I am sick of the MILWAUKEE HYPE!

[TOOL FANATIK]

Everyone and their mother is on this Milwaukee wave and it makes me ill. Every other brand is just for homeowners, but Milwaukee is for the pros. Nevermind Milwaukee gets all the endcap space and all the display setups at the big box stores along with ryobi. Do not get me wrong they are great tools and are awesome. But they are not the best at everything. They have pros and cons. Dewalt has pros and cons. Makita and Bosch have pros and cons. They are all great tools. Milwaukee is not in a class of its own!

 

[larry_g]

Its tough to be sick. Give it some time and you'll get better.

lg
no neat sig line

 

[stikman56]

Kind of like Snap-On hand tools and Stihl chain saws, I guess. There's plenty of other great options out there, I have had them and still have them myself, but there is always the fan crowd with the blinders on, I think. I'm sure Milwaukee is excellent, but I still have my Snap-On cordless stuff and am content with all of it.

 

[CNGsaves]

What brand of T-shirt are you wearing with your favorite tool ??

Am I sensing bit of market anguish that Mw brand beat out your company to endcap sales ??

 

[TOOL FANATIK]

Its tough to be sick. Give it some time and you'll get better.

lg
no neat sig line

Yea when the hype dies down. It is the same with everything, people have a habit of blindly following the masses...It's ok, I'm only sick when I get on here, then I go and grab a hold of one of my Dewalt tools. All better!

 

[Tronyadorable]

Their warranty, along with Ridgids, ARE in a class of their own. Most all of what all those companies share in common is they make a few really decent tools........and a whole lot of useless JUNK too !

 

[Ign]

Actually OP just like football teams things ebb and flow. Who woulda thunk the Seahawks could ever do anything?

My point is 10 years ago it was Dewalt, Dewalt, Dewalt. Milwaukee was difficult to even find in Home Depot. Seriously.

But Milwaukee has done two things:
1) DRASTICALLY and AGGRESSIVELY expanded their tool line-up with lots of innovative tools and power options. Not only do they have the normal fare, they've also got exotic stuff like the thermal imager and ForceLogic crimping tools, and trade specific test & measure tools, plumbing tools (copper pipe and PEX cutter), and were the first to bring out heated gear.
2)they're clearly throwing a lot of $ at Home Depot for product placement, but can you blame them? No more than you can blame an NFL team for offering a star quarterback millions a year. It's capitalism, it's advertising, it's how our system works. Plus most companies are chasing Milwaukee reactively rather than being first to market w innovative tools offensively.

You're just peeved 'cause your team isn't winning right now, but wait -- your time will come. I was mail-ordering Milwaukee when no one recognized them, and I'm prepared for that time to come again eventually.

 

[Ign]

Furthermore rather than pouting by crashing the Milwaukee Addiction thread and starting threads like this one, why not selectively choose what you read (no one makes you enter a Milwaukee thread) and instead start POSITIVE threads about YOUR brand?? You can post about the yellow tools you like, or start your own DeWalt addiction thread. Other yellow tool fans will follow.

 

[sac02]

Everyone and their mother is on this Milwaukee wave and it makes me ill. Every other brand is just for homeowners, but Milwaukee is for the pros. Nevermind Milwaukee gets all the endcap space and all the display setups at the big box stores along with ryobi. Do not get me wrong they are great tools and are awesome. But they are not the best at everything. They have pros and cons. Dewalt has pros and cons. Makita and Bosch have pros and cons. They are all great tools. Milwaukee is not in a class of its own!

What a pointless f'ing troll. Did you really start a thread in the tool DISCUSSION section to ***** about the fact that Milwaukee gets end cap space?

Instead, why not give us the actual pros and cons of the alternate tool brands you listed, and make an INTELLIGENT argument as to why you FEEL Milwaukee is overhyped. I will bet big money you have no actual experience with the tools listed and couldn't give us actual examples of those pros and cons you allude to.

