12 Milwaukee Tools That Can Help Solve Everyday Problems

Milwaukee was founded in 1924 under the name A.H. Petersen Company, later the Milwaukee Electric Tool Corporation. Milwaukee has a rich history. In the old days, the folks at Milwaukee didn't make tools — they fixed them. But all that time spent disassembling and repairing existing power tools allowed Milwaukee to see gaps in the market and offer something new and innovative.

Today, Milwaukee offers a wide range of tools, power tools, and related accessories for professionals and amateur handypersons. On Milwaukee's shelves, both physical and digital, you'll find tools in the brand's M12, M18, and MX Fuel battery platforms, as well as the company's PACKOUT modular storage system.

Whether you're looking for a surefire gift for the Milwaukee fan in your life, hoping to expand your own Milwaukee tool collection, or want to familiarize yourself with the company's offerings, these 12 items are a good place to start.

When you're looking for power tools, a drill is probably a no-brainer. They're useful for drilling holes, driving fasteners, cutting with hole saws, and more. Milwaukee's M12 1/2-inch drill packs a decent amount of power into a small package.

It delivers 350 inch-pounds of torque and has a two-speed motor controlled by a variable speed trigger. On low, it spins at up to 450 RPM; on high, it reaches up to 1,700 RPM. The whole thing fits inside a package that is just 6.6 inches long and weighs just 2.3 pounds. Driving and drilling bits slide into the half-inch keyless metal chuck, and any time you pull the drill's trigger, the built-in LED work light and battery gauge come on.

It's also built to be robust, with no significant damage after being dropped from heights as high as eight feet. For practical applications, the M12 Fuel half-inch drill offers comparable performance to older 18V drills while only weighing about half as much. It comes alone or in a kit with an M12 REDLITHIUM 2Ah compact battery, an M12 REDLITHIUM XC 4Ah extended capacity battery, a charger, and a carrying case.

A finish nailer can be useful for renovations, repairs, and many other tasks. If you need to put up trim or tack things into place, a finish nailer could save you a lot of effort.

This nail gun lets you fire three nails per second, hold up to 110 nails at a time, and drive up to 750 nails on a charge using Milwaukee's M18 REDLITHIUM 2Ah batteries. You can obviously get even greater longevity using a higher capacity battery. The nailer fires 15-gauge finish nails which are a little bit more robust than brad nails so they can fasten a little better and pierce denser materials, but they also create larger holes which might need to be covered with putty and paint.

The nailer features Milwaukee's nitrogen gas spring which provides similar performance to a pneumatic tool without needing a connection to any gas source. Because it's battery powered, you won't have to worry about dangling electrical cords or air compressor hoses getting in the way. Users also report less recoil than other comparable nailers.

You can get the 15-gauge finish nailer by itself or in a kit with an M18 REDLITHIUM 2Ah battery, a multi-voltage charger capable of charging both M18 and M12 batteries, and a tool bag to carry it all in.

As the name suggests, multi-tools can be used for a variety of tasks and they're fairly easy for beginners to pick up. They work by making tiny oscillations really quickly, resulting in cutting, scraping, sanding, and more depending on the attachment you choose. If you've got limited space or budget, a multi-tool gives you plenty of bang for your buck and can do the job of multiple other tools while only taking up the space of one tool. Milwaukee's M18 Fuel oscillating multi-tool is lighter, faster, and longer-running than its predecessors.

The multi-tool blade oscillates between 10,000 and 20,000 times per minute (OPM) and can be used to cut through dense materials, even wood with old nails embedded in it. Fortunately, it also boasts vibration dampening technology which isolates the motor so the blade can wiggle back and forth 20,000 times per minute without you feeling all of that vibration.

Other features include a tool-free lever-based blade changing system and a 180-degree LED work light. It comes alone or in a kit with a battery, charger, cutting and sanding attachments, and a tool bag.

A wet/dry vacuum can be useful in a variety of settings, from everyday workshop cleanup to sucking up water from a flooded basement. Milwaukee's M18 Fuel NEXUS six-gallon wet/dry vacuum is powered by a Powerstate brushless motor, has a six-gallon capacity, and rides on a four-wheeled NEXUS cart. It's part of Milwaukee's NEXUS Modular Vacuum System, which allows you to customize your vacuum with different motor heads, higher capacity tanks, a different cart, and add-ons like a debris separator and filter cleaner.

