Milwaukee M12 Fuel Drill Review

Tool: M12 Fuel Brushless Drill/Driver 2503-22 Shop Now  

Manufacturer: Milwaukee

MSRP: $169.99 (Includes charger, hard case, 2ah battery, and 4ah battery)

We don’t tend to perform drop tests on our tools. Well not intentionally at least. But if we did, I would be more worried about damaging the ground than damaging the Milwaukee 2503-22. This is both a positive and a negative; the tool is built like a tank, but also unfortunately weighs as much as one.

Now before I get carried away with hyperbole, let’s be clear that this is a bit heavy for a 12 volt drill, but still below the weight of your typical 18 volt. The weight is also truly attributed to the quality of materials. The chuck and collar are both solid metal, with a robustness that is atypical of most modern tools. Even the plastic bits feel like a step above the competition. 

The Jekyll and Hyde duality is evident in the actual use as well. It has a compact size and the motor feels plenty powerful. Adjust the clutch and you’ll experience a satisfying click-click-click as you move through the gears.  This pleasant experience continues until you suddenly become acutely aware of how tired your wrist is, as the weight is biased towards the front.

 I also can’t help but mention that Milwuakee has the largest family of 12v tools out there by a large margin. Usually, 12v tools tend to supplement the full 18v lineup, but you could fill up your whole collection with 12v Milwaukee equipment and not be missing any handheld tools. At the end of the day, the Milwaukee felt like it was built for a professional-grade environment instead of the casual user. The 1/2″ chuck (as opposed to 3/8″), the inclusion of a 4ah battery, and hard carrying case drive that point home.