Milwaukee 2601-20 M18 1/2″ Drill/Driver Review

Manufacturer:
Model: 2601-20
Price: $99.99
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Milwaukee’s
new M18 Lithium Ion Compact Drill Driver Kit (2601-20) delivers
heavy-duty performance that is designed to make this your go-to tool
for applications that don’t require a hammer-drill. Its reduced size
and weight are due to Milwaukee’s relatively new 4-pole frameless
motor which also maximizes efficiency to increase battery life. There
are a lot of tool categories on the market, and this one seems to be
a great all-around medium-duty solution for those looking for pro
quality in a more portable package. We’re also fans of the new 12V
form-factor, but as anyone who is familiar with both ca attest, there
is a significant difference in what an 18V lithium-ion tool can
handle over the new super-light models hitting the market.

Series note: We performed a hands-on evaluation of the 2601-22 1/2″ Compact Drill Driver kit, but this review also applies to the battery-less 2601-20. The two have identical Specs and Features elements thought the 2601-20 is only a drill and comes without the case or charger. We’ve included the review of the 2601-22 below for reference.

Check out our review of the Milwaukee M18 Cordless 4-Tool Combo 2694-24 Kit

Build
Quality

The
M18 Compact Drill Driver from Milwaukee Tools fits nicely in the hand
and weighs roughly 3/4 of a pound less than their comparable
XC-battery-equipped Hammer Drill. This makes the tool a lot more
useful for toting around on a tool belt or lifting above your head
for extended use. While a Hammer Drill has some excellent uses, the
extra weight is unnecessary if you are primarily doing basic drilling
and driving functions.

The
tool will look very familiar to any M18 users, sporting Milwaukee’s
signature red ABS plastic and black overmold in all the right places.
The tool simply will not slip during use, even if your hands are oily
and you left your work gloves in the truck. The forward and reverse
controls are easy to access with a simple thumb or index finger
movement and the top-mounted speed control has a large, durable
switch that can easily be controlled when using even thick gloves. We
liked the authoritative ratcheting of the clutch system and the tool
has plenty of venting, so if you are pushing from behind you won’t
block all of the airways and burn up the motor.

In
terms of convenience features, the 2601-22 Kit comes with a belt clip
(woo-hoo!) and an LED light comes on when depressing the trigger.
This is my favorite type of illumination, though I have plenty of
friends in the industry who prefer the new bottom-mounted and
defeatable switches, since most of their work is done in the daytime
or outdoors. Since the light is LED, it really doesn’t deplete the
battery all that much, so I think either solution is acceptable and
it’s just a matter of choice for the end-user.

Note the plastic chuck sleeve

Changing
bits was a breeze, though we didn’t particularly care for the
all-plastic chuck sleeve. It won’t take long for that to get dinged
up pretty good during the course of a project. The speed of the
Compact Drill Driver and its available speed made it a pretty
impressive tool overall, with a balanced feel that drove the weight
of the tool straight down the handle – where it should be.

In looking at the included Lithium-ion batteries, you can
immediately note that you’re going to have a lot less run-time, due to
their difference in capacity. What you gain, however, is less weight,
so this tool is perfect for heavier-duty overhead use and jobs where
you’re going to be using the tool for extended sessions of drilling or
driving.

The XC battery is considerably larger, and heavier than the standard Li-ion battery

Testing
and Use

We
bench-tested the M18 Compact Drill Driver and found its “no-load”
Low speed to be around 320rpm. Our laser tachometer clocked the “no
load” High speed at 1230 RPM. Between the two measurements we
found they averaged around 10% below the manufacturers numbers. Noise
output was actually pretty high and we measured a full 96 dB SPL in
our standard 3-foot outdoor test at no load and at full speed. 

We
used this Compact Drill Driver on several jobs. One included building a
children’s outdoor playset. The job entailed a lot of drilling and
driving into decking boards and dimensional lumber. Despite sending an
entire day with the tool, we only used up one standard battery, even
though we drove what seemed like dozens of screws and lag bolts into
pressure treated wood. This is a testimony to the tool, but also to the
battery technology Milwaukee employs in its M18 line. This seems to be
a common theme with these tools – they last through the job, recharge
quickly, and get the job done. We also lined up some tests to drive 6″
lag bolts into multiple pieces of PT lumber in a rapid-fire series of
tests designed to see if the tool bogs down under heavy use. Let’s just
say that my wrist hurt from the torque and the tool seemed none the
worse for wear. In all cases, the 2601-22 did a bang-up job and held
itself together. The tool doesn’t get overly hot and the battery tends
to drop off suddenly, rather than wind down (a refreshing attribute of
Lithium-ion over Ni-Cad).

Conclusion

The Milwaukee M18 Compact Drill Driver fits nicely into
a niche where you want power and portability. This isn’t the most
powerful drill the company makes, nor will it work well for concrete or
serious-duty drilling. For that you’ll want to step up to the heavier
duty products. But for serious work that will be better served with a
lighter tool, this is your ticket. Build quality is decent, though
there isn’t a ton of metal on the surface of this tool, and the overall
feel of the drill makes it very comfortable to use. For this, we gave
it a performance rating of 7/10. The tool isn’t cheap, and with a lot
of competition in this area we still feel Milwaukee is an above-average
value, giving it a value rating at 7. We can easily recommend this tool
for both home and professional users.

Specs

• Torque: 400 in. lbs.
• Weight: 4 lbs.
• Size: 7 3/4″ Length
• Built-in LED Work Light
• 1/2″ Single Sleeve Metal Chuck
• High Speed RPM: 0-1,400
• Low Speed RPM: 0-350
• Variable Speed Trigger