MAKITA vs RIDGID! All New Ridgid Octane Circular Saw vs All New Makita 36v LXT 7 1/4" Circular Saw. 

next we will compare a 2.5 liter engine to a 5.0 liter because......why..... literally dude for half the volts the ridgid kept up pretty good... very unrealistic to put these two on a head to head

Without a stated definition of what criteria you expect the winner to meet, I’m gonna vote for the Ridgid. A couple of reasons for that. One, the Ridgid seemed to perform as good overall as the Makita. They both had an issue or two, but since the Makita is a 36v, I feel like Ridgid’s 18v actually performed better because it did about the same with half the volts. Two, the Ridgid didn’t have the problem with the blade guard like the Makita did. Actually, I would have liked to see the comparison done with a couple of changes/additions. I haven’t noticed this in any of your other videos, but it almost seemed like you were putting a little bit better light on the Makita. I would have preferred the tests to have been more exact, then your opinions added afterward. For example, you avoided giving the weights of each tool and only gave your opinion that the Makita seemed lighter. Why not actually weigh each tool, with and without batteries and give the exact weights....then add your comments about the weight. Another example is the cuts where the Ridgid kept clogging up. It might not have made any difference at all, but I would have liked to have seen the cuts being made on two separate pieces of wood. By the time you made the Ridgid cuts, there was loads of wet sawdust right where you were cutting. It would be a more exact comparison if the cuts were done on two fresh, clean boards. I would also be interested in seeing how each performed on dry boards, and also with each hooked up to dust collection. Another aspect I would have liked to see is a comparison of the battery life left on each tool, starting with all batteries fully charged, and then show how much charge was left on each after making the exact same number of cuts with each tool. Sorry for the long post, but those were issues I had with the comparison of the two tools.

Makita~$349 Ridgid~$139 Lol, talk about apples to oranges!

Just purchases this saw on eBay for a darn good price and have had no issues at all concerning the blade guard ,very impressed with this saw .absolutely amazing the power and smoothness it produces on its 36v platform.

I’d hope the 36 volt would be more powerful than the 18 volt

Very nicely done Clint !!! I agree with the left blade line of sight. How many brands make both left and right? Thanks again for sharing your thoughts and videos, Rodney

Would be interesting to see if the Ridgid would still clog up with a shop vac hooked up. It’s great to compare the power under extreme situations but imo the dust extractor hookup, which was just briefly mentioned, could actually be a big benefit for Ridgid for people that may be looking to use it indoors vs outside where you may not care about the mess.

My DeWalt sidewinders would always clog up the dust port when doing full depth cuts in super wet wood. It has a lot to do with the size of the discharge chute. I eventually started taping the dust port closed because I got tired of my belt constantly filling up with saw dust and having to be emptied out multiple times a day

Great review😊👍I hate left blade saws .. had a dewalt 60 volt worm style saw and got rid of it.. I’m right handed and can’t stand the sawdust blown in my face.. plus a left blade table is on the right and you only have about 2 inches supporting the saw in the cut..

I thinks it’s odd how the saw dust comes out differently with the same kinda blade. For me it’s the Makita. However like you said that service warranty could be a game changer

This was a nice dual and a good video. However, it appeared that the blade on the Rigid saw had had more use than the one on the Makita. Could a less than sharp blade account for any of the performance differences between the two saws? Also, I don't know about others, but I hardly ever use my circular saw to make long rip cuts. Rip cuts, particularly on wet wood, produce long, stringy shavings. That's what the Rigid was producing with those long rip cuts, which is why the dust shoot kept clogging. It's simply not designed for that volume of such stringy shavings. The Makita, on the other hand, was producing a finer sawdust (or appeared to be) with those same rip cuts. Why was that? Could it be a difference in the blades? I'm asking simply because I'm curious. I don't think and wouldn't expect the Rigid to outperform the Makita. In fact, I was surprised it did as well as it did compared to the Makita with half the volts. If I were using one of these saws all day every day, I'm not sure which one I'd reach for. The 2 lbs savings in weight makes the Rigid awfully attractive. However, if the speed of cut of the Makita is materially better than the Rigid, that might make up for the difference in weight. But, in cutting off rafter ends overhead, I think those two extra pounds would get real old real quick and the Makita would have to be a lot faster than the Rigid to make up for that weight! My point is that the type of work you do might make one of these two a better choice than the other. If you're on a ladder a lot, or if you're doing a lot of cutting with the saw above shoulder-height, weight becomes a more important factor than if you're doing most of your cutting on sawhorses. Of course, if I were cutting on sawhorses, I might prefer a corded saw!

I love my 18v X 2 Makita saw which I frequently use on treated wood and timbers. However, I gotta admit Ridgid’s warrenty is pretty sweet.

