Milwaukee is expanding their outdoor power tool lineup with a new modular tool head system, dubbed Quik-Lok.
The new Milwaukee Quik-Lok multi-head power tool system is powered by their M18 Fuel cordless battery platform. There is a power unit, powered by an M18 Fuel brushless motor, and interchangeable tool attachments that are swapped for different tasks. This means you get the capabilities of several tools at a lower cost and with less to store than with dedicated tools.
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The system will be launching with 4 separate tools and an extension.
- String Trimmer
- 14″ to 16″ cutting swath
- .080/0.095″ line diameter
- Available as a kit (2825-21ST) for $329
- Available as a bare tool (2825-20ST) for $229
- Available as an attachment (49-16-2717) for $109
- Pole Saw
- 10″ bar length
- 80″ length
- Available as a kit (2825-21PS) for $399
- Available as an attachment (49-16-2720) for $164
- Edger
- 8″ blade size
- 38″ length
- Available as an attachment (49-16-2718) for $109
- Articulating Hedge Trimmer
- 20″ blade length
- 1″ cut capacity
- 60″ length
- 13 operating positions
- Available as an attachment (49-16-2719) for $164
- 3′ Attachment Extension (49-16-2721) for $54
The extension is included in the pole saw kit, but can be purchased separately for use with the hedge trimmer and pole saw attachment.
The kits come with the Milwaukee M18 Fuel Quik-Lok power head, the specified attachment (string trimmer or pole saw with extension), a multi-voltage rapid charger, and (1) HD 9.0Ah battery. The pole saw kit is also said to include a shoulder strap.
A shoulder strap (49-16-2722) will be available separately, for $20, and a replacement 10″ pole saw chain (49-16-2723) will also be available, for $18.
ETA: February 2019
First Thoughts
What’s not to like?
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Press materials summed up the benefits of the system:
Plus, the ability to switch out multiple attachments based on the application will make jobs quicker, easier, and more cost-effective.
This is a huge breakthrough for users who are frustrated with gas solutions or investing in multiple battery platforms to use higher voltage options.
They also say:
The System also achieves instantaneous throttle response while being up to 2 pounds lighter than the other options on the market.
And that it:
Delivers best-in-class power and run-time for landscaping and trade professionals.
I know a lot of you have been asking for something just like this. What do you think?
Raise your hand if you’re going to buy this in time for Spring.
Or, if you’re not a Milwaukee M18 cordless tool user, do you wish that these tools came out in your brand’s color instead?
Joseph Reuben R. Laroza
This is great. Love that they’re stepping up their outdoor game. Ryobi has a stronghold for the DIY consumer in that regard. Great modular system. Looking forward to the sales.
BobM
Few years ago I switched over all my outdoor tools to the Echo 58v line, which I love, but unfortunately they don’t offer a pole saw. I just might have to try out the M18 line just for that.
Dominic S
Hey BobM, the echo split shaft pole saw attachment for their gas trimmers fits the 58V split shaft string trimmer!
Haven’t tried it out yet but I’m thinking about buying.
Dom
Ian Carnel
Milwaukee and ryobi (and rigid too) are all made by TTI. They own milwaukee outright, license the ryobi branding , and contract-manufacture for rigid.
Taras
I’m definitely in for this. I’m already on the M18 platform, and my yards aren’t big but have trees and shrubbery to maintain. Battery power would be perfect for what I need and the systems modules make storing it an attractive feature.
Taras
With a small M18 mower, I would be all set.
Fm2176
Based on quick math, it looks like $840 for the entire system (trimmer kit with all attachments, strap, and extension). For that price, they can keep it, though I appreciate their effort. I’ve amassed separate tools for everything this system does:
DeWalt string trimmer kit: $145
DeWalt hedge trimmer bare tool: $116
Ryobi pole saw (with extension and strap): $99 with 2-3Ah battery starter kit (technically, the tool was free)
Ryobi edger bare tool: $59
While the DeWalt hedge trimmer lacks the reach and articulation of the Milwaukee, I can live with it.
That said, if Milwaukee were my primary brand, and especially if I didn’t already own these types of tools, I would absolutely consider the Quik-Lol system. It seems to be innovative, at least for a cordless system that primarily makes non-OPE tools, and the 9Ah battery included in the kits is much larger than the 5Ah DeWalt or two 3Ah Ryobis I got with my versions.
