nps2018 thoughts and opinions

[Biggie]

Thought I would start a topic on what people thought of nps2018.  What did you like, dislike, and/or wish they would have released?

 

So my first reaction to the new 7"/9" grinder was wow that's pretty bad a**.  but then the cool factor wore off and reality set in.  We have a corded 7in/9in grinder and no one uses it because it's just too big and is a work out to use.  I'm sure there are people out there that really need this size grinder and I'm sure that's who its marketed to.  I personally wish they would look at trying to get more power out of a 4.5"/5" grinder to get it closer to true corded power as I would think that is where a large percent of the grinding market is at.

 

My second complaint is the new m12 impact wrench.  Don't get me wrong I think the new stubby's are awesome and like many can't wait to get one but I was really looking forward to getting a 3/8" in the smaller platform like the 1/4".  I know I might be splitting hairs but even the milwaukee rep says it "think of the stubby's like a high torque m12".  I have the original m12 brushed 3/8" impact wrench and while i like the size, at only 83ft/lbs of torque its a little under powered.  Then they came out with the fuel version and it has better power but that came at a cost of it being longer than the m18 models.  Which led me to believe that the gen 2 was going to be the perfect balance of size and power but they went and changed it up again giving us all kinds of power in a fat package.  

 

I know they can't please everyone and in general I really liked what they released these were just a few things I wished they had done different.

 

      

[Jronman]

I would have liked to see an increase in rpm of the gen 3 drills. 2000 rpm is nice but when some others have over 3000 it is slow in comparison. They claim it is faster in high demand applications but I felt they didn't address low demand applications. I feel like the 2000 rpm is a bottle neck. It has so much power that it can drill something like a 1/2in hole with ease on high speed. I feel like it could easily handle the extra 1000 rpm.

On the gen 3 impact driver I would have liked to see more leds. Almost every premium brand has at least 2 leds on their impacts now. 

I wish they would have released a version of the m12 multi-chuck drill that you can get in Europe. It would have been so handy.

[jtkendall]

Likes:

• M12 1/2" Impact Wrench
• M12 Rocket Light
• M18 Table Saw
• M18 Barrel Grip Jigsaw
• M18 12Ah Batteries
• M18 Chainsaw
• PACKOUT Slim Organizers
• PACKOUT Mounting Plate
• Rover Light w/ Carabiner 

The impact wrench is just a convenience thing for me, I have a M18 1/2" High Torque Impact Wrench that currently lives in the car with a set of Craftsman lug nut sockets, flash light, batteries, and charger. While this is great to have, being able to replace it all with M12 items makes the box lighter and may give me room for a second flashlight.

 

The issue I have with the M18 Rocket Lights are their size, they are huge and can easily get in the way. The M12 ones appear to be much smaller and suit my needs better, plus I can toss one in the car in case of a break down.

 

The M18 Table Saw, they took the Dewalt did and added the two things that kept my from buying the Flexvolt, a second miter slot and dado support. I compromised and bought the DW745 since it was the right price and had the second miter slot but no dado support. It's probably leaving when I get the M18, my garage is short on outlets and while I've used the 745 with the Dewalt Power Station it's still not as convenient as cordless.

 

The M18 Barrel Grip jigsaw is a nice surprise and I am so glad I sold my original M18 jigsaw last year because I'd probably have a hard time selling it now. My Bosch 12v Jigsaw is already on eBay since I can now go to only two battery platforms with this announcement.

 

The M18 12Ah batteries are just going be great for the tools announced this year and I'm sure will be needed to power anything released next year. I was planning on replacing some of my 4 and 5Ah batteries with 9Ah's when they went out, but now it's more likely I'll be picking up 12Ah's first.

 

A chainsaw is something I've been needing to pick up and I had been eying the Dewalt 20v prior to this.

 

The PACKOUT slim organizers and mounting plate are the items that are going to get me to actually buy into PACKOUT. I like my TSTAK's, but I can see a lot of uses for the slim organizers and mounting plate. The slim organizers are the perfect depth for my electronics components and other small parts that I don't have enough of to justify a standard organizer depth.

 

The Rover light with a carabiner on it seems like something I'll buy a couple of. Stick one in each car and a couple in the house.

 

Dislikes: None

 

There was nothing they released that made me go "Why?" I might not have a use for every item they released but other people probably don't have a use for some of the things I liked.

 

Wishlist:

• M18 Compact Router
• Power Station
• Push Mower

This is where I was slightly disappointed, I was a really hoping for a push mower, but my guess would be they will have one by the end of the year or by next NPS at least since they have the 12Ah batteries. A power station would have been nice, but I do already have the Dewalt one so it's not something I probably would have prioritized buying anyway. The compact router seemed like a good bet with Ridgid having one and Makita releasing one. Milwaukee doesn't really focus on woodworking tools but the table saw at least means they may be changing that.

[DR99]

8 hours ago, Jronman said:

I would have liked to see an increase in rpm of the gen 3 drills. 2000 rpm is nice but when some others have over 3000 it is slow in comparison. They claim it is faster in high demand applications but I felt they didn't address low demand applications. I feel like the 2000 rpm is a bottle neck. It has so much power that it can drill something like a 1/2in hole with ease on high speed. I feel like it could easily handle the extra 1000 rpm.

On the gen 3 impact driver I would have liked to see more leds. Almost every premium brand has at least 2 leds on their impacts now. 

I wish they would have released a version of the m12 multi-chuck drill that you can get in Europe. It would have been so handy.

I think they might need to add another gear to get the rpm's up with out effecting torque

[HiltiWpg]

I think they might need to add another gear to get the rpm's up with out effecting torque

Forgive my ignorance, but why would you want such high rpms?

I only drill steel and wood, too fast is always a bad idea for what I do.

What requires those high speeds?

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

[Bremon]

1 hour ago, HiltiWpg said:

Forgive my ignorance, but why would you want such high rpms?

I only drill steel and wood, too fast is always a bad idea for what I do.

What requires those high speeds?

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk
 

E-peen measuring contests. As is, my 996 and 460 Dewalts have bottomless grunt for any task I encounter and the current Fuel has so much go-go juice I’ve never really needed low speed on it. Even reasonable size hole saws fly in high speed on that monster. 

[Tug]

12 Amp packs! Whoop!