Serious question to mods/admin: can we get a separate subforum for posts like this that are clogging the tool forum? Call it "**********". All the "HF *****!", "No, Snap-On *****!" BS can have its own place and we can actually talk about tools in this forum.

 

[TOOL FANATIK]

Actually OP just like football teams things ebb and flow. Who woulda thunk the Seahawks could ever do anything?

My point is 10 years ago it was Dewalt, Dewalt, Dewalt. Milwaukee was difficult to even find in Home Depot. Seriously.

But Milwaukee has done two things:
1) DRASTICALLY and AGGRESSIVELY expanded their tool line-up with lots of innovative tools and power options. Not only do they have the normal fare, they've also got exotic stuff like the thermal imager and ForceLogic crimping tools, and trade specific test & measure tools, plumbing tools (copper pipe and PEX cutter), and were the first to bring out heated gear.
2)they're clearly throwing a lot of $ at Home Depot for product placement, but can you blame them? No more than you can blame an NFL team for offering a star quarterback millions a year. It's capitalism, it's advertising, it's how our system works. Plus most companies are chasing Milwaukee reactively rather than being first to market w innovative tools offensively.

You're just peeved 'cause your team isn't winning right now, but wait -- your time will come. I was mail-ordering Milwaukee when no one recognized them, and I'm prepared for that time to come again eventually.

I agree completely, and I guess you're right I'm peeved cuz my team ain't winning lol. But I love the jets and I'm not peeved at all about that...maybe I'm just used to it lol

 

[Caparris]

But Milwaukee has done two things:
1) DRASTICALLY and AGGRESSIVELY expanded their tool line-up with lots of innovative tools and power options. Not only do they have the normal fare, they've also got exotic stuff like the thermal imager and ForceLogic crimping tools, and trade specific test & measure tools, plumbing tools (copper pipe and PEX cutter), and were the first to bring out heated gear.

Yup. That + you can get into some of their more basic tools, charger and all, for about $100.. and you know the batteries/charger can be used on tons of other tools that you can then buy as bare tools at really good prices (for the most part).

You don't feel like you're going to have to buy one battery/charger system for one tool and another one for another, which really makes it nice

I had always been a Dewalt fan until I gave the M12 ratchet a shot.. now I have the ratchet, impact driver, M18 high torque impact wrench and am looking at something more along the lines of a 3/8" or M18 driver of some sorts now. Also, I want that right angle impact! That thing looks slick

 

[Tarheelgarage]

everyone and their mother is on this milwaukee wave and it makes me ill. Every other brand is just for homeowners, but milwaukee is for the pros. Nevermind milwaukee gets all the endcap space and all the display setups at the big box stores along with ryobi. Do not get me wrong they are great tools and are awesome. But they are not the best at everything. They have pros and cons. Dewalt has pros and cons. Makita and bosch have pros and cons. They are all great tools. Milwaukee is not in a class of its own!

 

[GortonsFisherman]

It's pretty pathetic that people get all ****-hurt over such things, same as the whole Ford vs. Chevy vs. Dodge thing.

 

[Peoria Man]

I was mail-ordering Milwaukee when no one recognized them...

Exactly. It used to be various industrial supply places were the only ones that carried them; and were tough to buy over-the-counter since those retailers tended to work the same hours most of us did. Mail order was IT until places like Farm & Fleet and later Home Depot started carrying them. We've got it good nowadays!

 

[TOOL FANATIK]

Their warranty, along with Ridgids, ARE in a class of their own. Most all of what all those companies share in common is they make a few really decent tools........and a whole lot of useless JUNK too !

Yea in a world where warranty makes a tool...Smh. it should not break in the first place. Powertool warranties are supposed to protect from factory defects, not longevity of the tool. They offer what, five years on most of their stuff? Dewalt and most others offer 3. Let's hope that generous warranty doesn't land Milwaukee in craftsman territory...
And you're crazy if you think the rest of the pack puts out junk. Either you're crazy, don't know any better, somebody lied to you, or you're just full of ****...or all of the above.

 

[Peoria Man]

Let's hope that generous warranty doesn't land Milwaukee in craftsman territory...