Jared
I was looking at the same aspect – though I understand the prices to be MSRP, so maybe the price the consumer ends up paying in-store will make this look more attractive.
E.g. I just quickly checked some prices at Home Depot:
– Dewalt string trimmer kit is $200 versus $329 for the Milwaukee.
– a Dewalt hedge-trimmer and string trimmer combo kit (with 5.0 ah battery) for $329. Compare this to $493 for the string trimmer kit and hedge attachment from Milwaukee.
Maybe things start to even out if you are buying all of the tools?
However, if the retail/sale prices are lower, the Milwaukee could look pretty good. I could see it being the sort of thing where kits go on sale for $299 and attachments for $99 – then it starts to look a bit more attractive.
To answer the question Stuart posed – yes, I do wish this came out in one of my platforms (Dewalt, Bosch or Porter Cable). At the price point though, I’m not sure I would choose this “system” over just buying all the tools individually from Dewalt. Maybe if they turn out to be better/more powerful or if it were important to a particular buyer to use less storage space?
Adam
You need to compare comparable models. The DeWalt you mentioned is 20v, only has 13″ cut width, 5ah battery, and wont handle .95 line. While adequate, it won’t do nearly what a 40v or 60v DW or 18v Milwaukee will do.
The Flexvolt kit is $270 for a better comparison.
David
766 but its Milwaukee sk well worth it I already have weedeater fuel and quickly shelved my ryobi which I will soon sell but will get this new setup
NigelDH
1. I hope that they have solved the M18 power head over heating issue. I can only get about 20 minutes of trimming time before my M18 string trimmer overheats, will not start until it cools down.
2. No brush cutter blade.
3. Yet another couple shaft version. At least the Ryobi 40V uses Trimmer Plus(r).
4. Mikita x2 uses a different couple shaft but at least you also get: 4 cycle power head option, brush cutter, cultivator.
Last spring my Ryobi 40V with a Trimmer Plus(r) cultivator was really nice for seed bed preparation – till-up a row to plant potatoes or garlic. Instant start meant I could till, stop to plant or clear the tines, then no pull to start again. The Ryobi has the power to till our heavy clay, or the hard packed yard waste pile.
Jason
You may want to contact Milwaukee – I’ve got the Fuel string trimmer and have run it for hours straight cleaning up fence lines without issue (no shutdowns).
I doubt we’ll see a battery powered tool that has a worthwhile brush cutter any time soon; I know that Stihl sells a grass blade battery machine but for the heavy stuff it just doesn’t seem practical to have a battery – even smaller gas engines get bogged down. Fingers crossed, however, for an M18 tool with a blade that can mow down saplings and overgrown brush!
KMR
I have a Lowes 80V string trimmer (Greenworks 80V clone) which has swap-able tool heads, and I’ve run a brush cutter head on it, and it works great. The most I’ve done is my rear property line, which is 172′ in length and I worked 6-8′ deep. Most of this was 8 year old overgrown upstate NY field (brush about 4ft tall), with lots of small woody vegetation and even some 3/4-1″ diameter saplings. Done in a couple hours, swapped batteries once or twice.
John S
Make sure you have turned the cutoff blade around to make the line length longer. Its reversible and default ships in the “short” length position. You may also want to make sure you got the stock with the new “Easy Load” head as all the current ones now ship with it:
https://www.milwaukeetool.com/Products/Accessories/Miscellaneous/49-16-2714
That length change alone opened up the low end power for really thick work for me.
Mutombo
This kills me, having everything yellow and wanting garden equipment without introducing a new platform
jason gloekler
Unless you have all 18v, you can get Dewalt OPE in 20v, 40v, or 60v. I have 20v trimmmer and blower and 40v chainsaw and hedge trimmer. All work great for my smaller yard. The chainsaw will cut down and cut up a smaller tree in one battery. Ive upgraded all my batteries to the largest available for longer run time.
Gene Colley
I have everything in Dewalt 40 volt except the edger. When will Dewalt get around to that one?
John Fal
Mutombo, i feel the same way. I’m a (20v and 60v) Dewalt man with ryobi 40v yard tools and don’t won’t to switch them to red. But been very tempted with all the new Milwaukee stuff that keeps going on sale at home D though. But Not impressed by this power head because it’s limited by their brand only attachments, and Gene, I to would be like to see that nice Dewalt in 60v 4 wheel edger ASAP.