Home Depot has it at $169 with 4ah battery and charger. Value and lifetime warranty I’m taking Rigid.

Although the rigid is a bit less powerful it ran great in my opinion. Nevertheless I think if had two batteries it will perform like or better than the Makita.

Does this saw cut to the depth of 2 9/16 like the other makita circ saw?

I think Home Depot switched the cut depth in their specs of the Ridgid. It gives 1.8” as cut depth at 90° and 2.6875 at 45°. Doesn’t make sense LOL!!! Ridgid’s website gives cut depth as 2-11/16”, 1/16” larger than the Makita.

The point that was kind of missed at pricepoint with Rigid 149 and Makita 199 is that when you add the extra battery to the Makita the real cost is 400 vs 250. Warranty for the Rigid tools with lifetime battery replacement to me makes this a no brainer

You used two hands for the makita 45° cuts, but only one hand for the ridgid 45° cuts. You were binding up because you weren’t cutting straight.

Awesome video Clint

I have this Makita saw. It does a great job. Super smooth and really clean cuts.

I love my ridgid tools especially this octane circular saw it’s powerful

My ridgid octane 18v won’t turn on has battery and all but the thumb safety won’t slide at all what do I do to slide it?

TRZ I love that Porsche saw Acme Tools is going to hear from me shortly I'll be buying one. I think the problem you were having with the fence was that you were a little bit cockeyed. When you were ripping the 6 x 6 after the first try it was working great. I think King of the crease 30 didn't enjoy this video cuz Ridgid did not look so good lol. You must have gotten rid of that cold cuz you sound much better that's the TRZ I know. Peace brother

My porter cable the blade is also on the right side and i hate it because I'm right hand dominate

First thing I noticed is you are using a Makita blade on the Ridgid saw, probably because it is a better blade. I'm an old worm drive guy from the West coast as well as right handed. I bought the Makita XSR01 rear handle saw and I have to say, it is a beast!! It has just as much power (if not more) than my Makita electric worm drive that I've used for 20 years. Blade left set up gives nice line of sight, and rear handle design seems to give more control and easier push. The other thing is, the Makita has built in power control to save battery life; it will use less torque with easy cuts, and ramp up the torque for harder cutting all on it's own... very nice! I work with a guy who uses the Ridgid line of tools, and his trigger on his impact driver broke after about 3 months. He took it back to Home Depot and they said he would have to talk to Ridgid. Ridgid said (because he bought it in a kit) he had to return ALL of his tools for them to fix his trigger. So he can't work without his tools, he had to just buy another impact driver. I don't see any money saving there!!

As far as the guard goes I never have my saw fence flat with my cutting material. I always plunge my saw into the stock. Probably around 15-20° nose in first at an angle and feed it into the material

I am impressed with the Ridgid in this test.Btw in Australia this is marketed as A.E.G ,I would love to buy one but they are $350.00 bare tool ,because a retailer called bunnings has the franchise and pegs prices.

One word: MAKITA!! I like the blade on the left as well. Deal killer if it's not, unless it's free.... from my mother.... with a Diablo blade... and.... nevermind. Lol! Glad your feeling better from the flu, Clint. 👍 Thanks for the review and hard work put into it. God bless! 👍😁

about the blade guard issue , even my corded makita has this issue , something they never got right in my opinion.

Ridgid ..i ordered mine after this video😂

Two weeks ago I bought the Rigid on sale for $80. I returned it last Sunday because it didn’t work. Just the little light turned on. Blade twitched a few time and then just quit. 😢

No doubt about it, the Makita won this. But it’s not anything approaching “fair”, a 36V using 2x 18V 5Ah vs an 18V using a single 9.0Ah. Still, the Ridgid did hold it’s own, only stalled once or twice in full depth cuts of a treated 6x6, which as Clint pointed out, isn’t a realistic test. The discharge chute clogging was the only significant issue. And, yes, Makita definitely kept up the blade speed better and seemed to be faster on several cuts. Frankly, I expected a big blowout win for Makita, but it was just a solid win, not a blowout.

i've never used a left blade circular saw. they are obviously out there, it just seems not as many options. strange since about 85% of people are right handed. then again, i think most back handle saws are left blade. growing up on the east coast though, didn't see many of those until more recently.

I'll go with Ridgid any day, about 90% of my power tools are Ridgid, can't beat the lifetime warranty and the free batteries for life! I'm right handed too but i prefer the blade on the right.

But I mean... 36v vs. 18?

