Fair point, but Milwaukee has been using brushless motors for 12 years now and the sawzall has been here since the 1950's.
How much "R&D' do they need to recoup? Since they are made in China, wonder if the price difference is simply markup
The tool industry, to a very high degree, stands on the innovations of others. The system is designed specifically to allow that, and while SO, Milwaukee, etc. etc. have all contributed, they've also all "copied" the innovations of others. It's a good thing, and all the "R&D recoup" and the other tropes people keep rolling out are provided for in the patent/IP law.
As far as price, there's certainly a brand premium for guys like Milwaukee. They also 'charge' for things like how cross-compatible their portfolio is, how well-designed their battery platform is, the quality-level of their cells (just because they come from the same company in the same form-factor doesn't mean they're all the same - I'd bet Milwaukee requires the better-end of the bell-curve from their suppliers), and any number of other things. Same of course for DeWalt, etc.
But even as determined as I have been to minimize battery platforms (up until now I've been all Milwaukee for power tools and EGO for OPE), I recently put a couple Hercules 20v tools in my garage: a disc sander and a jigsaw.
They're two tools I don't use enough to justify the $150-$200+ for the Milwaukee sander and $200+ for the jigsaw. I got both Hercules tools, a 4Ah batter and the charger for $150. And for the project I needed them for, they worked great.
So it's a new category for me. Don't use often, but want good performance, brushless, 5/3 warranty, etc., and Hercules now fits that bill and has been around long enough that I (sorta) trust the longevity/care-and-feeding HF will give the battery platform. At least enough vs. the prices they're asking.
There are a couple other things I would have gone Hercules for if they'd been available when I was (relatively recently) buying: The compact/trim router ($70 vs. $200 for M18) and the right-angle grinder ($60 vs. $200+). The only thing left for me might be the portable band saw ($135 vs. $270-$350).
I have the M18 FUEL Super Sawzall I got to do a bunch of demo in my new house. Even catching it on a bundle with a new Forge battery, its effective price was $200+ where the Hercules is $75. I beat the **** out of the Sawzall during the demo stuff, but it has mainly sat since. I have zero doubt the FUEL is the better tool but I'm pretty sure all the jobs I needed would have gotten done just fine.
My point is staying pure to Milwaukee means hundreds of dollars for tools that don't get used a lot. I'm sure all of those tools above are better in their Milwaukee form vs. Hercules, but I think Hercules is better than "Good Enough" performance too. The 5 year cordless tool and 3 year battery warranty with walk-in/walk-out is pretty strong too...