Raoul
I would be in if there was a universal battery. I’m tied into Dewalt and and not adding another battery platform.
Thomas Woods
You can buy adapters that will allow you to use most all 18-20v batteries with the Milwaukee. If you have a 3D printer check out thingiverse as the files needed to print your own are available there. I use my Milwaukee batteries in all my ryobi tools(NOTE: There has only been one issue with the chemical sprayer being to fat that the adapter would not fit it) Since I 3d prj ted my own, I first used some tools to reshape it to fit and then got some measurements with a caliper and a rough 3d scan and finally made my finished version
About a year ago I decided to buy there fuel string trimmer as in the past I had mainly always stuck with DeWalt but noticed my batteries would really quick and for the price I was paying I just wasn’t impressed. When I got the Milwaukee Fuel String trimmer I had just sold a Stihl KM 131R which is a Kombi system and a back killer. So I was expecting that there would be huge difference in performance. The first time I tried it I went straight to some of the high stuff that the Stihl had to get the job done. I was incomplete disbelief at the power. I couldn’t tell the difference in power. This little 18v machine was destroying everything I was throwing at it with no problem. For the first time ever with cordless tools I felt like I didn’t get ripped off and that battery power was strong enough to replace my other go to gas tools.
I’m trying to find out if the quick Lok system is weaker then the non quik Lok system. Anyone have any information about this? Thanks.
George Baumann
I bought the quik-lok set (everything except the hedge trimmer, as I have no hedges). I’m a Milwaukee Tool guy, so already have batteries.
The grass trimmer really is a beast! Large cutting circle, trimmed around mulch, driveway, 3 curbs… and my battery still showed full charge.
Pole saw is no joke! I’m still waiting until June for the extension.
The edger takes its toll on the motor though. We haven’t had a chance for soul to dry up here in Wisconsin, so that may have hurt my cause. It went into thermal protect after 20 min of work, though it was plowing thru 2″ of soil and grass that hasn’t been taken care of in years. My second pass was much better.
I did purchase an M18 12.0ah battery for edging, and the extra oomph IS noticed over my 5.0ah. It also makes for nice balance for trimming!
Jim Felt
Timings everything.
Five years ago (had I invested in M18 back in that day) I’d love this!
None of our properties any longer require any of this stuff.
Sniff. Snuffle.
fred
I’m sort of in the same boat.
The HOA takes care of the outside in Florida
I have landscapers at the 2 other places to do the heavy work.
My wife putters around with a combination of M18, Makita, Greenworks and Ryobi at our primary residence. My older gasoline-engine-powered OPE comes out only when my wife forces me into it to do something the landscaper’s missed or messed up – and doing it is beyond the scope of her battery-powered stuff (like tilling 24 raised beds)
Eric
Awesome!
I hope DeWalt is motivated to make a FlexVolt one and I hope it fits my “traditional” gas-era accessories. I would be less enthused rebuying everything.
John Fal
Amen ! Pay attention Dewalt!
daniel
I’m in on this 100%, but I’ll wait for some kind of promo… buy the kit, get a free attachment… or something (hopefully, they usually do pretty soon after release). Glad to see they haven’t given up on their OPE line. Hope to see a mower soon.
Brian A
Dont really agree that it provides any cost savings. The first gen M18 hedge trimmer was $169 and just the head for the new system is $179. $179 for the pole saw head is expensive, there are many electric or battery pole saws around the $100 area.
Kinda upset my existing M18 string trimmer is obsolete now after 2 years and will not have any expandability.
This is what they should of done 2 years ago!
Sure many of us will get the new system, but even as a Milwaukee addict I think the price is going to throw a lot of people off to other brands.
Adam
I have a feeling some of the pricing is due to tariffs. They wouldn’t want to tag it with a lower price, then have to raise it later on, like they did with new tools that we’re released last year that we’re bundled with 12ah HO batteries. Those we’re supposed to go to $450 during the holidays, though some tools still went up like the new M12 stubbies.
On that, Acme tools has the new 2017 tools available as bare tools now. $250 for the super sawzall & circular, $300 for the chainsaw, $450 for table saw.
red92s
Prices for the attachments seem to be on par with the EGO, who is probably the most direct competitor for something like this.
