Late last year, just before the Black Friday and holiday shopping season, Makita came out with a new 18V X2 cordless track saw kit, and it was bundled with 4Ah batteries instead of the usual 5Ah batteries.
I was under the wrong impression that this could have been some type of holiday promo kit, but that wasn’t the case.
Earlier this year, Makita did the same with their 18V cordless router kit.
Now, there’s a new Makita 18V X2 cordless miter saw kit, XSL06PM, and it too features 4Ah batteries.
Makita raised prices on more than 700 SKUs last month.
The 18V X2 miter saw kit shown above (XSL06PM) includes 4Ah batteries and has a $799 sticker price, the same as for their 5Ah kit (XSL06PT).
So, it seems that Makita raised pricing on some of their tools, and updated some of their kits with lower capacity batteries.
Personally, I would rather pay a little more for kits bundled with 5Ah batteries. I might be flexible in this preference if Makita bundled the kits with compact 5-cell 4Ah batteries, but they don’t make any 18V batteries with 21700-sized Li-ion battery cells.
I think it’s fair to assume that similar updates may be coming to additional Makita 18V and 18V X2 cordless power tool kits.
If there are now multiple kit versions of what you were looking to buy, the 4Ah kit might at least temporarily replace the 5Ah kit. It’s unclear if Makita will reintroduce 5Ah kits or if the 4Ah replacement kits are permanent SKUs.
5Ah kit versions of the track saw and router are no longer available online, at least not at the authorized dealers I checked with. The same will likely happy to the miter saw and any other updated kits with 4Ah batteries.
Makita has updated some kits but not others. For instance, their XRJ06PT 18V X2 reciprocating saw kit XRJ06PT ($369 at Amazon) is still only available with 5Ah batteries.
I have been assuming that these updates are tied to rising costs, but there could be other factors. Maybe it’s just coincidental, but all of the tool kits I’ve noticed 4Ah battery updates for have XGT equivalents; there’s a new XGT router, an XGT track saw, and an XGT 10″ miter saw.
In the grand scheme of things, it is what it is. But, if you have options, go for the 5Ah kits while you can. Or, if you need to wait, 4Ah batteries provide just a little less runtime.
Generally, 5Ah batteries have a higher retail price than 4Ah battery packs. 5Ah batteries have 25% greater charge and energy capacity than 4Ah batteries. Looking at it from the other direction, 4Ah batteries have 80% the charge capacity compared to 5Ah batteries.
At the time of this posting, both XSL06P 18V X2 10″ dual bevel miter saw kit options are in stock at most retailers. While both remain available, there are no incentives to go with the 4Ah kit when it costs the same as the 5Ah kit.
I do have to give Makita credit – they could have sought to combine their listings, such as how some brands mix “new version” and “old version” SKUs and have shared reviews. Distinct model numbers and separate listings make it clear as to which kit version you’re buying and getting.
