RIDGID OCTANE 7-1/4" Circular Saw R8654 Review Vs Gen5X Brushless Vs Milwaukee FUEL HD 

*Works great **MyBest.Tools** . Little lacking in power. You just have to cut a little slower. Compare to Rockwell pretty similar experience but cheaper price tag for this one. Love the lightest. Cuts accurately too.*

I’ve got both the Gen2 Milwaukee and the Octane. The Octane surprisingly is waaaay heavier then the Milwaukee. The Milwaukee will absolutely devour its battery with light use. The Octane though is DEFINITELY THE SMOOTHEST CUTTING SAW THAT I HAVE EVER OWN. The Milwaukee’s dust shoot kicks sawdust out into the air so far out that there is NOWHERE safe to stand while cutting and completely covering yourself and the surrounding 20ft around you. The Octane literally dumps it straight down and right out behind you where it should be. On “normal” everyday use the Octane has just as much power as the Milwaukee Gen2 and doesn’t eat batteries for every meal like the Milwaukee.

I have the Milwaukee fuel 7 1/4 1 gen saw, I'm happy with it.

Great critical review of this product. Thank you for the information

hi Brian and Jeff. Thanks for the updated review. I'm a 45 yr veteran of the Union Millwork trade (showcase and mall/bank fixtures and construction) which we all know go thru the years that Milly was always King in most work we did. Even today the serious guys use Milwaukee. This year i needed a new cordless drill and was intrigued by the offerings from Ridgid so bought the R9205 kit. Great tools, but i had to see what Milwaukee was offering so bought the 2997 kit. Wow what a difference. The ridgid drills are no joke, but the Milwaukee's are pure arm twisters. Haven't bought a new power tool in over 20 years, so i had to have the Milly 2730 and the 2737 Jig saw. Pure pro grade tools. Then i saw the Ridgid battery kit deal where you get a tool of your choice. I now have the Octane cir saw, recip saw, jigsaw and 4 1/2 grinder and i think they are awesome tools for the price. Would i expect them to keep up with the Milly?.....not even close. Your review is great though because you've proven that if your a DIYer or weekend warrior the Ridgid's are a great investment, but don't expect them to perform up to the speed of the pro grade stuff. I never use my tools that hard so the Ridgid's will be the around the house and cabinet install jobs. The Milwaukee's are for show....:))

Good review. It's nice to see a reviewer disclose possible flaws in your tests so the viewer can judge for themselves.

Thumbs up to you both for thinking about your testing process, because yes it does make a difference. But by disclosing your method it makes your process and results valid!

Perfect timing guys for doing this review! 👍🙏♥️ FYI - you can pickup a Gen5 brushless saw for around $80 - $90 now... $70 for the Octane 6ah battery.

love my milwaukee fuel HD 7-1/4 its a beast cuts through a treated 4x6 like butter

Nice comparison. Unfortunately the Milwaukee gen2 is just that much better, but then the flexvolt wormdrive style is even better than that... sooo... I’m glad to be off the ridgid platform. If you’re buying into a platform, makes sense to buy into one of the big 3: Dewalt, Milwaukee, or makita. Dewalt and makita both made good cordless blade left rear handle saws.

Thank you gentlemen. I hope that rigid will one day become as good or better in build & power quality as Milwaukee is now.

No mention of the blades used? Number of teeth on the blade is going to make a huge difference in performance.

I love your reviews. :)

Nice review

Not worth the upgrade..for a DIY any circ will do,really doesn't matter...for a framer or remodeler, nothing still beats the flex 575..definitely not the 577...I'd say second is makita x2..the new Milwaukee HO 7 1/4 circ is not bad ..but will overheat if pushed and is a huge saw ,very large saw and awkward to use constantly. ...We use them all, but mostly flexvolt is the go to saw. Love the channel...!!!

I have the G5X and use the standard 4ah batteries and have never had it cut out on me once. That's 4x or 8x PT, 2x4 studs, even steel. I don't know what these guys are doing here but it's been a trooper. The only time I've had any issues, it wasn't the fault of the saw. Blades matter a whole lot, as well. This test was performed with old blades. I use a finish blade as my primary, mainly because I often go between rough framing and finish work without time to slow down, and obviously either a steel demon or Ridgid metal blade for steel or aluminum.