I’ve said it before and I’ll repeat it again: Milwaukee needs a lawnmower. As it’s likely to be both the most used and most expensive part of an OPE investment, it makes sense to bias a purchasing decision towards whatever platform/line has the best mower. Right now, that’s EGO. Dewalt’s mower was largely disappointing, and Milwaukee isn’t even in the race.
If Milwaukee had a compelling mower option, it’d make it a lot easier to get people to buy into the line. It’s sort of the equivalent of not offering ANY impact driver in your 18V tool line, even if all your other tools are great. It doesn’t have to be head and shoulders above the competition, but you need something in that space.
Joe framer
Dewalts mower is not disappointing, the only complaint was the runtime using the two 5ah batteries sent with it…
….the mower itself is a beast and as good as the 40v . One must buy larger batteries to use larger tools. Get the 9ah or 12ah batteries for the mower and be the envy of everyone.
red92s
Yeah I’m sure it works great if you just spend an extra $300+ on additional batteries . You’d have a point if Dewalt offered it as a bare tool, but they don’t.
John S
I got the M18 Fuel String Trimmer and I absolutely love it. Its actually made trimming fun believe it or not and I actually love using it. I kinda feel a little bad I shoulda maybe waited for this to come because I would jump on that edger. Maybe they’ll come with a stand alone unit hopefully.
mattd
I am happy to see these type of developments, but as someone who only has to landscape 1 small property I cannot see how these would be worth the cost vs my current setup (ryobi 18v trimmer and edger that I got for $25 each on clearance.) or even vs the ego 56v multi head system, which has very high reviews, is cheaper, and ego also makes a mower.
I really don’t understand why there are not more modular systems like this, especially when it comes to battery powered tools where you can put the motor on the cutter side and just use the center pole as a glorified piece of conduit. What I really dream of is more third parties to come out with battery adapters like this milwaukee to ryobi one https://www.amazon.com/Ryobi-Milwaukee-Battery-Adapter-Surebonder/dp/B075SLPC6D so that I could easily pick tools without having to have multiple batteries.
Gordon
The EGO system is very nice if the only thing you need is OPE. Like most holiday drill sets, EGO seems to have a few kits that make the tool almost free. Their batteries are so expensive. Which makes me nervous about needing to replace them. The EGO 5ah battery is $220. A M18 12ah is $200, a pair of Makita 5ah is $160, a Flexvolt 9ah is $200. You’ll also only find EGO at HD whereas the other brands can be found all over, which means you can find better deals. For instance, the Milwaukee HO 12ah is on amazon for $140.
Plus all the other brands can use the $200 battery in most other tools. It lowers the overall cost of buying tools and means you can spend more on bare tools to get ones that last.
Bill
Gordon, in order to do a more accurate cost comparison (as well as a more accurate energy comparison) on batteries of different voltage platforms (e.g., 18 volt Milwaukee vs. 56 volt EGO) you need to compare the total watts or watt hours. So, using your numbers, the EGO battery at $220 gives you, 5ah x 56v = 280 Wh, thus $220/280wh = $0.79/wh. Whereas, the Milwaukee battery at $200 gives you, 12ah x 18v = 216wh, thus $200/216wh = $0.93/wh
While batteries are an expensive part of the cordless phenomenon, you often need to break it down to the cost per unit of energy in order to get a better understanding of just what you are getting for all that cost.
Cryptic
I hope they are compatible with other brand attachments. I have an old gas weed eater slowly dying after many years of service. I already own homelite style attachments.
JC
Milwaukee is my main but not my only tool brand. I love this idea as I dont want a dedicated edger but the attachement makes it attractive. The problem I have is that they didnt offer a bare tool option for each attachment. I already have an M18 string trimmer and I don’t need a pole saw, so I would essentially have to buy something I dont need (pole saw) or already have (m18 trimmer) in order to get what I want (edger). Now if Milwaukee will do a buy the pole saw get an attachment of your choice free then I might bite the bullet and buy in but until then forget it.
KenZ
I hate having multiple battery platforms, but after years of trying several 18v garden tools, my verdict is 18v doesn’t do it. You gotta go at least 36V. Milwaukee should have done an X2 option.
Adam
Doesn’t sound like you have actually used the M18 equipment. All but one of the existing Milwaukee outdoor equipment has had more than enough power for me, including chainsaw, string trimmer, hedge trimmer. The only exception, and is most companies, is the blower. I’ve also never heard anyone complain about them that have actually used them. That I do wish had a X2 option, or rather a backpack unit preferably.