I don't see any similarity.

 

[Ign]

Yup. That + you can get into some of their more basic tools, charger and all, for about $100.. and you know the batteries/charger can be used on tons of other tools that you can then buy as bare tools at really good prices (for the most part).

You don't feel like you're going to have to buy one battery/charger system for one tool and another one for another, which really makes it nice

I had always been a Dewalt fan until I gave the M12 ratchet a shot. now I have the ratchet, impact driver, M18 high torque impact wrench and am looking at something more along the lines of a 3/8" or M18 driver of some sorts now. Also, I want that right angle impact! That thing looks slick

Yep, a lot of people are switching and not just 'cause of hype; it's because they TRIED the tools and LIKED them. Isn't that consumerism at its best??

 

[Bigblue&Goldie]

Cordless tools aren't like hand tools where it might make sense to mix and match various brands. Why buy a Milwaukee impact, Dewalt drill, and Makita saw when none of the batteries or chargers are interchangeable? Milwaukee has arguably the best overall product line, so they are king of the pile right now. They may not be the best at everything, but everything is pretty good.

 

[CNGsaves]

Yellow T-Shirt . . . . . I knew it !!

You're a DeWalt whiner. Come on.

Maybe what's really coming is further degradation of DeWalt into Black & Decker territory where stuff is junk but has the DeWalt name on it . . . akin to fall-off in quality of B&D.

 

[TOOL FANATIK]

What a pointless f'ing troll. Did you really start a thread in the tool DISCUSSION section to ***** about the fact that Milwaukee gets end cap space?

Instead, why not give us the actual pros and cons of the alternate tool brands you listed, and make an INTELLIGENT argument as to why you FEEL Milwaukee is overhyped. I will bet big money you have no actual experience with the tools listed and couldn't give us actual examples of those pros and cons you allude to.

Serious question to mods/admin: can we get a separate subforum for posts like this that are clogging the tool forum? Call it "**********". All the "HF *****!", "No, Snap-On *****!" BS can have its own place and we can actually talk about tools in this forum.

I have experience with dewalt. Milwaukee. Makita. All are the same. If you want to have a comparison test go to you tube. I don't have the time for that. This thread was created after I saw the very biased advice Milwaukee fans were giving to a guy who was asking about going dewalt. I will say again Milwaukee makes great tools. But alot of you blind followers get fooled by marketing strategies. You walk onto hd and all you see is red and black and become hypnotized. This is a problem with you fans who think Milwaukee is the best thing and nothing else matters...and offer unfair advice to those seeking it. And let's calm down with the anxiety and disrespect, this is not facebook.

 

[Peoria Man]

If you want to have a comparison test go to you tube.

Great advice!

 

[Kracin]

Everyone and their mother is on this Milwaukee wave and it makes me ill. Every other brand is just for homeowners, but Milwaukee is for the pros. Nevermind Milwaukee gets all the endcap space and all the display setups at the big box stores along with ryobi. Do not get me wrong they are great tools and are awesome. But they are not the best at everything. They have pros and cons. Dewalt has pros and cons. Makita and Bosch have pros and cons. They are all great tools. Milwaukee is not in a class of its own!

except that milwaukee offers the best power of all the tool brands with their fuel line... and pretty much the best warranty that they make good on.


also, i'd like to mention that my work thinks dewalt is still king. and bought a new supply of 18v drivers. 2 of the 5 they bought were junk out of the box. wouldn't stay in high gear, kept slipping out, and one of the chucks was busted. brand new junk

 

[Caparris]

Yep, a lot of people are switching and not just 'cause of hype; it's because they TRIED the tools and LIKED them. Isn't that consumerism at its best??

