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

[@kristilbilyeu7682]

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.

[@ToolReviewZone]

Hi Kristi, thanks for the comment. I actually did do the weight of each saw in the vid, but the ridgid is 8.5 lbs and the makita is 10.5 lbs. As for the dust, yes you are correct that a couple cuts had some dust on the wood, but there were a lot of cuts made without that did the same thing. As fo all of the other testing that you mentioned, there are full reviews for each of theses saws that show what you mentioned. This video was already 16 minutes long, and it's hard to keep things interesting with a 40 minute video. That said, I'll take your feedback into consideration, and appreciate the comment

[@kristilbilyeu7682]

Tool Review Zone I appreciate your response to my long comment 😀 I definitely understand about timing of videos and trying to keep them as brief as possible! I hadn’t seen the other reviews, so that would have, I’m sure, given me a better picture. Since we were asked to vote, I was just going with what was contained in this particular video. Again, thanks for your comments, and also, thank you for doing these tool reviews so all of us viewers can better make informed decisions!

[@ToolReviewZone]

Your very welcome and thanks for the feedback Kristi!

[@davidimrie1394]

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.

[@MrKbohip]

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

[@KeeLLuR]

U can get Mikita 250 with 4 battery’s

[@repairdrive]

@Jim Daneke you ain't kidding. Mine only has the 6.5" in cordless.

[@davewelch1932]

Those are American princes?? IN CANADA that is the price of the makita with no batteries or charger.

[@ts9271]

@@davewelch1932 we pay more for everything in canada

[@ikeyeet8312]

Just got the makita for $91, bought two kits haha. so apples? or oranges?

[@gregwright1412]

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

[@histguy101]

Higher voltage does not equal more power. The benefits of higher voltage are reduced current and resistance, and no royalties to pay to Milwaukee. 36v runs cooler, smoother, and is easier on the motor. If voltage=power output, then a corded skilsaw would be 6 times more powerful than a cordless 18v, but they have about the same power.

[@thxmateoli]

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.

[@bryantucker6725]

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

[@viperstrike3827]

I will never cut fast enough to slow a saw down. If my saw is slowing down there is a problem such as dull/wrong blade or me not pushing the saw straight. I am not a pro, I am a weekend warrior. I know to some people time is money, it may not be worth the time to change the blade. I have a Hitachi c7bmr and a Makita xsr01. I don't let either of them bog in the cut.

[@viperstrike3827]

I will never cut fast enough to slow a saw down. If my saw is slowing down there is a problem such as dull/wrong blade or me not pushing the saw straight. I am not a pro, I am a weekend warrior. I know to some people time is money, it may not be worth the time to change the blade. I have a Hitachi c7bmr and a Makita xsr01. I don't let either of them bog in the cut.

[@stevensrspcplusmc]

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..

[@marvinbenjamin3015]

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.

[@atl8604]

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

[@ikeyeet8312]

home depot just had makita, 2 5 ah batt, rapid charger and bag. $91.

[@dantheman9395]

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

[@ToolReviewZone]

The only thing I can think it could be is that the blade is spinning faster on the Makita which pushes the dust out faster. That probably prevents the clogging. Probably design too, but still a bit strange buddy

[@kristilbilyeu7682]

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.

[@nathanteele5345]

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

[@ToolReviewZone]

Do you have any issues with the guard on yours Nathan?

[@nathanteele5345]

Not as of yet. I’d say my only issue is with the carrying bag. I wish it had a hard shell case. But it’s far from a deal breaker. Looking to get into the 12” 36v miter saw next.

[@jesseback3536]

@@nathanteele5345 Oh i thought they only had a 10" 36v

[@nathanteele5345]

Jesse Back no they have a 12” as well. Two different models. One with the AWS and one without. Look on amazon. So far that’s the best price I’ve seen.

[@davewylie654]

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

[@DanielGomez-cf6vk]

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

[@atl8604]

Plus makita uses 2 batteries at 36 volt 🤷🏾‍♂️. It should be stronger than an 18 volts lol

[@interman7715]

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.

[@kizzjd9578]

Good warranty through bunnings though.

[@interman7715]

@@kizzjd9578 That's actually the factory warranty anyway .

[@kizzjd9578]

@@interman7715 Yes but bunnings dont send it for repair, they just give you a new one in the spot. I had a makita dtm50z multitool that was getting too hot and they just gave me a new one!.

[@joshdiehl8737]

350 bare tool? Yikes. I just bought on black friday sale The brushless Saw, Reciprocating saw, 3 batteries, the ocillating tool, a mid torque impact wrench, a light, an angle grinder, an impact driver, and a hammer drill/drill. All that for 580 (great sale but still). I can't believe the saw alone is 350 in Australia. Shit you give me the money I'll mail you whatever you want man

[@danielc6779]

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.

[@rodw]

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

[@jamesadams7131]

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!!

[@ToolReviewZone]

Hi James. Yeah I used the Makita blade on the Ridgid to keep everything as even as I could for the video. The Ridgid OCTANE also has the power saving mode but its built into the battery instead of the saw. I also agree with what you said about the corded vs cordless saw. The new battery technology is just awesome and can't wait to see what else is coming down the line!

[@dareeboi]

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?

[@meagaindave2049]

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! 👍😁

[@ToolReviewZone]

Thanks Dave, I really do feel a lot better buddy. And yeah bro, I really struggle with those damn left sided blades lol

[@jimivey6462]

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.

[@geoffstrickler]

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.

[@bertveldhuizen8699]

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.

