I have been using this tool for the last couple of months. I have got to say that it has become the go-to circular saw in my inventory. I am going to give some ins and outs of my experience.
A cordless circular saw should not be your only circular saw, but probably your first one. Once a certain level of efficacy is achieved with the engineering of the tool, all the additional drawbacks are secondary. What I mean is that a smaller overall blade means less cutting capacity and a battery means limited runtime. But, for the ‘one’ cut or the awkward cuts you cannot beat a small, lightweight and cordless tool.
I am going to compare and contrast some of the other saws in my line-up to try and build a case for this one. My first saw was a traditional home-owner grade Skil. Nothing really wrong with that, I have done a lot of projects and it is serviceable. The number one thing that improves accuracy (for a right hander) is having a blade to the left so you can see the blade cutting the line as you push the saw.
I upgraded to a Porter-Cable about fifteen years ago. This is a much beefier, contractor oriented saw. It has the blade on the left, a really wide base. This saw is ear splitting loud and I have some trouble with the blade wandering, could be me but it doesnt seem to be an issue with other saws. However, the first thing that broke was the ‘tool less’ nut to hold the blade on. This happened mid-project so I ended up buying the Skil worm drive saw while I waited on a replacement nut.
The Skil is a beast. If I am cutting framing lumber all day long or concrete block, this is the saw that I want. It is quiet and powerful (and really heavy). Now, I am going to review the roles that each of these saws’ play. The regular Skil is now attached to my Kreg track. The worm drive is for heavy duty cutting and the Porter-Cable I use largely for demolition. That leaves the Makita for everything else.
I think most people in this realm know that once a brand is chosen, you are smart to buy other tools in the same brand because you can share batteries between them. Hence I have the Makita tool system and a number of tools that are in the family. In true disclosure, I dont have a lot of recent experience with other brands. But after fretting for several months on what brand to buy, I think that you probably cant go wrong with any of them. I will say that DeWalt is available at both major home centers whereas Makita is not. The same is true for Rigid, Milwaukee, Ryobi, Bosch and Craftsman, being store specific.
Now, I only have 3 aHr batteries, so to get more run time, an upgraded battery would be an improvement. However, on a full charge I was able to work on siding all day long without changing batteries. The light an compact nature of the saw is extremely useful in tight situations.
On the more downside of things, this saw does not have a ton of torque so it needs a runway to get started with cutting. It can bind relatively easy so you need to pay attention to the cut. Because of the light weight, kick back is much more real because it doesn’t have the mass behind it to counter act the forces of binding. If you add to it more risky support because of the light weight of the saw you need to be careful not to get injured.
| Score | Pros | Cons | |
| Value | 3/5 | Uses batteries for my existing 18V tools | Costs as much as a high output electric saw |
| Batteries requires brand loyalty | |||
| Quality | 5/5 | Good ergonomic fit | |
| Performance | 4/5 | Very happy about the performance of a lightweight, cordless saw | High battery draw, the brushless saw (for 50% more) would be more efficient and powerful |
It should be noted that this was a tool only purchase. At $129 that is fairly steep for convenience. There are options to buy kits where the most common is drill, driver, reciprocating saw and circular saw that would come with batteries and a charger. The saw can be purchased with battery and charger as well, but you are now getting up to the $250 range. At that price I don’t think this is worth the money.
To sum it up, I am very happy. Despite the many drawbacks not having a cord is sure convenient.
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