The owner's manual states that it weighs only 15.0 lbs. This thing just felt too heavy to be 15 lbs., so checked it. When I checked the weight without the depth rod on on my electronic postal scale, it read 17 lbs. 11 oz. I doubled checked it on my bathroom scale and it weighed 18.0 lbs.
In terms of performance, it does truly live up to its claim of low vibration and low noise level. At the maximum speed setting, I drilled 5/8" holes 6" deep in concrete at half a minute each. I ran it side by side a Milwaukee 5346-21 1.75" rotary hammer and I could definitely feel the Hitachi's noticeably lower vibration and noise, due to its use of a vibration damper counterweight inside the handle and an articulating vibration absorbing handle. It's a design Hitachi calls UVP (User Vibration Protection). But it's important to note that the Milwaukee is a heavier duty machine, running at 13A (with 8.6 ft*lbs of energy per impact), whereas the Hitachi runs at only 9.2A (with 7.7 ft*lbs of energy per impact). It's also worth noting that the Milwaukee 5346-21 also weighs 18.0 pounds, so the Milwaukee is a much more powerful machine at about the same weight.
It doesn't have a switch lock to lock it in the ON position, which is not a big deal when drilling, but in the hammer mode having it locked in the ON position can make it less tiresome to operate. That being said, having it locked in the ON position can be a big safety hazard if the bit hits a rebar in the drilling mode.
One aspect of this rotary hammer I very much appreciate is that re-greasing of the impact mechanism and replacement of the carbon brushes can be easily performed by the user, as the owner's manual shows. The manual states that it should be re-greased after every six months of use. The hammer comes with one tube of grease. With the Milwaukee, these simple maintenance tasks have to be performed by their service center. On top of the hefty Milwaukee service center charges, round-trip shipping costs of an 18 pound tool plus packaging can run $70 or more. Together these can easily equal almost 1/3 of the cost of the rotary hammer right there. Not to mention you'll be deprived of the use of the tool for a few weeks and risk damage to the tool during shipping. Taking all this into consideration, and you'll see that the ownership cost of the Hitachi is much lower than the Milwaukee.
The green/black Ninja-looking design of the Hitachi has a lot of sharp corners and sharp edges that, along with the heavy weight, can make lugging it around painful on the hands.
Besides drilling the 5/8" holes I haven't used it too much, but I will add to this review when I have more experience with it.Get more detail about
Hitachi DH40MRY 1-9/16-inch SDS Max Rotary Hammer with UVP.