[@bamaboy9133]

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

[@DKWalser]

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!

[@marvinbenjamin3015]

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

[@ToolReviewZone]

Yeah Marvin I agree. It's a great saw and did well on this test. I usually push these tools a bit harder for the vids, and I was happy with both. No looser in this one buddy

[@alanjimenez1449]

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

[@tomforward990]

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

[@davewylie654]

Maybe the first gen tools from 15 years ago. I use the new stuff and while i hated their old stuff the new ones are really nice man. Had none of the issues of the past

[@tomforward990]

@@davewylie654 well I had that actual saw and it was crap. The blade height adjustment fell apart as well as the bevel adjustment. Nice ergonomics out of the box.

[@davewylie654]

@@tomforward990 you had the Brushless?? That sucks man i have two of them and a couple laborers use them all day everyday and havent had an issue. I would be pissed too if mine fell apart

[@n3qdz]

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

[@ToolReviewZone]

Hahaha, thisbis an approved fan boy area n3, all good buddy 👊

[@gregwright1412]

not a good head to head....pull 18 volts off the makita and see how it handles.

[@johnrice9121]

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 👍

[@ToolReviewZone]

Great comment as always jo8, thanks buddy 👊

[@jeffcoolhd]

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

[@ToolReviewZone]

Lol, thanks bro and yeah i definitely feel a lot better Ridgid.... I mean Makita Man!

[@AntonioClaudioMichael]

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

[@geoffstrickler]

I’m a “lefty”, but I use a circ saw right handed, and definitely want a blade-left saw. Sure, I can use blade-right, as I’ve done most of my life, but there are options now, and I want blade-left.

[@BigDave71]

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. 😢

[@jeffb321]

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

[@jeffb321]

Exception is flat angle cuts....then I always just hold the guard.....

[@OanhHuuNguyen78]

Ridgid ..i ordered mine after this video😂

[@AntonioClaudioMichael]

Awesome video Clint

[@ToolReviewZone]

Thanks Antonio!!!

[@skidootech9953]

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

[@toneburgos5190]

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.

[@bluemantom77]

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

[@ToolReviewZone]

Lol that pesky Gnome! Yeah, the Milwaukee would probably be a lot better but I haven't tried it so it hard to say how it would do broski

[@miguelledezma1394]

Flexvolt saw is the best of best

[@davewelch1932]

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

[@Leeroy2586]

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

[@ToolReviewZone]

Yeah but people want to know how these saws perform. No other 36v saws to put it up against

[@N1rOx]

@@ToolReviewZone metabohpt makes a 36v circ saw

[@ToolReviewZone]

Good point

[@sherlockbonez]

I guess 36 would win. 1st

[@marauder2525]

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

[@TacticalThib]

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

[@edymoss3466]

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

[@ToolReviewZone]

So who else make a 36v saw?

[@edymoss3466]

@@ToolReviewZone no one that I know of that's why this was a unfair comparison that's all I was starting no disrespect to you

[@ToolReviewZone]

No worries Edy.

[@Grunt300z]

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

[@ToolReviewZone]

Both new blades

[@TheCampsicle]

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 😁

[@brendenreid8186]

I've been using this makita saw as my primary saw for a couple months. It is really solid. The guard on it is the worst part, it gets hung up really easily which is annoying. I'm mostly used it now and usually just give it a quick flick with my other hand. I have noticed that on the flex volts the shoe and the blade get out of alignment pretty easily, which is not the case on the makita for me so far. I would say the biggest advantage that I have noticed is my saw seems to have far superior battery life than my co-workers with the flex volts. Other than that, very comparable in almost every way

[@interman7715]

Blade right is the best and I am right handed .

[@ToolReviewZone]

I know a lot of people that say the same thing. It's all about preference I guess

[@ajmedeiros77]

Makita weight is with the batteries per their site

[@alankauth]

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.

[@ToolReviewZone]

Not sure I get what a Diablo makes a difference when both saws used the exact same Makita blade that is actually pretty good. I could see if I used a Diablo in one saw and the Makita in the other, but that's not the case

[@anthonycoleman3019]

Makita wins hands down !

[@88wideawake69]

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

[@josephmalinowski6817]

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

[@ToolReviewZone]

Yeah bro, they b6did really well for what I was putting them through but I agree with what you said buddy 👊

[@johngarza7622]

By like 8 years haha

[@bryantrotter1332]

Ridgid (Emerson)use to make sears craftsmen before sears went cheap. Home depot picked them up for their line of tools.

[@jasonbabila6006]

How heavy is the Maskita with the two batteries?🤔

[@ToolReviewZone]

Its really not bad Jason. Only looking at a few extra lbs, and seems a lot lighter than the ridgid. That said, it could be because its balanced really well? 10.5 lbs without the battery is what they are saying on the Acme site

[@jns66jns]

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.

[@kizzjd9578]

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.

[@AntonioClaudioMichael]

Nice head to head still think the makita beat the ridgid

[@toneburgos5190]

On the rigid ...clean the fukin log

[@coltongrundy7625]

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.

[@histguy101]

36v does not have twice the power of 18v. That's like saying a corded saw is 6 times more powerful than an 18v saw. It just doesn't work like that.

[@stevennihipali3607]

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

[@ToolReviewZone]

Yeah but probably wouldn't make that much of a difference. Makita blades are pretty good

[@ctmconstruction7931]

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

[@hynight]

makita wins

[@markgershman1563]

Makita definately won!

[@ToolReviewZone]

Thanks for the vote Mark👊