Indeed. I was set on dewalt until I tried Milwaukee for one particular tool I wanted. It would take something spectacular for me to switch back

 

[TOOL FANATIK]

I LIKE MILWAUKEE! I REALLY DO! see my posts on the addiction thread 3/4" super hole shooter more manly than some of you can handle. I have a wakee circ saw I like it., they make great tools. I AM MAKING IT CLEAR THEY ARE NOT THE.BEST AND THE DAM FANS NEED TO WAKE UP. Be honest with your opinion od other tools when a member asks. Don't say Bosch is junk Milwaukee is way better. It is not. Again, great tools, but so are the rest.
It sounds like I'm mostly debating with young punks and not grown men...not what I'm used to from gj.

 

[Ign]

The 5 year warranty is unlikely to hurt Milwaukee for several reasons:
1) it's 5 years, not lifetime
2) TTI is huge = $$$
3) if my results are representative, failures inside of 5 years are rare
4) they sell recon tools to recoup some
5) we (as a society) have gotten so good at producing goods cheaply, it's cheaper for them to just send out a whole new drill or impact driver (esp in M12) than pay a worker even 20 minutes of labor to repair it here. Get it to the recon center (likely overseas) and go from there. But if Home Depot can sell a drill, impact driver, charger & 3 batteries for $99 that means it probably cost Milwaukee $20 to make all of that in China (yes, China but aren't all the big cordless manufacturers coming from there?). That said, Milwaukee clearly expects top-tier quality level from China rather than bottom-end like HF or Autozone
6) it's only 5 years if you have your receipt, otherwise it's 5 years from build date as encoded in the serial #

 

[Ign]

I LIKE MILWAUKEE! I REALLY DO! see my posts on the addiction thread 3/4" super hole shooter more manly than some of you can handle. I have a wakee circ saw I like it., they make great tools. I AM MAKING IT CLEAR THEY ARE NOT THE.BEST AND THE DAM FANS NEED TO WAKE UP. Be honest with your opinion od other tools when a member asks. Don't say Bosch is junk Milwaukee is way better. It is not. Again, great tools, but so are the rest.

So again, start a thread about the DeWalt XYZ and how much you like it, here are the key features, here are the best prices and promos right now, etc and so on......

Nothing constructive ever comes from Ford vs Chevy arguments, unless its a non-biased, scientific review.

 

[Spudland_Dave]

But Milwaukee has done two things:
1) DRASTICALLY and AGGRESSIVELY expanded their tool line-up with lots of innovative tools and power options. Not only do they have the normal fare, they've also got exotic stuff like the thermal imager and ForceLogic crimping tools, and trade specific test & measure tools, plumbing tools (copper pipe and PEX cutter), and were the first to bring out heated gear.

Bingo...I've been buying & using Milwaukee tools (corded) since before they were "cool". Before that I was a Makita guy. It may just be me, but I think Makita put cordless tools on the map. The 9.6V "stick" battery drills were cutting edge back then.
Not that long ago...V18 stuff for example, Milwaukee had very limited offerings...you had your standard fare Drills, impact drivers, and a Sawzall and Circular saw but not too much more.. Those were the DeWalt days..Milwaukee had 5-6 tools and Dewalt had cordless pencil sharpeners available. I think DeWalt dropped the ball hard when they didn't refresh the tried & true NiCad lineup with new LIon stuff. Everybody else had gone to Lithium and DeWalt was still pushing the old school style tools. By the time they refreshed the lineup, it was too late.

Being a "Milwaukee guy" for a long time, I am LOVING the fact they have all kinds of doo-dads like Sharpie markers available... and yes I do plan on getting that new bag they just released to tote my work laptop around in.

except that milwaukee offers the best power of all the tool brands with their fuel line... and pretty much the best warranty that they make good on.

IMHO the win here is they offer everything from the 99.00 entry level drill/driver to the top of the line Fuel with big batteries...everything interchangeable in between.

