Milwaukee 2602-22 M18 1/2″ Hammer-Drill/Driver Review

Manufacturer:
Model: 2602-22
Price: $299.99
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The Milwaukee 2602-22 is first and foremost an incredibly powerful and extremely
well-built tool. Secondly, Milwaukee also makes another M18 model, the 2611-24 that
has an additional 100 ft/lbs of torque beyond this monster of a tool. I’m not
sure a lot of people can even imagine ways to use that kind of power in most 18V applications. The two
can be told apart by the presence of red numbers on the clutch of the
heavier duty model. This one has white numbers. It also doesn’t come with a removable handle, but you can certainly pick one up as and option and both tools have the
same form factors.

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

When we picked up the Milwaukee 2602-22 M18 hammer-drill we immediately noticed
its serious heft. Weighing in at just under 5 lbs, this is not
a light-duty model that you’ll want to reserve for assembling furniture and
pre-drilling holes for shelves. This is a heavy-duty tool that can certainly hold
up to commercial use. It also weighs much less than Milwaukee’s
V28 line of tools – which makes it a good fit for professionals who want as much
power as they can get without having to look like circa-1984 Arnold Schwarzenegger to
carry the tool around all day long. Of course, until a couple of years ago, Ni-Cad batteries made these tools considerably heavier than these current line of tools. As an example, the former
V18 model weighed 6.2 lbs – over a pound heavier than this tool!

The body has Milwaukee’s signature red ABS plastic color and
there is plenty of black rubber overmold covering the tool to provide a
comfortable and non-slip grip. The
Milwaukee M18 hammer-drill feels balanced. In fact, if you hold the tool in your hand and then open
up your fingers, the drill will sit, tipping neither forward or back, on
your middle finger which rests just below the trigger. I don’t know about you, but, to me, that’s
perfect balance. It also sends the weight of the tool straight down, instead of tipping it forward. Forward and reverse controls are easily bumped with
your thumb and index fingers and we especially liked that Milwaukee Tools opted for a separate drill/driver/hammer mode switch. In
the case of the 2602-22, this switch sits just behind the
clutch, allowing for easy engagement and disengagement of the hammer
function and clutch system. The clutch has 24 possibly settings – enough to be helpful and not cumbersome. You adjust the clutch simply by spinning the collar
- which emits an audible and tactile click at each registered mark. The sound and feel are reassuring during adjustments.

The
2602-22′s chuck is a 1/2″ all-metal single sleeve ratcheting style that should
stand up to years of use on the jobsite. It was quite easy to change
bits, but Milwaukee included no bit storage on the tool itself, instead leaving that as a separate optional accessory. As this is such an easy (and
useful) thing to add it seemed like a silly oversight. Perhaps it is because Milwaukee
offers a bit holder and belt hook as aftermarket service parts. Also on top
of the tool is the speed switch. This switch, along with the
drill/driver mode switch and the clutch collar, are all easily actuated
with gloved hands. In fact, Milwaukee seemed to specifically make the hammer-drill to
accommodate them.

We tore into a lot of materials with the hammer-drill, including
taking it to a solid wood exterior door that required a hole saw (hammer function off, of course) for
adding a deadbolt. The torque and speed this tool provided was very impressive. In terms of sound output, the 2602-22 put out 86dB in
High speed mode on its own. In measuring rotation, our laser tachometer clocked a maximum
of 1390 rpm in High speed and 386 rpm in Low – about 84% of the rated
specs on average. On our cinder block test, the hammer-drill function
tore through the sample like butter with our carbide-tipped masonry
bit. Driving screws was almost a joke with this tool, offering tons of
speed and also presenting plenty of torque control through the clutch
system.

The Milwaukee 2602-22 Hammer-Drill Driver Kit is an exceptional tool with tons of power and some really nice features. We especially liked the professional clutch action and the over-abundant power available from the tool. The lack of included side handle and on-board bit storage was a bit perplexing, but since these are available as optional accessories, they only took away from our value rating, which we gave a generous 7/10. In terms of performance, the power-to-weight ratio, high torque, and hammering ability of this drill gave it an easy 8/10 in our performance test rating. For $300, construction professionals shouldn’t balk at this product (though competition is fierce), but home users may find it too rich for their blood and want to look at either 12V solutions or products with specs that aren’t quite as geared to the contractor.

Specs

• Chuck Size: 1/2″ single sleeve keyless
• Clutch: 24 Position
• Mode switch: Drill/Driver/Hammer-Drill
• No Load RPM Low: 0-450
• No Load RPM High: 0-1,700
• BPM: 0-7,650/0-29,000
• Torque: 550 in/lbs (XC); 450 in/lbs (Compact)
• Weight: 5lb 1oz (with XC battery)