I have the gen 5 Ridgid line of tools. Going to pick up the Octane battery in the fall when the Black Friday sales start. The Ridgid tool line replaced the Dewalt line in my kit. The quality and value made the switch an easy decision to make. I have registered all my tools and batteries. The website and the phone application are a little pain in the ass. The lifetime replacement on the batteries means that the tools will be in use 5 years+ (they get medium use in my real estate business, 5-6 renovations a year) Thank you for the review. : )

I just performed this same test at home with the Octane and the Gen2 fuel with a 6.0HO. Same results. Buuuuuut I figured I’d try my 2730-20 6-1/2 Fuel. With the Xc5.0 I had the same results as the Octane but when I threw on the 6.0HO......It was dead on nuts with Gen2 FUEL. Those Milwaukee H.O. batteries are absolutely insane with the power gains.

I have the Milwaukee 7 1/4" Gen 2 and used to have the Ridgid Gen 5X. No comparison between the two. Milwaukee out muscles it all day long. The Ridgid Gen 5X is good a good saw and would be a good saw for an avid DIYer. That's how I feel about Ridgid. Good for avid DIYer or the odd cheaper tool in a contractors tool box but they aren't professional quality or level against Milwaukee, Makita, DeWalt, Metabo HPT etc. Though, I was building a deck over 2 very hot days and cutting a ton of pressure treated. The Milwaukee would constantly over heat and have trigger issues and I was not happy. I literally did most of the job with my trusty old corded Makita, so there's that.

Thank you for the review. Wow that milwaukee is amazing. I don't have much space, i was having trouble cutting a few pieces of plywood and i was building a 9'x9' deck out of cedar 2x6, i had no power where i was putting it in and further in the yard where i had horses also set up and i had rigid drills and batteries already. I didn't think i would cut alot with it so the smaller blade seemed sufficient but i didn't want the really small rotary bladed saws as i wanted to cut 2x4. Once i got this saw (I think it's called a rigid X4?) and a sawzaw i purchased the new (at the time) octane battery pair that was on sale. Great saw. I have a crappy table saw that is not precise. Last week i was making a cute end table for my wife with some funky angles on it which were driving me crazy. I thought i would just knock it out on the plastic mount table saw, nope. I used this little saw and it worked great for accuracy on 5/8" birch plywood. I have small hands so i like the size and good observation the motor does stick out, i usually use a 2x4 for a fence, whatever is handy which can be hit by the engine, so i try and use lower plywood as a fence but i still have to be aware of where the clamp is. I also notice alot of cutting may make the saw cut out, i usually give it a short rest and swap the battery. QUESTION: what is that hook on the handle on the new saw used for? Q2: I noticed you pinch the shoe with your left hand, is that for accuracy because you are not using a fence? I will look into the new huge battery you were showing, maybe boxing day sale. Next year after i move i will not have power accessible where i can work on small projects so i guess another battery will come in handy. Thanks for this. Oh i broke out my unused blade with lots of teeth and it worked really well on this gentle plywood. I used too much glue and am unsure how i will get rid of it without ruining the fine outer layer. Thanks again.

GOOD TO KNOW I OWN A G5 AND HAVE UPGRADED TO 6 AND 9 AMP BATTERY FROM THE 4 THAT THE SAW CAME WITH. IT HAS OUT WORKED MAKITA ON THE SAME SITE MORE THEN ONCE, ALL MY TOOLS ARE RIDGID WONT BE SWITCHING TO MILLWAKEE BECOUSE THEY COST TO MUCH AND ARE NOT THAT MUCH BETTER AND RIDGID HAS THE BEST WARENTY IN THE BUISNES

I use my circular saws in the same way you guys are doing but my fuel Milwaukee and my flexvolt dewalt have no problems like this

I didn't see any flaws on your review everything was done with a purpose and I still learn from it . Perfect presentation Brian and company. Good job 👍👍👍

I know this video is 4 years old but today the majority of C saws seem to be blade left. I'm not sure I understand why? For a right handed person, aren't they less ergonomic to use?