KenZ
Depends what you’re doing. Try one of the 36v chain saws vs 18 on 8” live juniper trees, or try cutting down rabbit brush with an 18 vs 36v hedge trimmer: it’s a world of difference. If your garden work is ‘garden variety’ then 18v might do but if you’re dealing with larger and tougher items it is actually important.
Andy
Have you actually tried the M18 16″ Chain Saw. I have one and it has no problem with 18″ Hickory
Mike
I know Dewalt is coming out with one too so is Makita but I never liked having a tool you can disconnect and put another tool on, somewhere down the line that part is gonna let you down
Luke
As someone with the M18 trimmer, chainsaw, hedge clipper, the only thing I want here is the edger. Which looks like the only piece you can’t get without buying another took kit first. Disappointing.
JC
Same boat. Agreed.
clf28264
Honestly for the money pick up the Stihl Kombi system (gas powered) or equivalent from your normal professional grade folks. The tools above are junk (I’m will to take bets on the average lifetime) and along with the fact a battery system will not last long enough, are hardly worth the expense. For such a system, serious thought needs to go into each tool and the power-head, otherwise you have a throw away $2,000.00 system that is worthless once the battery support goes away.. after how many year?. I am a big fan of battery powered tools, but after owning a home for 5 years I am glad I invested in high quality two stroke equipment including the stihl KOMBI. Why? Well 5 years from now my tools and power-head will still work without special consideration to the batteries along with the fact parts are an order of magnitude cheaper than batteries. Additionally, my amortized cost will be lower still each additional year I utilize a more conventional tool-set. Hence why these look excellent on a website or simple calculation, I will keep my more expensive yet conventional tools for their outsized repair-ability.
Jared
That’s a valid consideration. Gas still often blows battery-powered tools like these away in a performance to cost comparison… But there’s other factors.
E.g. I know there’s cheaper gas saws that can easily match my flexvolt chainsaw – especially once you factor in additional batteries for more runtime. However, I don’t have to buy or mix gas, winterize it and most importantly for me – it’s just more pleasant to use when I can start/stop it quickly, don’t need to pull start it and it’s quiet.
clf28264
Single tool comparison battery often wins, its when the capital investment (which systems like this in my mind are classified as a capital expense) gas wins due to longevity. My main consideration with lawn equipment is how long I have to work with a piece of equipment for the investment to pay off. Inexpensive cordless hedge trimmer vs. $300.00 Stihl HS45… the Stihl will loose for almost every use case. But, will that same battery hedge trimmer last 20 years? Probably not. Hence why if you have a more consistent or heavy usage any battery system is likely a more wasteful for lawn care.
CountyCork
20 years may be a stretch for cordless OPE but 10 could be realistic. I’d be happy with 10 years without all the maintenance. I have enough engines to maintain at this point as it is.
clf28264
Canned fuel has revolutionized the life and maintainence of my various engines which greatly colors my opinion. That being said, 10 years for an average homeowner might make the investment worth it. I’m cynical due to how poorly most of these pieces of equipment are made even with their inherent simplicity. This discussion in another 5 years ought to be illuminating.
Adam
I don’t think paying $22 a gallon for fuel is the answer (lowest price I saw was $5.50 at Walmart). While it is essentially the purest you can feed your equipment, and even if many 2-cycle aren’t fuel hogs, that can really add up. So much so, you could just buy new equipment with the savings.
For any of our 2-cycle stuff left, I use Star-tron to minimize the ethanol, and has done wonders. Now, I usually try to grab mine on eBay with a coupon in a large enough size to really drive the cost down, but far cheaper & very close in effectiveness to canned fuel. Other option is to buy recreation gas (but can be hard to come by).
Robert
I’ve used similar gas systems by Poulan and Ryobi. The Ryobi has a 4-cycle engine and I like it a lot. The Poulan is 2-cycle and lacked many of the nice features of the Ryobi. But I mostly just use the string trimmer and don’t like the heavy engine for the pole saw, as well as the hedge trimmer, so hopefully the cordless version is much lighter.
ToolJunkie
What’s not to like?
I just bought the string trimmer last month.
EGO does have a better designed battery and a versatile system. Too bad you can’t combine their system with all my M18 batteries.
