I use a lot of Makita tools and find them all excellent - this one included. I needed a more powerful saw for a lot of underlayment cutting and this does the job well. Good balance and weight for me. The one star reduction is because it would be nice if it didn't torque twist quite so much at start-up, a soft-start electronic start circuitry would do it. None-the-less, once you get used to it, and anticipate it, it's ok.