DeWalt finally released a brushless, RAFTER HOOKED, 6.5” circular saw 6-8 years after Makita and Milwaukee released theirs. Cool! But is the new DCS565 brushless worth the upgrade over the brushed DCS391?

Power and Speed

The new brushless DCS565 has a no load RPM of 4950 vs. the brushed DCS391 at 5150 RPM. In my testing the brushed unit was noticeable faster on rips and more easily powered through 45° cross cuts.

Above you can see the difference in speed running a 6amp Flexvolt vs a 5amp hr 20V XR on the DCS565.

And just fyi, above is the difference between the new and old 9amp Flexvolt batteries on a 20 volt tool.

Runtime

Starting with fully charged 5 amp hr batteries I made 8 cross cuts with both the brushless 565 and brushed 391 units. I then proceeded, on the same battery charge, to rip 2x doug fir alternating saws between rips to let them cool.

I ran the test twice switching batteries between tests to let both saws run the same battery. In both tests the brushless had about 50% better runtime. Nice!

New Features

The brushless (above right) is more compact, has a led light, a rafter hook, and a dust port. Otherwise, these saws are nearly identical.

I’ve been waiting for a rafter hook but it was the dust port that got me to upgrade. It collects the majority of the dust and will be an asset when cutting indoors.

Bottom Line

The current version of the brushed DCS391 has a bit more power than the new brushless DCS565. But for me, the new hook and dust port were too good to pass up. That said, I highly recommend either saw and will be keeping my 391 for a back-up.

To learn more about the DEWALT vac adapters I use check out this article.

To see these saws in action check out my video review.