I’m considering a battery saw, for occasional use, currently I have an old b/d corded saw, works ok. I really want a worm drive, but a blade left battery saw would do me just fine. Thanks

Looks like ridgid needs to make some tweaks to their octane software. I have to Gen 5X and 9ah Battery runs great with diablo blades. Wish I had the rafter hook.

Just looking at my batteries, both just say Hyper Li, one says 18V which work fine for my drills and the "new"ish one says 2.0 Ah high capacity which i use on my 2 saws. One says 27Wh the other 36Wh, watt hours? Maybe they contain the 18650, great batteries. There is a new super battery which is slightly bigger and 2x as much power and smarter - perhaps that is what is in the big bad boy you are trying. I expect I am looking at an orbital sander as my cheap mastercraft broke and the 2 year warranty is only good to replace an IDENTICAL model which they no longer make. I will see if you have a review on the rigid.

HD has the brushed tool only fpr $129 and the brushless with 4.0ah and charger fpr $169 so I just got the brushless. Another charger and 4.0ah battery for addition $40 was a no brainer.

I have the gen 5 and have never had an issue with it I even cutting thru paver stones but did get octane batterys with my grinder and you are correct in that it will last longer and has a little more power to push thru. I had an older Milwaukee and it was not the quality of the gen 5, they must have made a lot of improvements to the new saw and there was a great deal of deference in the impact as well as the drill from the older series of Milwaukee set and the Gen 5 set but i will stay with my current Ridged set with the Life time service plan now that i am retired!

Great review. I think your testing is fine, the Octane just doesn't make much of a performance difference. It's same with their other Octane products as well. It is what it is.

Way overdue for a 7 1/4 blade left saw from Milwaukee. I bought the new one from Milwaukee only because of the power upgrade it has and it doesn’t seem like we will be getting a blade left saw upgrade anytime soon. I didn’t want to buy it but I needed a bigger saw with more power for certain jobs. But 80% of the time I just use my 6 1/2 inch saw.

I would think guys who review a circular saw would know what a difference and good saw blade makes. I'm not doubting the Milwaukee fuel it better, 💰 says it is. But I'm sure I seen the blade smoking on the full depth cut on the ridgid. Just Doesn't give much to actually compare if your running different blades.

Milwaukee sds vs Ridgid sds please

New to woodworking. Decided to go with Ridgid line for their line of cordless line of tools. Here is why: If you go to HD website, they have the battery pack for sale and if you buy it, you get this circular saw for free! Who else does that? Also they have the Limited lifetime warranty on the saw, and free battery replacements for life once you register your tools and batteries. I can work at my own pace and time is not a factor, so if this saw is little slower and less powerful than the Milwaukee then that is okay, plus I am willing to bet the Milwaukee is way more expensive too .

👊 thank you for stating milwaukee is due for a left hand blade geez they need to wake up and get that ball rollin ive been waiting for what seems like for ever and every time i see a dewalt or mikita cordless worm drive it pisses me off cause im in the milwaukee platform and there laggin

Wow, I just stumbled on this review. I have been on the fence with the Rigid saw. But I think I am convinced now. . I'm no pro here... but a very avid diy guy. Since my corded saw crapped out and there is a deal from Rigid... buy a Octane battery and get a free tool 200 and less. I will make a jump . Thank you also I have not seen it from you guys but is there a review of the Rigid cordless sander vs others? Thanks

I bought the Octane line last year. Both the circular saw and the drill are terrible. The circular saw can't get through dry cedar decking without stopping. The drill is the same, slightest resistance and it just stops. I'm an avid diy'er, not a pro, but I plan on switching to the Milwaukee or Makita platform.... I do LOVE the Stealth force impact driver though....

Blade is on the wrong side. Love my Milwaukee 6 1/2. Doesnt cut the deepest and not as powerful as gen2, but I can run a straight cut with ease. I also have the m12 5 3/8 milwaukee for rare overhead work and as a backup. Again blade is on the left. Great review as always.

