Milwaukee M12 Cordless 4-tool Combo 2491-24 Review

January 1, 2010 Posted by Thomas Gaige

Filed under Combo Kits, Cordless, Power Tools, Tool Reviews by Tool

Milwaukee M12 Cordless 4-tool Combo 2491-24 Review

Manufacturer: Milwaukee
Model: 2491-24
Price: $299
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Pros:

Lithium power, Built-in battery meter, Compact

Cons:

Flashlight is not LED, Screwdriver is lackluster

Compact
tools are all the rage and, to make sure they have their market share,
Milwaukee Tools has beefed up their M12 line with some pretty cool goodies like
the 2491-24 four tool combo kit. Two of the included cordless tools that drew
us in were the 850 in-lb impact driver and a small sized reciprocating saw.
Many times, form follows function (or visa versa), but from what we could tell,
it seems like Milwaukee might have gotten its balance right with the tools in
the four piece 2491-24 combo kit.

Our combo kit arrived in a large cardboard box with
all the tools individually packaged and wrapped inside. Contained within was a
cordless screwdriver, impact driver, mini reciprocating saw, rotating head
flashlight, 30 minute quick charger, two 12V batteries, tool storage bag, two
bits, two saw blades and the instruction manuals for each tool. One of the most
obvious things we noticed was how compact the tools were. Our initial
examination of the tools showed that “compact” does not equate cheap
or light duty when it comes to the M12 line. All the tools are
constructed of red ABS plastic with tons of black rubber overmold. Because of
their small size and the abundant rubber grip surfaces, these tools fit well in
the hand and were comfortable to hold. The included charger takes only 30 minutes and has indicator lights to give the status of the battery. All
of the tools (except for the flashlight) have built-in LED battery level meters
that light up when you initially pull the trigger to give you an idea of
how much power is in reserve. It is the small details like this that helps set
Milwaukee apart from other manufactures of power tools. They keep a good focus
on the ultimate end user and what their needs are. We’ve had this kit for a few
months now and it has been with one of our favorite local contractors to help
put it through its paces. Based on their comments and on-the-job insight, we
compiled this snapshot of what we think of each of the tools in the 2491-24
Combo set.

Milwaukee M12 Screwdriver

Out of all the tools in the set, this one had us
scratching our heads the most. Let’s think about this – the set includes a
variable speed impact driver with
1/4″ hex chuck that is great for screwing screws. Given this,
wouldn’t you want to have a small size drill to compliment it? Well the folks
that put this kit together thought differently. Since this set did not come
with a chucked drill, we went out and picked up a 1/4″ hex drive bit set
that included drill bits. When our team was
installing cabinets and needed to screw the cabinet faces together; they put an
1/8″ drill bit into the screwdriver’s 1/4″ hex chuck and tried to
drill. Because the screwdriver only spins at a maximum of 500 RPM, it made for
some slow drilling into the oak faces. Needless to say, they swapped out and
used a more powerful drill to finish the job. Perhaps we were not being fair so
we decided to use the screwdriver as a screwdriver and found that it works
great for small tasks like installing cabinet door hinges and securing screws
in electrical installations. When we tried to use it to drive larger screws in
to wood, it was underpowered. In the end, we wished we had the M12 Drill rather
than the M12 Screwdriver in the kit; especially since the kit already gives us
the almost unlimited screwdriving abilities of the impact driver. If Milwaukee
added a new SKU with the three-times-as-fast 2410-20 drill, it would likely
make this a much easier combo kit to sell. The 2401-20 Screwdriver has a
built-in LED work light and the trigger provides variable speed control, but
after the initial use of the screwdriver, it became one of the least used tools
in the set. Our final conclusion on the Model 2401-20 M12 Screwdriver was that
it is underpowered and slow.

Milwaukee M12 1/4″Hex Impact
Driver

Model:
2450-20
Torque: 850
in-lbs.
RPM: 0-2000
Weight: 2.3
lbs.