 

[86k10]

The 5 year warranty is unlikely to hurt Milwaukee for several reasons:
1) it's 5 years, not lifetime
2) TTI is huge = $$$
3) if my results are representative, failures inside of 5 years are rare
4) they sell recon tools to recoup some
5) we (as a society) have gotten so good at producing goods cheaply, it's cheaper for them to just send out a whole new drill or impact driver (esp in M12) than pay a worker even 20 minutes of labor to repair it here. Get it to the recon center (likely overseas) and go from there. But if Home Depot can sell a drill, impact driver, charger & 3 batteries for $99 that means it probably cost Milwaukee $20 to make all of that in China (yes, China but aren't all the big cordless manufacturers coming from there?). That said, Milwaukee clearly expects top-tier quality level from China rather than bottom-end like HF or Autozone
6) it's only 5 years if you have your receipt, otherwise it's 5 years from build date as encoded in the serial #

I had to warranty my 3/8 M12 at a local Milwaukee shop and they sent it out to get fixed and got back my dirty ratchet with a new head and the warranty paperwork was billed about $72 with explanation of what was found and what work was done. I don't think they are swapping out every tool.

 

[Kracin]

I have experience with dewalt. Milwaukee. Makita. All are the same. If you want to have a comparison test go to you tube. I don't have the time for that. This thread was created after I saw the very biased advice Milwaukee fans were giving to a guy who was asking about going dewalt. I will say again Milwaukee makes great tools. But alot of you blind followers get fooled by marketing strategies. You walk onto hd and all you see is red and black and become hypnotized. This is a problem with you fans who think Milwaukee is the best thing and nothing else matters...and offer unfair advice to those seeking it. And let's calm down with the anxiety and disrespect, this is not facebook.

it sounds like you are just upset that the other tool lines are into gimmicks. and milwaukee is based on sound business practice.

^ example being the "20v max"... cheap marketing tactic to make people think your product has more power. when in actuality.

except dewalts brushless 1/4 hex - 1500inlbs, milwaukee 1600 inlbs

dewalts 1/2" impact - 1800 inlbs - milwaukee - 2400


dewalts high torque impact 400 ftlbs. milwaukee... 450, and then thats brushless to brushed. milwaukees brushless is 750...



sounds like cheap marketing tactics on dewalts side, which is why i don't bother with them anymore. in an industrial environment you run through dewalt grinders once every 2 months or so due to stripped gears and faulty switches. metabo and milwaukee are much better choices, they last a whole lot longer

i should mention again that 3 year warranty on dewalt, and 5 year on milwaukee... another bonus


not to mention dewalt doesn't have subcompact 12v bandsaws, pipe cutters, or any other idustry specific tools like a cabinet hole punch kit that even works with greenlee kits that are in common use like milwaukee offers. until you've had to punch out 30-40 holes in cabinets with a manual punch, you don't know what you're missing out on.

 

[Herod]

Milwaukee tools are made in China.

 

[stikman56]

except that milwaukee offers the best power of all the tool brands with their fuel line... and pretty much the best warranty that they make good on.


also, i'd like to mention that my work thinks dewalt is still king. and bought a new supply of 18v drivers. 2 of the 5 they bought were junk out of the box. wouldn't stay in high gear, kept slipping out, and one of the chucks was busted. brand new junk

What about the Ingersoll Rand W7150? I hear it's stronger than Milwaukee fuel impacts, but have not been able to compare them myself. Anybody?

 

[Caparris]

Bingo...I've been buying & using Milwaukee tools (corded) since before they were "cool". Before that I was a Makita guy. It may just be me, but I think Makita put cordless tools on the map. The 9.6V "stick" battery drills were cutting edge back then.

Not that long ago...V18 stuff for example, Milwaukee had very limited offerings...you had your standard fare Drills, impact drivers, and a Sawzall and Circular saw but not too much more.. Those were the DeWalt days..Milwaukee had 5-6 tools and Dewalt had cordless pencil sharpeners available. I think DeWalt dropped the ball hard when they didn't refresh the tried & true NiCad lineup with new LIon stuff. Everybody else had gone to Lithium and DeWalt was still pushing the old school style tools. By the time they refreshed the lineup, it was too late.



Being a "Milwaukee guy" for a long time, I am LOVING the fact they have all kinds of doo-dads like Sharpie markers available... and yes I do plan on getting that new bag they just released to tote my work laptop around in.