Because it's battery powered, you can vacuum with freedom of movement without a power cord getting in the way. You can get up to 31 minutes of use on a charge using an 8Ah battery in Max Power mode, enough to clean an estimated 1,000 square feet. You can extend runtime by using Max Run-Time mode, getting up to 47 minutes or enough to clean up to 1,300 square feet.

You can keep track of your accessories using the built-in storage on the vacuum and vacuum cart, and the 9-foot vacuum hose stores using built-in C-clips and a hose bungee. It also comes with a high-efficiency filter, an extension wand, a crevice tool, and a nozzle. Additional accessories are available.

Milwaukee's MX FUEL backpack blower can be used to clean up leaves, dust, and other debris with power on par with conventional gas-powered blowers. It has three modes which impact the speed and rate of air movement. On high, you can move 800 cubic feet of air per minute at 190 miles per hour, with 20 minutes of battery life. On medium you'll get about 30 minutes of battery life moving 700 cubic feet per minute at 165 miles per hour. And on low your blower will move 600 cubic feet per minute at 145 miles per hour for up to 45 minutes, on a single charge of an MX FUEL 12Ah battery.

The blower comes attached to an adjustable harness and is powered by a Powerstate brushless motor. It has a telescoping nozzle with a mode selector and variable speed trigger. It's sold by itself or in a kit with two MX FUEL REDLITHIUM FORGE HD 12.0 batteries and an MX Fuel rapid charger, which charges one of the batteries in about 100 minutes.

This blower has no potentially frustrating pull start, no emissions, no need to acquire or mix fuel, fewer maintenance requirements, and it's quieter. However, those benefits come along with some deficits. You might get less runtime than you could get on a full tank of fuel, it takes longer to recharge than it does to refill a gas tank, and it's more expensive than a comparable fuel-powered blower.

When you're working with cordless, battery-powered tools, running out of power can shut down the workday. Milwaukee's M12 TOP-OFF power supply and charger looks like a severed vacuum handle gone rogue, but it's hiding a powerful secret.

It's compatible with all M12 batteries and can be used both to recharge them and to top off your cell phone and other personal electronics. If you've already got Milwaukee M12 tools and batteries in your arsenal or you're planning to get some, this power supply and charger is a convenient way to give your tools a little extra power boost. It's also compatible with Milwaukee's M12 heated jackets and other heated apparel.

Accessories include a USB-C charging cable and a 15W USB-C wall adapter. The device features a simple interface with just a power button, a bi-directional USB-C port for power delivery and recharging, and a lighted battery gauge. You can get the TOP-OFF in 2Ah, 3Ah, or 6Ah capacities. If you opt for the highest capacity, it will take about 270 minutes to fill up when plugged into an outlet, and you can recharge your cell phone approximately twice on a charge.

If you have a lawn that needs mowing, you might be pulling your mower out of the shed once a week or more during the growing season. Milwaukee's powered mower can make mowing your lawn a little bit easier thanks to its electrical battery power and self-propulsion.

It runs on Milwaukee's M18 FUEL batteries and can operate for over an hour, depending on your battery and settings. The shorter you cut your grass, the less battery life you'll get. For instance, with a 12Ah battery, Milwaukee estimates 90 minutes of runtime when cutting half an inch off the top, and only 45 minutes at a depth of 1.5 inches. If you're more interested in area than time, Milwaukee estimates you could mow half an acre at three miles per hour before the batteries run out.

A variable speed throttle lets you control the speed from 0 to 4 mph. Front and side lights help to illuminate your yard if you're mowing in low light, and the mower folds in half for upright storage between uses. It can be purchased on its own with just a grass bag, side discharge chute, and mulch plug as accessories, or you can get it in a kit with two M18 REDLITHIUM HIGH OUTPUT HD12.0 batteries, an M18 dual bay simultaneous rapid charger, in addition to the aforementioned accessories.

Kids learn to use rulers to measure short distances, and measuring tapes are a common way to measure larger objects and spaces. But even measuring tapes have their limitations, especially when working with even larger objects or spaces. That's where a laser distance measurer can come in handy.

Laser distance measurers work by bouncing laser light off distant objects and detecting that light as it bounces back. Using the speed of light (186,282 miles per second), the machine calculates distance by measuring the time it takes for the light to travel to the target and return. In fact, Milwaukee's laser distance measurer has a range of up to 150 feet and is accurate to within a sixteenth of an inch.