Axeman
Makita beat Milwaukee months ago with their Couple Shaft Powerhead attachment. Without a doubt, Makita has the edge over Milwaukee, as Team has decades of research and development invested in outdoor equipment. Personally, they haven’t let me down yet with my X2 string trimmer, chainsaw, and blower. For which, all have exceeded my expectations, when it comes to power, runtime, and durability.
Milwaukee owns the job site lighting and plumbing categories, but Makita and DeWalt would be my go to brands for outdoor power equipment
Darth
Does TTI own both EGO and Milwaukee? These look nearly identical to the EGO multi head.
Gordon
EGO is owned by Chevron based out of China. They also recently acquired the Skill brand.
Mike S
So – these are essentially the same tools as the Ego line, but in Red, right ?
If I hadn’t bought these same tools from Ego this past summer – I’d have gone out and bought the Red ones instead for the upcoming season so that I’d have more Red batteries and chargers to use and rely on – since the Ego batteries are so expensive and I can’t use them with anything other than other Ego OPE tools…
I picked up a bunch of new Red tools during all the winter sales – so, I have a lot more red now than I had last year. So – while I was more interested in getting more Ego items for last summer – that’s change now that I have so many other Red tools and batteries (2x 12ah; 2x 5ah, 1x 2ah)…
I picked up all my Ego tools when they were available during deals, and I have 2x 5ah and 1x 2.5ah. They work – the batteries charge fast – and I can charge one faster than I run out the two in the tools…
Patrick McIntosh
No ego is not made by TTI.
Koko The Talking Ape
What is the fifth tool on the right?
Red92s
It’s just an extension that adds length between the motor and attachment.
CT
Eh, my Black & Deckers work fine and I have enough batteries to last all day. With the deals I’ve gotten, I couldn’t have spent more than $300 on the six tools I own. Plus when one motor eventually goes bad it won’t take out every tool I own.
Stacey
Not dumping my Ryobi system for this. In fact, for this price I wouldn’t buy it even if I didn’t already have the Ryobi system. The only people this would make sense for are professional landscapers and even then it would have to last a loooong time to be worth the investment. If Ryobi offered it for a slight increase I might buy into it. The interchangeable system is just a nice to have for me.
Dave
Kind of this, but I doubt this stuff is heavy duty enough for daily landscaper use. If these had come out a couple years ago and I was already on the M18 platform I’d have given it a look, but the 2 tools I’m interested in (string trimmer and pole saw) are already in my shed in Ryobi versions and for as much as I use them it’ll probably be 4-5 years before I’m in the market for replacements…nowadays if I use a tool enough to break it and red makes it that’s my first option, but it’s nice having an armada of batteries for the green stuff I only need a handful of times a year.
PHILIP JOHN
Once you have done enough edging… you dont need a guide wheel let alone another attachment. The weed wacker can do a good job on it’s own.
adam
My thoughts exactly. It makes sense for a lawn crew to have one, as they have multiple workers & handle more professional properties usually. For a home owner, they seem like an unnecessary tool if you have a string trimmer.
A majority of driveways around my area are asphalt, so you aren’t even supposed to be using an edger there. I caught our lawn crew at the seasons end trying to bill us $8 every other week for “professional edging,” when earlier that year I asked one of the guys why he was using a weed wacker (already knowing why, but there were a few spots he could have used an edger).
OldDominionDIYer
So glad to see Milwaukee expanding their OPE line, I will likely buy into this new mini system this spring. Any word on an M18 framing nailer or trim router? C’mon Milwaukee show me some love!
stotea
Bah, I just bought the trimmer on Black Friday. I would have been all over this otherwise!
Todd Barry
Anyone question if this new system will work with the existing Milwaukee M18 string trimer? IE can us owners of the 1st gen string trimmer use any of the attachments or are we suppose to ditch our 1st gen trimmer in favor of this version?
Stuart
No, you cannot use any of the new attachments with your standalone M18 Fuel string trimmer.
Todd Barry
Booo, I really love my m18 trimmer
steve
The EGO platform is hard to beat.
Lance
Exactly! Not to mention it’s actually cheaper than Milwaukee Fuel OPE. Milwaukee has taken their 18V platform about as far as it can go with current battery tech. They won’t be improving much from here until something better than Lithium Ion battery cells are cheap and available.
Ego still has TONS of room to grow as far as power and run time are concerned.
Brian A
Assuming the are discontinuing the Gen1 wacker, but is the Gen1 hedge trimmer going away? Its probably much easier to use and safer for the average homeowner then the articulating death cutter.
