Milwaukee announced their latest breakthroughs at NPS18 a while back and we put the Milwaukee M18 Fuel Super Sawzall head-to-head against the other advanced cordless models currently available. This is the first cordless model to earn the Super Sawzall name and it’s built around Milwaukee’s new High Output battery.
What does it offer?
Let’s take a look under the hood and run it through some of our standard tests to see how it fares.
Prefer video? Check out our very first impressions of using the saw!
Key Features
Powerstate Brushless Motor
With the “Fuel” designation, the Milwaukee M18 Fuel Super Sawzall gets a brushless motor. It’s not just a standard Fuel motor anymore though. Milwaukee moves into a more intentional large frame and small frame design thought process. Power-hungry animals like this get a bigger motor to back up the claims of being able to outperform 15-amp corded models while tools like impact drivers can stay compact.
Designed for High Output
The motor is only part of the story – it’s Milwaukee’s new High Output 12.0 Ah battery that completes the power circuit. 21700 cells combine with heat dissipation and efficient power delivery to put out more watts than Milwaukee’s standard M18 batteries.
Orbital Action
Orbital action is a big deal on reciprocating saws and the lack of it on Milwaukee’s M18 Fuel Sawzall—even the One-Key model—hurt its head-to-head cutting performance in wood. That’s not the case with the cordless Super Sawzall, and Milwaukee’s cut times are the best in its class for wood.
Other Standard Pro Features
- Variable Speed Dial
- Hang Hook
- LED Light
- Adjustable Shoe
- Tool-free blade clamp
Additional Field Notes
The Milwaukee M18 Fuel Super Sawzall checks off just about every box you can hope for in this class of tool. However, a couple of things detract slightly from its otherwise excellent feature set.
It’s all about the blade clamp here. The M18 Fuel Sawzall clamp release uses a lever on the outside of the front housing. It works well no matter what position the shaft and shoe are in. Milwaukee moves away from this on the Super Sawzall to give you just a standard shaft release. It’s still tool-free, but I find that I have to feather the trigger to make sure that it’s high enough to get my fingers around.
I’d also like to see Milwaukee shift to an auto-clamping blade lock. It’s a small thing that a couple of other manufacturers add and gives the convenience factor a bump up.
One-Key isn’t an available option. At least not yet. The ability to dial in the exact material and blade you’re using so the system can optimize the settings is one of the most direct effects on performance we’ve seen so far, so here’s hoping it makes its way over.
Ergonomics
There’s no getting around it – this is a heavy saw. The Milwaukee M18 Fuel Super Sawzall weighs in at 8 pounds, 13 ounces bare and a whopping 12 pounds, 3 ounces with the 12.0 Ah battery. Its physical footprint is large as well, stretching to a length of 18.9″. While the front handle overmold has more cushioning than most saws we’ve tested, it’s performance justifies the size.
Performance
The Milwaukee 2722 looks impressive on paper. The 3000 SPM stroke rate puts it near the top and the 1-1/4″ stroke length matches the best that’s out there right now. With the new battery promising to provide more power to reduce bogging down and the addition of orbital action, it’s certainly a pre-race favorite.
We wanted to know where this model fits among the other saws we’ve run through our standard battery of tests. For speed, we started with 2 x 10 pressure-treated pine with five framing nails embedded in it. Milwaukee topped the cordless charts with a blistering 6.67-second average, putting nearly a full second on Metabo HPT’s MultiVolt and a big gap on the rest of the group.
In a roofing sandwich comprised of asphalt shingles, flashing, nails, 2 x 10 PT, and plywood, its average slowed to 12.20 seconds. However, the Super Sawzall put a sizeable gap on the rest of the field with its closest competitor nearly 4 seconds back.
Shifting to metal cutting, Milwaukee made quick work of #5 rebar. Its average of 5.89 seconds was once again the best time in the field, though Hilti’s 36V model was close behind at 6.23 seconds.
The only test Milwaukee didn’t win was 2″ EMT. While I don’t think anyone will complain about the 4.35-second average, 3 other models managed a faster cut time. Metabo HPT posted the fastest average at 3.58 seconds.
Price and Value
As a kit with the 12.0 Ah High Output battery, you’re looking at $449. If you already have Milwaukee High Output batteries, you can snag the bare tool for $249. With performance where it stands, that’s a pretty competitive price and it gets your hands on one of the newest high-performance batteries.
Here’s where some of the other advanced models sit:
- DeWalt FlexVolt: $159 bare, $329 kit (2 x 2.0/6.0Ah)
- Hilti 36V: $299 bare, $667 kit (1 x 9.0Ah)
- Makita 18V X2: $175 bare, $299 kit (2 x 5.0Ah)
- Metabo HPT MultiVolt: $249 bare, $418 kit (1 x 4.0/8.0Ah starter pack):
The Bottom Line
If getting the best cutting speed is your top priority, the Milwaukee M18 Fuel Super Sawzall is the current leader. Its price is competitive and it checks off all the features you need on a Pro-level reciprocating saw. The only question you’ll have to answer is whether the size and weight are more than you’d like to wield for demolition duties.