I bet the Milwaukee is huge but I love my Ridgid for the LSA their tools for my needs I’m good

I agree Milwaukee is way overdue for a left blade saw

Will the dust adapter retrofit onto the gen5x? Maybe with a little jurry rigging? I don't do enough cutting to justify upgrading from the gen5x to the octane, but man I sure would love that dust port if it fits and Ridgid sells it as a replacement part.

have a ridgid circular saw . noticed it does bog down cutting 3/4 “ ply. I just go slower. but would like to upgrade.

Isnt the octane suppose to be better then the gen 5x

Its about time

Thanks for making this video. Now I know what the difference is between x6 and octane

@WorkshopAddict would you guys recommend getting the 3ah octane batteries vs the 4ah standard batteries?

These are fine for the weekend warrior or even maybe having a beater saw to make occasional cuts on roof sheeting or other small jobs. LSA is a joke if you are a contractor. I can't wait a month to get a production tool back, free or not. If production IS important though, you gotta go Red or Yellow or whatever color Makita is. I've had only 1 M18 tool failure. A planer that let one of its blades go due to a factory defect. Called them and had a new one in 3 days. I've had 2 Fuel 7 1/4(not HD) for a couple years now and they've done all I needed them to do. Still keep my Skill Mag77 around for big jobs. Hoping Milwaukee is bringing a left blade big boy to the table this year. Right blade kept me from jumping on the HD last year. I actually find myself reaching for the Fuel 6-1/2er much more often than the 7 1/4s because it's left blade and I grew up on Skil worm saws. Call me crazy, but I like seeing the cut line, all of it.

I love my dewalt flexvolt left blade saw

Dang not what I experienced at all! I used the octane to to cut wet 6x6 all day had zero problems with it shutting off and the power was night and day difference from the 5x brushless.

could i use a standard 18v 4ah ridgid battery on the octane saw for small home stuff? what will i see differently vs the octane battery?

I own the Ridgid R8651 6 1/2" saw and it over heated many times and had to let cool down. The motor finally burnt out. Was not happy with it's performance.

So the Gen 5 Brushless R8653 with Octane performed better than Octane R8654 with Octane battery? Is that correct?

As an apprentice idk squat... Teach me the ways of the contractor

I the ones calling ridgid not a professional tool but home owner …. Is the same ones driving a 2500 silverador just to pull a jetski on the back. I got milwauke,dewalt and now ridgid.been on youtube looking for ridgid review and decided to but after they stole my van with all dewalt tools . I impressed and satisfied with ridgid. Beside Milwaukee and dewalt are the most stolen tools in a jobsite. I rather have others think ridgid suck,so they dont come after my cordless ridgid lol😅

Does Milwaukee have a limited lifetime warranty including batteries like the Ridgid? I tried looking up warranty info and sure seems confusing. Does Home Depot offer additional warranty to the Milwaukee? I have an older 6 1/2 Ridgid using my newer GenX battery and have been looking to upgrade to either New Ridgid or the Milwaukee. The Ridgid Lifetime Warranty sure seems like a plus-Plus to me...I'm just a novice DIY woodworker. BTW...would the Milwaukee Fuel HD be an "overkill" for an amateur like me? Thanks, Ken

I’m so tried off tools that you “make do” with. Great review guys.

The only flaw I see is that a more fair comparison would be the gen 2 Milwaukee fuel cir saw rather than the HO fuel saw. With that being said I have both Milwaukee and Ridgid and the fuel gen 2 cir saw is more comparable to the octane, however the gen 2 is still noticeably better.

Maybe you pushed the Octane tool to the limit got it hot, and the Gen 5X Brushless wasn't hot so it took over?

Hello, I Love it's

Finally!

What happens when you use a regular Ridgid 18v Battery on an Octane tool? Will the Octane Saw perform like an ordinary Gen 5x tool? I have a ton of regular 18v Ridgid battery, and don't want to spend the additional $ to purchase an Octane battery, since the saw Tool only is $169 right now.

