This thing is a beast. Maybe I feel this way because I'm coming off a recently blown up Crapsman 18v drill that was sub par. However, I do have experience with the Panasonic 15.6v drill that has been arguably the best drill out there. I would easily put this up against the Panasonic anytime. Sure the Milwaukee is brand new and the Panasonic has been around for years so we'll see what the China-made Milwaukee will do long term. That said, it's lighter, shorter and more powerful than the Panasonic. Not by much, but it is. Even the charge time of the battery is quicker! I've always been a fan of Milwaukee's cases so there's another bonus over the Pany.
The previous reviewer complained about the placement of the forward/reverse switch but I don't agree. In my opinion, it's located just fine and very similarly to other cordless drills I've used (Craftsman, Panasonic and Porter Cable). If you're a homeowner and looking for a weekend project cordless drill, this may be too much for you, especially considering the cost. Being a contractor, this is EXACTLY what I was looking for. It's light, it's stout (not too long) and most importantly, it's POWERFUL. It is currently priced very competitively with the Pany. You can't lose with either! Milwaukee 2601-22 18-Volt Li-ion Compact Drill Kit
I was one of the unfortunate people to buy one of the Milwaukee Ni-cad 18 volt drills with their defective batteries and charger so I did hesitate when buying this drill. I have DeWalt drills and like their performance but have been turned off by the mickey mouse (apologies to Disney) drill cases they provide with some drills and sell as an after market item for $40 for the many pro level DeWalt drills that sell without any storage case at all.
The Milwaukee Li-ion batteries work well so far. I have yet to drop a drill and know that some of the early Li-ion batteries would explode when dropped so this is still an experimental tool for me in that respect. They seem to run cooler than the Ni-cads and I would expect longer life with more recharges possible.
The LEDs are great and it is nice to see they provide a belt hook. With the similarly priced Makita Li-ion drills this is something you have to order from customer service and pay an extra $15 (when Makita has them in stock or find one for sale on eBay and hope the seller is legit).
It has good torque and the keyless chuck works very well - better than a key chuck when cutting tough materials like plywood where there is often a lot of vibration. The Milwaukee chuck is much better than the one on the Makita Li-ion drill that sells in this price range, and which I also own and use.
I have even used the Milwaukee Li-ion drill to cut large 9-1/4" holes in wood paneling for Air Tec's MV air conditioning outlets using a Hole Pro X-305 adjustable hole cutter (also highly recommended!!!!). They are a great combination for a lot of projects.
I have been an electrician for over 20 years, and have seen and used alot of cordless drills in this time. I have either owned them or my employees have owned them (Dewalt, Milwaukee, Makita, Hitachi, PC, Panasonic, Bosch). With that being said Milwaukee has been the best brand for me thus far. The Dewalts are junk and the rest of the drills are pretty good with the exception of the Panasonic being quite a bit above average. The reason why I don't keep the Panasonic is because I need other cordless tools eg: sawzall, circular saw. The Milwaukee V28 series is an absolute beast when it comes to power and WEIGHT! This is why I started looking for a compact drill. I still needed the power with a 1/2" chuck and lighter drill, because I also currently have the Bosch impactor, and pocket driver with jst a 1/4" chuck. I have owned the Milwaukee 18v cordless stuff in the past and was pleased with it, albeit not great - why I ended up getting the V28. With that being said I charged up the batteries and put it to the test. My first chore was to drill a 1/2" hole thru a metal tub using a variable step bit. What a huge disappointment this was! The drill hardly could get through it, it kept stopping with hardly any load on it, and I would check the battery level as it would show it completely drained. I would have to do this over and over again, because the battery can't take hardly any load on it (these batteries have an overheat protector on them so it shows you the led level is low when it does have a charge, once it cools down it will come back up to near the level it was at - which I suppose is a good thing). Next I went to put on some devices, and the drill actually did a decent job, nice and quick, and light. Then for my next test I needed to drill holes through some 2x's, with a 1 1/8" auger bit. Again what a disappointment, it sure wouldn't do it in high gear, and really struggled in low to get it done. The final test was to see how these batteries did in the cold. Now to be fair, no batteries that I have ever had, with the exception of the Milwaukee V28 have had some type of degradation due to the cold. This includes the new series of batteries too (Li-ion, Nimh, Nicd). Alas, these turned out to be the same as the rest. The Bosch li-ion batteries I have are absolutely terrible when it comes to the cold. So just like the rest of the batteries I have to put them by a halogen light to keep them warm so they can charge and still hold a charge. AAAAAGH this is the most frustrating thing for me, can't somebody please design a battery for us blue collar guys who actually use these in frigid temps. Anyway, I had high hopes for this compact, being that I am a loyal Milwaukee fan, and it was by far subpar.
Pros: lightweight, 1/2" chuck, nice case, bit holder, belt hook
Cons: Underpowered!, batteries, led light (not very bright, and does not shine where it needs to), made in China, non metal chuck.
I bought this tool on the strength of the Milwaukee name and I think it will be my last Milwaukee tool.
Bad side -- I bought this drill to rebuild my deck and the tool barely made it thru the project. I found it terribly underpowered and it drained batteries at an astounding pace. I was changing batteries every 15 minutes. Gutless...regardless of setting selected, it would bog down at the slightest resistance. drilling into Standard 2X4 studs gave it problems even with the battery fully charged
Good side -- it is very compact
I would not buy it again.
Update 19 April 10 -- I finally got rid of this thing after talking to Milwaukee Customer Service. They claim this is a home owner driver for hanging pictures and driving a few screws here and there. And if I want better battery life, they are telling me I need to upgrade to the larger battery size. What?!?! I don't know about you, but when I pay almost $200 bucks for a tool, that places it beyond the homeowner catagory for me. And I expect it ready to perform out of the box without paying for additional upgrades. I bought myself a Craftsman Professional 20 volt Lithium-Ion drill/driver kit. I cost the same and way better performace. battery life is awesome and it can handle the biggest jobs I have given it. - Milwaukee - Drill - Cordless - Lithium-ion'
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