While they are at it they should release a Gen3 blower, didnt like my Gen1 much but hate the Gen2 even more, maybe they will get it right with Gen3.
Robert
Some years ago, I got suckered into a similar philosophy with a Black and Decker drill, sander, screwdriver, etc, kit. I’m not making comparisons between the Black and Decker and the Milwaukee brands, which is apples to oranges. My feelings are related to the concept alone.
The modular thing seems to make sense when in the cognitive stage of the purchase. It’s in the area of practical application where they tend to fail in my book. Although again, a totally different level of quality between the 2 brands, my experience was that the concept was vastly better than the real world application. The weakness tends to be in the interface between the control portion and the added “accessory.” By the time you purchase all of the necessary accessories to bring the concept to the level of it’s intention, it usually doesn’t live up to the specs and potential of most dedicated tools with the same function. In addition, the power unit portion of the system is used continuously with every accessory, so ends up with substantially greater usage overall than the accessories individually. There’s no consistency across the board with regard to wear and tear.
I came to the realization that if I needed a drill, sander, whatever, I needed a dedicated tool that focused on that intended function. These concepts don’t tend to do any one function exceedingly well next to any comparable dedicated alternative. They almost don’t have a selling point from the standpoint of marketing that makes them attractive aside from being slightly more storage friendly. They will also often flat out dollar you to death in the long run. It seems like the things we usually go back to are the things we should’ve stuck with from the beginning. That’s where these types of things usually leave me.
Kevin
If they were serious, they should have coupled it with a new powerhead optimized for the high output battery packs. Now they’ll have a gen 2 powerhead in a year so might as well wait.
George
Milwaukee Tool fan all the way. Just bought the M18 trimmer, and returned it (new) a week later and ordered everything except the hedge trimmer. I bought it as “tool only” trimmer and the rest of the attachments seperate, as I have several batteries and chargers already.
I did pick up a new HD 12.0 battery from eBay for $119. Packaging was a little worn.
I’m just wondering if I could connect 2 extensions for light tree trimming…
Charles in Richmond
Professional speaking – My stihl trimmer and chainsaw are both in the shop. Chainsaw seems to have come without a needle bearing, we will see if Stihl screws me. Even if they don’t, not impressive.
I have probably 3-5k of Stihl stuff. Just bought the whole quik lok M18 range except the edger. My initial response to m18 is I’ll be selling off any of the Stihl stuff that makes sense. (I already have 3-5k of m18 tools, just not OPE).
I’ve only used the trimmer so far, but WOW. This kills pro-sumer like the stihl kombi, I’ll probably only keep my heavy duty stihl stuff like the forestry cutters and backpack blowers and sprayers
DUSTIN NICOMETO
You can put all your opinions and “facts” up here you want, why we are trying to compare and other brand to Milwaukee is non sense. Milwaukee tools cost more cause they are better. I use them and abuse them daily, not a single other tool brand has stood up to our harsh construction field,they keep going and when they do break Milwaukee is great to warranty or repair. That’s why, you get what you pay for peoplen. Power, performance, reliability… customer service. And if you shop right, you can get them just as cheap!
Lucas
Anyone know if there is a adapter to run all my gas powered attachments, I’d like to swap to Milwaukee, but I don’t want to invest in all the attachments I already have for my gas weed eater!!
Brian
I loooooove Milwaukee but 18v does not cut it if your doing any real landscaping or work. We are all going to have to invest in mx fuel batteries once they build a line of OPE for those batteries. There is a reason they have not attempted a mower. Ego still is significantly better in mower, blower, and attachments for there quick lock system. The power brush is my favorite tool i have ever owned. The battery time and power blow Milwaukee out of the water. To make matters worse Milwaukee is charging premium prices for these products. OPE has a long way to go for Milwaukee.
Chris
Stuart,
Assuming you have both the Milwaukee and EGO accessories, what is the difference?
Are they interchangeable?
The attachment mechanism (handle and release button), splines, and shaft look almost identical.
Could you see if they fit each other if you have them?
Stuart
Actually, I have neither in-hand at the moment. I have not yet tested Milwaukee’s system, and my EGO components are loaned out at the moment.
With interchangeable-type OPE equipment, I generally don’t assume compatibility unless brands specifically mention it.
Chris
All right, Thank you for the response.