Over at Home Depot, they have this Milwaukee M18 5-tool cordless power tool combo kit as a Black Friday deal again.
This combo kit, model 2695-25CX, is a special buy at $299.
Home Depot advertises that you save $300 – 50% off its $599 “was” price, and that the kit has “over $718” of total value compared to purchasing everything separately.
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These is typical retail puffery, as the same kit pops up for Black Friday and holiday deals every year, always at the same $299 price.
But is this a good price? Let’s talk about that.
The kit comes with:
- Drill: 2606-20
- Impact Driver: 2656-20
- Circular Saw: 2630-20
- Hackzall Reciprocating Saw: 2625-20
- LED Worklight: 2735-20
- 1.5Ah Compact Battery: 48-11-1815
- 3.0Ah XC Battery: 48-11-1828
- Tool Bag
- Standard M18/M12 Charger
This is not a collection of impressive or modern tools, they’re older brushed motor tools and Milwaukee’s older-tech M18 Li-ion batteries.
Most enthusiasts on the internet will cry “go for M18 Fuel brushless!,” and that’s certainly an option, but one would have to double their budget.
If you go for the compact brushless drill and impact driver kit for $179, and $199 starter kit with free tool offer, you can get a 3-tool combo bundle with 2x compact batteries, 2x 5Ah batteries, and 2 chargers.
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The free tool offer selection is a bit weird – you can opt for some brushless tools, such as an M18 Fuel Sawzall reciprocating saw, but there’s only a brushed 6-1/2″ circular saw option – the same one that’s in this kit.
Or for the same $299, you can the new M18 compact brushless kit plus a free tool (with the same selection as the starter kit offer). That’s still just a 3-tool combo kit for the same money, although get slightly better batteries.
My point is this – there’s no better way to buy into the Milwaukee M18 cordless power tool system without either accepting less or spending a lot more. You also can’t get a similarly equipped M12 Fuel combo kit for the same money.
For $299, this Milwaukee 5-tool combo kit offers a lot of functionality for the money, which is presumably why it’s a fairly popular special buy every year for Black Friday and the holiday shopping season.
It seems like a good value for the money, but don’t believe for even a second that it’s worth $600.
Price: $299
Dave P
Those tools are OLD. The drill is probably fine as I never felt that my old non-fuel drills were lacking much. But I can’t say the same on the non-fuel circular saw. It’s a DOG compared to the fuel ones. I suppose you could trim with it, but you certainly can’t frame with it (well of course you could, but you’d have to put up with it bogging down and why would you?)
The impact won’t be anywhere close to a Fuel one of you’re building laminated beams or columns. It will be fine building a deck though.
Outdated tools are just that; you might as well go buy them at a rummage sale for pennies on the dollar.
Hard, hard pass.
Stuart
I’d argue these are better than “rummage sale” tools, and you get a full warranty.
The saw’s fine for basic cuts in 2x lumber, plywood, osb, or similar.
None of the tools will perform close to modern M18 Fuel or other premium brushless models.
A lot of people stick their nose up at these combo kits – for good reason – but the fact is there’s no easy alternative recommendations without at least doubling the budget.
I greatly dislike spending other people’s money. It’s easy to say “don’t bother – you should plan to spend $500 to $800 instead,” but there’s not much better in the $300-400 price range for say an apprentice or someone just starting out.
Dave P
I totally see your point,but if I was an apprentice or just starting out, I’d still buy used tools for a few pennies and use part of my first few paychecks to buy some good, modern tools.
And that circular saw especially, is not good at all.
I am not guessing;I’ve built buildings with both these and the FUEL versions. All I’m saying is that a little while with old junky used stuff until one could afford GOOD stuff is time well spent (and money overall well saved).
Enjoy your site.
fred
Our Philosophy across all our businesses (GC/Remodeling, Cabinet Fabrication/Installation, Metal/Pipe Fabrication and Plumbing) – was that we bought the tools needed for the job. If someone wanted something like a Martinez hammer – we’d wish them well and let them bring their own onto the jobsite. Otherwise – we’d shield new apprentices from going into debt buying tools. We were an outlier about this in most of our territory – but my partners and I agreed that it worked well for us and helped us both attract and retain workers – many of whom stayed with us for many years or working-life.
Dave P
BIG difference between a $129 (bare tool) saw that’s a dog and bogs down and won’t cut wet treated wood hardly at all, vs a $229 (bare tool) saw that will do EVERYTHING you need and do it FAST enough to make up the difference in cost in a week or two’s time. Plus the WEAK saw is dangerous when it pinches and bogs down–it can kick before it quits.
It’s not “going into debt”, it’s $100 bucks. And it’s $129 WASTED from day one. The non-fuel stuff in some cases (like the circular saw) is a complete waste of money for someone who uses a saw all day long most every day.
The analogy of a “regular” $25 hammer and a $300 Martinez isn’t very good at all–there’s merit over time (for the individual’s health) by having the Martinez, but either will do the same job at the same speed with the same amount of safety.
