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DCS391 vs DCS565

DeWalt finally released a brushless, RAFTER HOOKED, 6.5” 20V circ saw 6-8 years after Makita and Milwaukee released their hooked brushless 6.5″ 18V saws. So, is the new DCS565 brushless worth the upgrade over the brushed DCS391? Let’s find out!

Power

In my testing the 391 had a bit more power under-load than the 565. The 391 was faster on rips and more easily powered through 45° cross cuts.

Runtime

Starting with fully charged 5 amp hr batteries the brushless 565 was able to cut 18′ more board feet than the brushed 391.

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.

Features

The brushless (above right) is more compact and adds a led light, rafter hook, and 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

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The DCS565 is not an XR tool. DeWalt says XR tools have “enhanced components.”

The DCS391 is an XR tool. It’s also more powerful and cheaper than the 565, but with much less runtime.

Update: It’s been 18 months and I can tell you the increased runtime of the 565 has been worth the upgrade. The dust port works great and the rafter hook is nice to have. That said, I highly recommend either saw and will be keeping my 391 for a backup saw.

See the tools in action here:

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