “made in Japan” LOL), but I decided to keep the second Makita Finish Nailer. This Nailer is perfect for a small job but it is no way that it will replace my Senco Finish Nailer.

I have only ran two cull loads through this so far. Worked perfectly with pass load nails. I tried it upside down, since I saw complaints about that, no issues. I’m wondering if the people having problems are using off brand nails.

This is the first finish nailer I've owned. I like the 18V Makita tools. It feels like a non-battery nailer. It is very hefty and powerful. Have used it with various length nails. I like the ability to adjust the force to keep the head from being proud of the surface or below the surface. It also includes a rubber foot cover to protect surfaces. This is not a light unit, but I'd rather have a heavy hefty unit to do the job and last a long time. Highly recommend.