IMHO the win here is they offer everything from the 99.00 entry level drill/driver to the top of the line Fuel with big batteries...everything interchangeable in between.

I agree

 

[woody 73]

Not so much about Milwaukee tools per say but I always thought it strange that no GJ member ever mentioned C&P air tools, instead all the talk even from 5 years ago was IR this, IR that... I guess tools come in and out of style just give it some time; I am sure the next big fad will rear up in the future.

 

[dnschmidt]

Milwaukee, Ryobi and Ridgid are all made by the same corporation. THAT CORPORATION has a deal with the Home Depot. Thus the emphasis on these brands at the home depot at the expense of others. Lowes has a similar deal with Hitachi and Bosch. Life is not fair and you better believe capitalism isn't fair. However greed trumps our love for my fellow man every time. Ask the Russians and the Chinese (who still PRETEND to be communists).

 

[Kracin]

I LIKE MILWAUKEE! I REALLY DO! see my posts on the addiction thread 3/4" super hole shooter more manly than some of you can handle. I have a wakee circ saw I like it., they make great tools. I AM MAKING IT CLEAR THEY ARE NOT THE.BEST AND THE DAM FANS NEED TO WAKE UP. Be honest with your opinion od other tools when a member asks. Don't say Bosch is junk Milwaukee is way better. It is not. Again, great tools, but so are the rest.
It sounds like I'm mostly debating with young punks and not grown men...not what I'm used to from gj.

describe what you would call a young punk? because some people would call others old coots that are stuck in their ways when dewalt was the best you could buy.

no one said bosch was junk either, bosch has always made awesome products, they are the 3m of power tools/appliances/products, they make everything under the sun from tools to coffee makers , and even car parts/sensors... all great products.

the problem you have is that people know that dewalt isn't the highest quality tool anymore and doesn't have the highest specs now either. writing in all capital letters is good for showing people that you are frustrated and can't form a sentence or proof of why your claims are true.

if dewalt is a better choice than milwaukee then just come out and post up all the proof you can find. show us price comparisons, warranty information, tool lineup, run times, charge times, battery life over charges, power comparisons.


if not, then be prepared to be upset that people buy what they consider a better product. based on specs, facts, and testing.

 

[nickjj]

Aren't Milwaukee, Ryobi, Ridgid, AEG and Craftsman all pretty much the same tool?

 

[Kracin]

What about the Ingersoll Rand W7150? I hear it's stronger than Milwaukee fuel impacts, but have not been able to compare them myself. Anybody?

youtube video using an impact gun gauge, showed those two to be equal on forward and reverse power.

 

[Ign]

What about the Ingersoll Rand W7150? I hear it's stronger than Milwaukee fuel impacts, but have not been able to compare them myself. Anybody?

It's all over the board if you search. What I've gathered is that the W7150 and 2763 are pretty damn comparable; if I weren't a Milwaukee guy I'd have ordered the W7150 when it first came out. But I didn't want another charger and set of batteries for one tool. The W7150 is brushed while the 2763 is brushless, kinda makes you wonder what IR might be able to do if they go brushless! But it's just like diesel HP wars: someone is always besting someone else!

 

[Bigblue&Goldie]

Not so much about Milwaukee tools per say but I always thought it strange that no GJ member ever mentioned C&P air tools, instead all the talk even from 5 years ago was IR this, IR that... I guess tools come in and out of style just give it some time; I am sure the next big fad will rear up in the future.

If you are referring to Chicago Pneumatic air tools, I like them and own a few. I don't think they get the coverage here as they target industrial buyers vs automotive technicians. IR makes killer impacts, which is probably the most used air tool for an auto tech.

 

[rancherbill]

Everyone and their mother is on this Milwaukee wave and it makes me ill.

I agree. I personally use a different brand that I think is better.

I've watched the brand wars and there is so much rhetoric it makes your head spin. If I was starting again with looking for cordless, Milwaukee would only be on the list only because of their impact guns. I am not sure which brand I would pick.