Tucker
Assuming you are Joe homeowner, who I assume these combos are really targeting, this seems like a better deal to me:
https://www.homedepot.com/p/RIDGID-18V-Cordless-8-Tool-Combo-Kit-with-2-0-Ah-Battery-4-0-Ah-Battery-Charger-and-Tool-Bag-R96850/330351152#overlay
I’m sure there are some Ryobi combo too which are OK, but there are so many variations, it’ll take me way too long to sort through them.
Goodie
I think this is the correct answer; buy modern brushless tools from another brand if you are a homeowner. If you’re getting old tools then paying the premium prices for DeWaulkee doesn’t make a lot of sense to me. Bonus in that the non-pro brands have simpler battery lineups and generally charge less for replacement batteries.
Skil has a nice 12v bundle for $299 – it’s probably enough power for anyone looking for homeowner “starter kit”.
Craftsman has bundles for black Friday that can be purchased for under $299. A few brushed tools in it, but it’s so complete that I think it’s worth it.
Ryobi has great options, too.
Stuart
I feel that the Skil kit is very bloated, with filler gadgets most DIYers won’t ever use. For homeowners, DIYers, and such, I’d look towards a Ryobi 18V kit for the same money. Ryobi is also more likely to have expansion tools than Skil 12V, such as vacuums, water pumps, etc.
Goodie
I agree that the two lights and the fan feel like bloat. I like the inflator, sander, OMT, recip saw, multicutter, drill and impact driver. Dropping the other three for a jigsaw would make this pretty incredible.
Goodie
Oops. No OMT. Not as good a deal as I thought. 🙂
Big Richard
For Lowes shoppers, Kobalt has a 4 tool kit for $249 and you get 2 “free” tools, and it’s a decent selection of tools to choose from. Downside is, only one battery – https://www.lowes.com/pd/Kobalt-4-Tool-24-volt-Max-Brushless-Power-Tool-Combo-Kit-with-Soft-Case-1-Battery-Included-and-Charger-Included/5013201391
Goodie
Have to put this deal here after looking into it…. The deal that Stuart pointed out (below) is now $199 for Black Friday at HD. It has a drill, driver, OMT, recip saw, light and 2 batteries (2ah and 4ah).
Sorry for so many replies, but this has been kind of fun. 🙂
https://www.homedepot.com/p/RYOBI-ONE-18V-Cordless-6-Tool-Combo-Kit-with-1-5-Ah-Battery-4-0-Ah-Battery-and-Charger-PCL1600K2/317987591
A W
I started out with a similar set (minus the circular saw), and as a homeowner/DIY user it was a good intro to the M18 line. I have since upgraded to a Fuel drill and to a Surge impact driver. I still use the hackzall occasionally, I use an M18 bush trimmer every season and I use a Milwaukee M12 light daily.
When just starting out, I felt like the Fuel kit was outside of my budget, and although I’ve supplemented with both Ryobi and Ego tools, I’m glad that I ended up with Milwaukee as my starter set.
Farkleberry
I would beg borrow or steal $100 and get a brushless 4 piece combo kit from Dewalt or Metabo HPT.
The cheap kit flashlights are almost a throwaway, and something I certainly wouldn’t want to divert money into, no matter how little.
From Lowes for $399:
Dewalt XR drill and impact driver kit 2 batts + charger with 2 free tools:
XR 6 1/2 circ saw and XR recip saw.
OR:
From Acme, with a 15% off 24 hour gift card sale, a 4 piece Metabo HPT combo:
Now the Metabo KC18DEX brushless drill/driver kit is down to $85.
They seem to keep rearranging the free battery combos, but last I checked, you could get:
Rear handle C3607DWAQ4M kit circ saw w/1 x 21700 4/8 ah pack and charger for $170
Or new sidewinder, C3607DBQ4M kit for ~$160 (get to next discount tier)
AND either:
big recip, CR36DAQ4M with free 4/8 ah batt/charger for ~$150
OR
compact 18v recip saw CR18DMAQ4M with 2 x 2 ah battery + charger for ~ $140.
To me, a proper 5 piece kit includes an OMT, so if you can steal another $100:
The Dewalt XR kit with 1 batteries + charger is $99
Or for $199 get 4 batteries and a free OMT
OR
The latest Metabo HPT multi tool, CV18DAQ4M, is $105 from Acme
Does anyone have any better deals for 4 tool combo (drill, driver, circ+recip saw) @ $400 or 5 tool (+OMT) for $500?
TomD
These kits … I started with one, but they’re not really that great.
A homeowner starting out would be better served by getting a cheaper drill/impact or surge combo kit, and get the saws later when needed.
I find that I use the impact (surge) ALL the time, a drill sometimes (rarely) and the saws hardly at all; if I do it’s a sawzall over the circular.
Home Depot has a “buy a M18 kit, get a tool free” where you can buy this: https://www.homedepot.com/p/Milwaukee-M18-18-Volt-Lithium-Ion-Brushless-Cordless-Compact-Hammer-Drill-Impact-Combo-Kit-2-Tool-with-2-Batteries-Bag-3693-22CX/326204135 and get a sawzall for the same price as this kit. You lose the light but get brushless of three of them.
But personally I’d say a starter kit is better off being M12 if you want to go team red.
JayS
The LED light is so underpowered. One of the only tools I really do not enjoy using.