Matthew, good to know I am not the only one. There is such a love fest surrounding the M12 stuff all the time I wondered if I was just imagining it. And the Makita 12v line is something I would have looked at if not for the Bosch. On the other hand, the sub-compact 18v stuff is so small I wonder if it will hurt their 12v CXT line?
To Makita’s credit they have expanded it and come out with brushless versions of the original CXT offerings. I think the 12v market is so much bigger than the subcompact 18v that they won’t abandon it entirely the way dewalt seems to have abandoned theirs.
It feels like SBD believes 12v is strictly beginning DIY but Milwaukee,Bosch and Makita all seem up understand that we don’t all need a .45 to swat a fly.
I ended up going with Makita instead of Bosch due to availability at my local stores (after exchanging the M12 that was a great tool but annoying in the grip to me). The biggest advantage M12 has is variety in my opinion.