A 2-inch color screen lets you select your desired measurement and displays readings, but that's just the beginning. The user interface allows you to add or subtract measurements, calculate surface area, total area, the volume of a space, and more. It can even save up to 30 readings in its onboard memory, so you can go back and reference previous measurements.

An inspection camera, also known as a borescope, lets you look inside the nooks and crannies of your car's engine, see into pipes, peer down sewer drains, into crawl spaces, inside the walls, behind heavy furniture or appliances, and plenty of other hard to reach spaces.

Milwaukee's M12 Auto Technician Borescope has a ten-foot camera cable that's only five millimeters in diameter, which is smaller than some competitors, allowing it to get into narrower spaces. The head of the cable features a front-facing camera and a side-facing camera so you can get multiple views of an object or area at the same time.

The user interface lets you choose from four levels of zoom and five levels of brightness when spying into darkened places, and the images are displayed on a 4.3-inch screen. You can even capture images and videos and save them to a gallery for later review, using the borescope's built-in stage, then export those assets using an SD card.

Humans aren't blessed with thermal vision, but an infrared temperature gun can be the next best thing. Being able to measure temperature variances could be useful when inspecting a home, a car, or other objects. A cold spot could, for instance, point to a problem with insulation, while a hot spot in your car's engine could identify an aging part in need of replacement.

Milwaukee's M12 12:1 infrared temperature gun has a 12-to-1 ratio, meaning it measures a spot one foot in diameter at a distance of 12 feet. The closer you get, the finer your measurements are, and vice versa. Milwaukee also offers infrared temperature guns with ratios of 10 to 1 or 30 to 1, depending on your needs.

It can measure temperatures between -22 and 1,022 degrees Fahrenheit (-30 to 550 degrees Celsius) and provide those readouts on the built-in LCD. A laser dot shows you precisely where the temperature gun is pointing, so you know exactly what part of the surface you're measuring. There are also settings for measuring the minimum, maximum, or average temperature of an area. It comes with a single 9V battery.

Heat guns have a wide range of uses for the professional handyperson and the amateur DIY enthusiast. They can be used to thaw frozen pipes or de-ice your freezer, bend metal or PVC pipes, loosen adhesives and remove stuck labels, shrinking shrink wrap, and more.

Milwaukee's variable temperature heat gun can deliver moderately hot temperatures as low as 176 degrees Fahrenheit (80 degrees Celsius) and as sweltering as 1,200 degrees Fahrenheit (649 degrees Celsius). You can adjust the temperature in 10 degree increments and the built-in LCD screen provides real-time readouts.

It has two different fan speeds, high and low, which when coupled with the heat gun's temperature controls, lets you customize the amount of heat and amount of airflow you deliver to materials. The heat gun is also designed to reduce fatigue when working long-term with a compact and lightweight body measuring 3.88 inches tall, 10.75 inches long, 11.5 inches wide, and coming in at just under 3 pounds.

Similar to a multi-tool, a rotary tool has multiple uses depending on your needs, your skills, and the attachment you choose. You can use a rotary tool to carve everything from pumpkins to slabs of wood, polish metals, sand small areas, trim screws and other hardware, cut drywall, and more.

Milwaukee's M12 brushless rotary tool comes with a 1/8-inch collet (chuck) for grabbing onto your preferred attachments and it's compatible with 1/32, 1/16, and 3/32 collets, sold separately. The rotary tool features a built-in LED work light for lighting up dark spots and it has an integrated collet wrench for faster accessory changes.

The variable speed controls let you customize the rate of rotation. You can set the speed between 5,000 and 27,500 RPM, depending on the task at hand. And it's all packed into a compact and portable battery-powered package measuring 9.18 inches long and weighing roughly 0.8 pounds.

Walk into any hardware or home improvement store and you might be overwhelmed by a seemingly endless and ever-growing selection of tools and related products. Even Milwaukee, being just one brand, has hundreds of products on offer, some of which are undoubtedly more useful than others. And if you're not familiar with power tools, it can be challenging to separate the broadly useful from the merely cool.

Pretty much any tool has at least some utility — it's inherent in being a tool — but some are useful for common situations while others are intended for infrequent or niche circumstances. So, unless you've got unlimited funds and unlimited storage space, you probably have to be discerning about what you buy.

With that in mind, we chose these 12 products for their broad utility and positive reputation. Each tool has at least 100 user reviews averaging at least 4 out of 5 stars, a positive review from a trusted source, or firsthand use by SlashGear authors. Perhaps most importantly, they all have the potential to solve at least one common problem, and in many cases, multiple problems.