Milwaukee M12 FUEL 5-3/8” Circular Saw 2530-21XC

M12 2530-21

When it comes to cordless circular saws in general we have never been a huge fan simply because battery life and performance have always been pretty weak without jumping to a bulky, expensive battery platform. Within the last 2 years we’ve really seen that change in the 18V category with several new brushless saws like Milwaukee’s M18 7-1/4” Circular Saw (previous review). Until this M12 FUEL 2530-21XC ($229) unit came along we honestly haven’t given much attention to these smaller voltage saws simply because we didn’t see any practical uses.

With the success of the M12 FUEL Hackzall 2520-21XC ($199) which is currently our favorite cordless cutting solution, we couldn’t in good conscious ignore their new M12 circular saw. When it comes to a cordless cutting solution we are going to look for a few basic things. First, can it cut all the basic stuff like plywood, soft metals, 2”x material and maybe even a 4”x4” in 2 passes. If it can’t do the basics we really look at it as a specialty cutting tool not a good solution for everyday jobs. Second is convenience which takes into consideration runtime, portability and overall likelihood it’ll get the job done easily. For cordless cutting there is a huge advantage in not dragging out an extension cord which for small jobs really makes us want to go cordless. Finally price/value, are we going to use the tool and get our value from it and is there a big price jump/savings vs 18V or corded?

Milwaukee 2530-20

For all 3 measures the M12 FUEL Circular Saw 2530-21XC is very impressive. Most household or small repair jobs this saw has the capacity and runtime to get the job done. When we were at Milwaukee and tested it against other common 18V circular saws currently popular in the market and it outperformed on power and runtime thanks to the FUEL brushless motor. For convenience this saw is pretty similar to the M12 FUEL Hackzall, while it doesn’t have the power of a corded it is very lightweight, can do a vast majority of jobs and actually we are seeing more and more options in 5-3/8” saw blades for wood and metal cutting. Finally the price is very attractive for a cordless solution and we think would see a lot of action.

The M12 Circular Saw will just be hitting shelves next week however you can win one before you can buy it as we will be featuring it in this week’s EPIC FRIDAY CONTEST OF FREE STUFF 8am tomorrow on facebook.

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