I think the Malta won but the rigid did a decent job at 18 volts and if they had a 36 volts I think the rigid would beat most saws. Not to be a promoter on any company but I had a rigid 61/2 corded it was powerful I mean I went to do some work by a friend of mine and someone had a makita corded and he saw how my rigid perform and borrowed it even though he had a makita. I sold it to a former worker and regret it for buying a porter cable saw which is 15amp and didn't last long at all

That Ridgid will fall apart riding in your truck. At least that’s my experience

I guess 36 would win. 1st

Clint now, just a disclaimer I am a bit of a Makita fan boy. The reason because MAKITA rocks! Thanks for the head to head

Hello! Can anyone offer a long term review? After putting through hard work and job sites? I’ve been using the flex volt for a couple years and have had three now. Though I love the power and feel of it, I’m fed up with the blade and spindle going out of alignment to the shoe and no way to fix it. I’d like to know if the makita will hold up as a framing saw as it is supposed to be 😁

I still say octane won for an 18v saw its sweeeeeet

How heavy is the Maskita with the two batteries?🤔

Good job I guess the Makita gnome won this fight Ridgid octane is still decent and we'll get the job done Makita just a faster I wonder how this would stand up against Milwaukee's or is it pretty much the same as Ridgid octane

Makita weight is with the batteries per their site

Makita seems stronger and does get rid of that dust very well. Ridgid did sound like it struggled a bit and like you said the dust shoot is a bit of a problem on long cuts. I have the Ridgid and love it but I think makita took this one. Great duel 👍

I like octane rigid..but the makita won with a disadvantage on the battery power...we need better an more accurate tests with the same battery volts. This was an over kill with the makitas power cell.

A blade guard on the right, keeps all of the discharged sawdust off of you...

Blade right is the best and I am right handed .

It looks like the Makita has a used blade and the ridgid has a new one. If so that’s a bad way to do tool duels

On the rigid ...clean the fukin log

Makita wins hands down !

All depends on what batteries you own. American prices. Eh. Makita $350.00 Worm drive about the same. $40.00 more.

Nice head to head still think the makita beat the ridgid

I was going to say that I think I would go with the Makita just because they've been around longer and it look like it had a little more power then the Ridgid dead they both seem to cut decent enough I just think Makita I'll perform The Ridges a little bit better

The only downside I have with the makita is the woodchips and dust gets stuck inside the dust outlet and backs up. Even with a dust extractor.

36v vs. 18v? What’s next, testing a Mustang GT vs. a Nissan Sentra?

Sorry unfair comparison 36 volt to 18 volt obviously Makita was more powerful Both saws are good But a more comparable comparison would be using the same volt on both saws

You said you were Right handed and it was going to drive you nuts the the blade is on the right..?? Thats backwards! A right handed person should want a saw with the blade on the right. Why would you want all the sawdust blowing right on you when you cut? You look through the saw or look at the front for alignment.

makita wins

It was more than a little unfair to not use a good diablo blade in both saws. A GOOD blade makes a HUGE difference. Otherwise it is an apples to orange difference. I think the blade was your chip problem. The newest Milwaukee would have killed both in speed and power, but increasingly it is going to be hard to compete with higher voltage saws like a Dewalt. Eventually 18 volt is dead. Just plain physics no matter how you try to optimize "what you have" with latest technology. If Milwaukee went 40 volt, it would have no peer. Makita usually has an advantage in "polish and feel" in everyday use. It is just the Japanese design culture. Their drills and impacts are always the smoothest - noticeably. If you don't have the money for Milwaukee or Makita, Ridgid is a good choice. I have some Ridgid because they were just too good a christmas time deal. For an everyday user, buy Milwaukee or Makita. After you stop crying about the cost, you will be happy the rest of the tool usage.

To make a fair comparison, should've used diablo blades instead

Makita definately won!

I have no uses for anything Rigid Bought a brand news rigid modder saw broke on the 1st job they would not fix it it was a $3 part i had to buy. I had a rigid 12" Meyer I used for nearly 15 years absolutely loved it so I bought a new one they screwed me over so now I run strictly makita

Better late than never. Rigid won this battle hands down. Half the power, still cut the same No blade guard issues, that would land a saw in the trash can in my world Price vs performance, there's no comparison How many people are going to invest in a 36 volt line of tools honestly? Rigid is readily available and affordable with an awesome warranty. I'm still holding strong on my beliefs that makita is just overpriced junk, I've had a few different products from them over the years and they've all failed, broken, come up short or had flaws that I just couldn't get past. With the blade guard issue, I see they haven't changed. I like tools that work, I don't care if it's 8 pounds, 10 pounds or 18 pounds, if it works flawlessly every time I pull it out, it wins in my world. I'm not very familiar with Rigid brand products either, but based upon this test, I see no reason to throw away that much money on a blue-ish problem.