Anyone know if this saw will accomodate the new 9A packs?

I have both Gen V and the Octane. The Octane circular saw cuts out for me, all the time on even the simplest cross cuts. It’s pretty disappointing. The first couple times I just assumed I pinched the wood but as it kept happening I realized the saws’ brain is overly sensitive and quits... or something like that.

I love this product, can it cost me a kit?

I have the octane. And it won't keep up with my brushed 6 1/2 Milwaukee in power. It's not even close.

I have the Milwaukee blade left and it covers you with saw dust.

Note to self, get any corded saw vs these...

Gen 5X here, not worth the upgrade for me but does that dust exhaust port collector fit on the GEN 5X from the Octane? I need that badly.

I feel that octane is new off the shelf u need to break in the tool i bought the octane hand plane an the first time i used it i was like this isnt like what i saw in the reviews so i continued to used it an break it in an now omg it has so much power an so smooth that i didnt experience when i first got it an i aint have any octane batteries as yet so break in the octane an do the review again all that is said im still buying the octane circular saw

I have the 5x and upgraded to the octane......5x way better the octane is not even close to matching it to performance. Save your money.

What model milwaukee saw is that?

So will i get more balls out of my gen5x circ saw if i use a octane battery?

What model Milwaukee was this saw?

If you want trouble free usage stick with corded. cordless isn't for endurance just convinience

The Octane was good to me at start of my DIY career

aaanndd the old BRUSHED ridgid saw chews through ripping a 8' 2x4 with a 4 amp hr battery no problem! these ridgid brushless saws are junk! cuts out constantly, if the speed controller cant get the amperage it needs, it stops! they do work fairly decent with a 5- amp hr or a 6 amp hr battery. a two or three amp hr? don't waste your time.. the brushed saw doesn't care it just keeps on going i have both brushed and the brushless and the brushless saw stays home on the shelf. not happy with my brushless saws at all...i

Yall have. Awsome reviews i watch them all the time bc i like ridgid and was wanting to see if yall could test the stealth force and the new octane impact to see witch is faster trying to figure out witch one i want to get

I'm so glad I chose to go with the Milwaukee battery platform. I was very close to going with Ridgid Octane, but did some homework on other Octane tools vs Milwaukee. The batteries, although being "new" tech, and great warranty still don't come close to delivering the performance or power of Milwaukee.

In short, Milwaukee is a beast.

So getting Octane batteries will increase all the power in my Gen 5 tools? I know they say the impact wrench is the same just doesn't have Octane on it. If this is true with all the Gen 5 tools there's no need to upgrade to the Octane tools.

Your running the Milwaukee with the supplied Milwaukee blade, but you've swapped out the RIDGID supplied blades for DIABLO. Is that the first necessity?...to throw out the RIDGID blade if you want any performance out of the RIDGID saws? Why do most tool manufacturers continue to try to save a few dollars by supplying cheap inferior blades, for circular saws, contractor table saws and miter saws, that just have to be thrown out before you use the tools.

I had thought seriously about buying the Octane saw, at least until I saw your video. Do any of you guys know whether the Octane ap can be used to correct the operational issues which have come up?

Its not... I was cutting stair stringers 2x12 6amp battery... Cut out.. Plus the blade guard handle gets in your line of sight... Very disappointing.....

Ridgid is for DIY...if you use them heavily, they stop working. Lifetime warranty is just time waste. Ryobi and Milwaukee are made by the same company, so I don’t expect anything better.

Ridgid Octane ..good or no good..?

The RIGID and Dewalt are cute but when I need to get shit done I reach for my Milwaukee.

so as a framer... I just wasted my money. Stick to red. Lesson learned.

Holy shit does that Milwaukee saw make for an embarrassing comparison. WTF TTI.

I do better with a blade left saw.

Damn that octane is a downgrade.

the Gen5X is NOT brushless.

There in nothing else like Milwfucky ! BEST TOOLS

I think wat u guys have accomplished her is if u need more power then standard non octane just buy a Milwaukee becase watching u do this test was completely Un productive u guys were going at snails pace

Nice review