I've used both a Milwaukee and Dewalt portaband, and prefer the Dewalt..... I think it's head and shoulders above the Milwaukee. The Milwaukee saw went down within a year, and when I tried to get warranty work done on it, Milwaukee gave me the run around and refused to fix the saw under warranty, siting that it had a "design flaw" in the idler carrier, and that it had been redesigned, therefore it wasn't covered under warranty. The Dewalt variable speed saw has been mounted up and in use for about 3 years now without a single problem.
If your wanting something less expensive than either of those saws, I think it's a mistake. While some have claimed success with Harbor Freight and similar "cheap" portabands, I have seen them fail way too often to consider them a "value". The lower end saws might work for a while, but I have no doubt they will fail in short order when compared to the higher end saws. So it really boils down to whether you want to buy one saw and have it last, or be forced to spend money multiple times on the same tool. I went through my period of buying "less expensive" tools, buying the same tool multiple times, then realizing that if I had purchased a "good" one in the first place, I would be money ahead. It's also gona depend on HOW you use the tool(s)....I've become a more production oriented shop over the years, and my tools get used a lot, and I count on them to get the job done. Down time due to broken tools means delays in orders and angry customers.....so for me, in my shop, saving a few bucks on a hard use tool now, generally means I'll pay for it later in lost production and angry clients who's orders are delayed, plus the time and money to repair/replace the tool.
