In the tools world, you would have to have been living under a rock to never hear about Milwaukee and its expansive range of power tools!
In fact, this brand has been releasing more and more products and tool kits all the time to keep up with the increasing demand for their stuff.
But are Milwaukee tools actually as good as their sales suggest or is it just a case of good marketing?
Well, in this review, we’re going to find out the truth about this popular brand.
We’ll be taking a look at real customer reviews as well as the info available on Milwaukee’s own website to find out whether these tools are worth your money.
What Are Milwaukee Tools?
The company was initially founded way back in 1924 when the technology in the tools industry was still very primitive.
For this reason, it was easy enough for the company to develop plenty of innovative solutions to common construction problems in the form of power tools and electronic devices.
In fact, this has always been the ethos of Milwaukee tools. They look for a solution to a problem, rather than just trying to come up with a product to sell.
It’s this mindset and the constant work they do with tool users around the world that have kept them at the forefront of the industry in the 21st century.
Product Range
To get a good idea of the quality of Milwaukee’s individual tools, let’s take a look at some of their best-selling products on the internet in more detail.
1. Milwaukee 2626-20 M18 Lithium-Ion Cordless Multi-Tool
The first product we’re looking at is Milwaukee’s highest-rated on the internet.
As the name suggests, the tool has a variety of purposes, including sanding, sawing, and woodcutting.
The tool itself gives you a great deal of control over your work with 12 different speed settings, allowing you to go from delicate applications to something more heavy-duty.
It also uses a strong and durable all-metal gear case which keeps the whole device intact, even under heavy usage.
The tool even has great useability, thanks to the grippy rubber mold on the handle and LED lights at the front which help give you a much clearer view of what you’re working on.
On the surface, it seems like the perfect multi-tool but it certainly has its flaws too. Some customers have complained about parts coming loose after only a couple of minutes of usage.
While it’s not 100% clear if these are just isolated defective products or the result of user error, it seems to have happened a few too many times for it to be a complete coincidence.
2. Milwaukee 2457-20 M12 Cordless Lithium-Ion Ratchet
This ratchet might look small but it’s surprisingly powerful and can deal out 35 foot-pounds of torque!
You can apply this torque to your project with a great level of control, thanks to the variable speed trigger which lets you decide how much of the tool’s 250 RPM you want to use.
Of course, the beauty of using a cordless tool like this is that you have complete freedom to move around your workshop with it while working. You won’t even have to worry about it dying on you halfway through a job because of the Redlithium battery technology which outperforms any regular battery on the market.
The device even has an onboard fuel gauge to help you keep track of how much juice it has left so you won’t be left guessing about when you next need to charge it.
However, the same problem of durability still persists with this Milwaukee product as plenty of customers have claimed that theirs stopped working very soon after buying the ratchet.
3. Milwaukee MLW2553-20 M12 Hex Impact Driver
This is probably the least problematic of all the Milwaukee tools we’ve looked at in this section but that’s mainly because it’s the most simple.
The 12V battery delivers a sufficient level of power that is easy enough to control and keep a hold of without being too wimpy to do the job properly.
The beauty of this tool is its simplicity and it doesn’t use a whole host of complex features to make it seem fancier than it is.
The customer reviews tend to agree as well. Despite a few issues with the seller on Amazon, most people come to the conclusion that this tool does the job it’s designed for with no problems and no fuss.
Are Milwaukee Tools Durable?
The most common problem we’ve identified from a lot of customer reviews online is that they can stop working pretty quickly after you buy them.
It’s worth remembering that just because you see this review as the highest-rated one on a website, it doesn’t mean every product will be like that. Sometimes it’s simply the result of user error or a one-off faulty product that can be replaced.
However, because this is a pattern that we’ve identified with a lot of Milwaukee’s tools, it seems entirely possible that it might just be an issue with their manufacturing itself.
In general, though, it has to be said that Milwaukee’s tools are generally reliable and durable. Plenty of construction workers and people who use them on a regular basis swear by Milwaukee’s products and they can definitely last plenty of years if they’re treated right.
Milwaukee’s Battery Technology
Another neat feature of Milwaukee’s tools is the batteries they use. We’ve already mentioned the Redlithium battery technology that Milwaukee has developed for all its products but what does that actually mean?
Without getting too technical and scientific, the Redlithium battery is something that Milwaukee has developed itself to deliver better performance for its power tools.
The result is that each power tool will run for much longer before needing to be recharged. Also, plenty of Milwaukee’s tools now has a battery level indicator to give the user a much clearer idea of when it will need to be charged again.
These batteries are some of the best on the market for power tools in terms of delivering great performance over a longer period of time between charges.
Definitely a +1 for Milwaukee in this category!
Milwaukee’s Customer Service
Unfortunately for Milwaukee, it seems that people are generally split about whether or not the company provides good customer service.
For example, here are two reviews for Milwaukee posted on Trustpilot on the SAME day:
- “I have never received better customer service with anything I purchasedâ€
- “Milwaukee sucks…customer service doesn’t respond after 3 emailsâ€
While this just goes to show that you can’t trust everything you read online, it also demonstrates that Milwaukee’s customer support probably isn’t that great.
The overall rating for the brand on Trustpilot is only 2 out of 5 stars and the majority of reviews highlight the same issues such as Milwaukee not replying to messages and emails or that they take a very long time to get around to it.
Overall, this is something that Milwaukee is seriously lacking. Especially considering the fact that many customers may have been sent faulty products in the past, you’d much rather the company was good at replying to emails promptly
Are Milwaukee Tools Good Value For Money?
In general, Milwaukee is a pretty good brand for producing affordable products that are still of decent quality.
The main benefit they provide is with the all-in-one toolkits like the Milwaukee 2696-26 M18 6-tool combo kit.
There are plenty of these kinds of kits you can find at plenty of online vendors and Milwaukee’s own website.
The point is that these kits provide great value for money because you can get some high-level, advanced power tools in one handy bundle for a fraction of the price compared to if you bought them all individually.
Even if you do want to go out and buy your power tools individually because you only need a certain item, you’ll find that Milwaukee is generally around the same price, if not cheaper, than most other brands of the same quality.
Conclusion
In general, these are all the things that Milwaukee tools have going for and against them:
Pros
- Redlithium battery technology – Provides each tool with plenty of power and long life between charges
- Wide product range – Regardless of what kind of construction project you’re working on, Milwaukee has a tool to help you out
- Value for money – The all-inclusive toolkits provide great value for money and even the individual products are reasonably priced
- Reliability – Plenty of construction workers swear by Milwaukee tools and they are known to last a number of years if treated properly
Cons
- Defective products – Some customers have been sent defective products by Milwaukee or ones that stop working after only a few minutes of use
- Customer support – The general consensus from customers online is that Milwaukee is pretty bad at responding to messages and emails about products
Overall, it’s safe to say Milwaukee is a fairly good brand when it comes to power tools. They’ve been in the industry long enough and developed plenty of their own technologies to be able to offer a really technologically advanced product range that covers a wide variety of construction needs.
Despite this, it seems the company still isn’t set up to deal with customer requests and faulty products as well as some competitors.
Therefore, your experience with buying a Milwaukee product could either be amazing or terrible, and there’s no real way to tell beforehand.
If you don’t want to take the chance on something as expensive as an all-in-one tool kit, you might be better off looking at other brands. However, if you just need a solid, reliable tool for a specific purpose, Milwaukee is a pretty good place to look.
