Tools: Milwaukee or Rigid?

Having a hard time deciding which line to invest in. Mainly because I find Milwaukee prices a little steep for my budget, but I prefer their lineup. Rigid seems to be cheaper with more deals, but I don’t find them as innovative.

I love the new m12 lineup, specifically the stubby. They really seem to be innovating lately, but if I wanted to get into their m18 lineup it would be a whole other round of money into their batteries and charger.

The cool thing about Rigid is all batteries are interchangeable, but then their subcompact impact wretch is so small that the huge batteries defeat the purpose of it being subcompact, unlike the Milwaukee m12 stubby.

Anyways, what would you guys suggest? I’m definitely a weekend warrior, but very mechanically inclined and will be doing a few projects within a years time so I wanted to up my power tools game.


*UPDATE: Im leaning towards Milwaukee vs Dewalt, instead of Rigid.

 

@My Name is Rahl

I would go with the Milwaukee.
I am at the same crossroads myself. I am leaning more toward dewalt though. You can get a much larger kit at introductory and add the tools you want. They have virtually everything Milwaukee has and are just about as good.
Last i looked, the 20 piece set was under 500 for the dewalt at HD

 

Makita all day!

 

I prefer Makita, personally.

 

I’ll look into Dewalt for sure then. I think the biggest selling factors for me with Milwaukee is the m12 Lineup for automotive work. Like the stubby, the electric ratchet, and the new right angle impact wrench. It’s just the dang price of all of it that gets to me. What absolutely kills it is if I get a larger impact, then I have to re-invest in the m18 lineup.

 

well, ended up adding more to the poll since there’s two for Makita lol. Any particular reason? Or just personal preference because it’s what you guys have used?

 

I had a collection of battery powered tools. Never seemed to have the battery I needed. So I made a decision to go all Milwaukee. Haven't regretted it. I'm amazed at the sheer number of tools they have. My favorites are the copper pipe cutter and the PVC cutter. Toss in the bandsaw and you can cut any type of plumbing or conduit you come across.

 

ive had great luck with makita, dewalt, and milwaukee. all great and im sure youll be happy with any of them. Id say save and get one of those over rigid.

edit: i only have little experience with the m12, and only the tiny batteries, but the m18 seems so be a lot better in terms of battery life and power.

 

I completely agree, but the tools don't share batteries from what I've seen... so you need 12, 18, and 20 to cover them all. That's been the factor for me... is I could use both sets, but one would get a lot less use out of it to justify the expense of 2 different sets of tools and batteries. The 20 will cover 90 percent of the needs

 

Milwaukee all day. The M12 stuff is worth it. I’ve also dealt with their warranty/repair department through my work and the process was quick and effortless.

 

Man, I didn’t even realize the 18 and 20 weren’t interchangeable. Main things I’d get would be the stubby, ratchet, high impact, the angle grinder, and band saw. In due time of course, but having to buy so many batteries and chargers is a budget killer for sure.

 

The 5 year warranty is definitely nice. I’ve had the m12 stubby in my homedepot cart for some time now lol.

 

Me too.
Really. I only need a sawzall or hackzall, but I dont want to spend a hundred or more dollars for one or 2 more tools in a kit, then the big one is just a little more. If I had a specific need for those tools daily, I would go with Milwaukee and never look back.
But I don't, so I will save my money for truck mods.

 

I've got all

$126 Milwaukee M18 Cordless Lithium-Ion 6-1/2" Circular Saw - 2630-20 - ( MILWAUKEE ) - BARE TOOL

Milwaukee M18. Their stuff is definitely expensive, but im too far down the rabbit hole now. I've never had any issues at all with any of their stuff, so I say it's worth it

 

If you can, wait till August. Milwaukee puts on a huge sale though all of its vendors and the rebates are awesome.

Also, I will say that it's the Dewalt 18 and 20 volts that are not interchangeable. Milwaukee only has their M12 and M18 lines, with no 20 volt.

 

I have used the heck out of my Milwaukee Tools and love them, would buy again!

 

Makita...because the batteries. I have a 13 year old Makita that still works. The battery from it fits into my new brushless Makitas as well as the chargers being totally compatible.
I have 18v batteries. Dewalt batteries tent to have heat issues when you really push them. Plus, they always change the battery design so, the consumer is forced into upgrading. It really just comes down to personal taste. I had one of the very first Makitas back when they were 9 v and had a chuck key. Cordless drill 1984

 

Well after this thread I may go with Milwaukee, not hard to get pushed off the edge when you’re trying to jump in that direction already lol. I’ll definitely check in during August, but I may get in the m12 line up now and use the sale for the m18 stuff since that’s a good chunk more.

 

Dewalt only has 12v and 20v (which is basically just 18v like Milwaukee just with a different name). Dewalt used to have 18v but that was like more than a decade ago.

EDIT: Technically they also have 60v too but the batteries are compatible with 20v tools so that’s kinda cool.

 

I like my Rigid tools. Lifetime warranty (repair or replace) on all tools/batteries/chargers except my radio which has a 5yr I think.
I have had to use the warranty on a couple tools. However, it was easy to do and the manager told me that if I needed a tool while under warranty, to buy another and return it within 90 days for a refund when mine got back.