Among our
favorite tools in the combo kit was the Model 2450-20 M12 1/4″ Hex Impact Driver. This
tool was small enough to comfortably fit in a tool pouch and
also provided enough power to drive many large size screws and fasteners. Since
the set was lacking in a small size chucked drill, the impact driver also
doubled as a drill in many instances when we needed to do one or two holes.
Thanks to the popularity of 1/4″ drive tools, many manufacturers have come
out with crazy bit and attachment assortments for 1/4″ drive tools that
can almost turn any 1/4″ drive tool into a do-it-all tool. After almost
daily use for the last few months, the only real complaint about the Model
2450-20 M12 1/4″Hex Impact Driver was that it did not have the battery reserve of its larger 18V brothers. Make
sure to have a spare battery always on the charger when you know you have to
drive a lot of screws.

Milwaukee M12 Hackzall Reciprocating
Saw

Model:
2420-20
SPM: 0-3000
(strokes per minute)
Stroke:
1/2″
Length: 11
in.
Weight: 2.6
lbs

The Model
2420-20 M12 Hackzall Reciprocating Saw
was the second most popular tool in this set. The
initial response to the shape of the saw was more on par with “What the heck is
that thing?” However, after just a few minutes of using it, we started to
understand the tool. The shape is what makes it so compact, and actually gives
the user a very pleasant and comfortable grip on the tool that puts your hand
in line with the blade. The Hackzall was used in crawlspaces to cut piping and
conduit and also cutting wire rack shelving. In most cases, it became a
replacement for a traditional hacksaw. On a few occasions it was also used to
make some straight cuts in trim and wood thresholds rather then looking for a
jig saw or miter saw. Given that standard reciprocating saw blades fit into the
Quick-Lok blade clamp, you have the ability to cut almost any material. This
saw is best suited for small projects or cuts, since it lacks a more aggressive
orbital cutting mode and it has a relatively short stroke length of only
1/2″.

All metal gear housing
and frame for the Hackzall
with easy to change
Quick-Lok blade clamp

Milwaukee M12 Work Light

Model:
49-24-0145
90-degree
rotating head
Bulb: Xenon
Work life:
7 hours of light on a single charge

As with
most combo kits that we look at, the flashlight is the “give away” in the set. It is not to say
that this flashlight did not come with some features; it is just that the combo
kit flashlights are just not up to the performance of the rest of the tools in
the set. Some of the handy things this flashlight does have are its 90 degree
rotating head and a strong magnet located on the back side that allows you to
attach it to metal surfaces. We were disappointed that this flashlight uses a
Xenon bulb. With all the talk of LED lights: how bright they are, how long they
last, and how energy conserving they are, then why the heck would they put in a
cheesy Xenon bulb flashlight in what is billed as a premium combo tool set? We
have to ask, because we have seen and used the LED version of the same light
that is included in the set; not only is it brighter, it’s actually better
made. In the interest of selling kits, we really wonder if it costs that much more
to include the LED version. It seems to us that it would encourage more purchases.

M12 LED Work Light on
top – M12 Xenon Work Light on the bottom.
Notice how much
brighter the LED version is.

Conclusion

The Milwaukee
M12 Lithium Ion Cordless 4-Tool Combo Kit definitely has some heavy duty, yet
small, tools. With small enough sizes to fit in most tool pouches, and power
that is on par with some full size tools, Milwaukee is showing us that sometimes
smaller is better. While we wish we could change a few things in the set like
swap out the screwdriver for a chucked drill and an LED work light instead of Xenon, all in
all this combo kit has been able to take the beating of almost daily job site
use for the last few months. For our Performance rating we
gave this set a 7/10 since the impact driver and Hackzall really outdid our
expectations (but the slightly lesser performance of the screwdriver and
flashlight dragged the score down a little). For our Value rating we gave the
set a 6/10 since we are talking about higher quality tools, we expect them all
to have better features and some of the tools did not deliver.

Specs

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