DEWALT DCS571NT-XJ Review

Not every cut needs a 2,000 W saw with a 270 mm blade. In fact, most of the cuts a carpenter, kitchen fitter, or renovator makes in a day are in relatively thin material — trimming laminate flooring planks, cutting 12 mm plywood for cabinet backs, slicing cement board for a bathroom, or notching skirting board around a pipe. For these jobs, a full-size circular saw is overkill. It is heavy, awkward to control with one hand, and its large blade throws a disproportionate amount of dust and noise for a two-second cut. This is where a compact 115 mm saw shines. It is small enough to use one-handed, light enough to carry all day without fatigue, and nimble enough to make precise cuts in tight spaces — under a worktop, between wall studs, or on a ladder. The best ones are brushless for runtime, have an electric brake for safety, and accept the same batteries as the rest of your cordless kit. A compact saw does not replace a full-size one — but for the dozens of small, quick cuts that fill a working day, it is the tool you reach for first.

When choosing a compact 115 mm circular saw, weight and handling are more important than raw cutting depth. A saw that weighs only 1 kg bare can be used comfortably with one hand — cutting a piece of architrave held against your knee, trimming the bottom of a hung door in situ, or notching a floorboard from an awkward crouching position. Blade diameter of 115 mm gives a typical cutting depth of around 40 mm at 90 degrees, which covers sheet materials, flooring, trim, and thin stock. Brushless motor technology is essential in a compact saw because it maximises runtime from a single battery charge and reduces the motor's size and weight. An electric brake that stops the blade quickly is arguably even more important on a small saw than a large one — because the saw is so light and manoeuvrable, you are likely to set it down immediately after each cut. A spindle lock and one-wrench blade change keep downtime minimal. Finally, an included storage case — whether TSTAK, Systainer, or a soft bag — protects the saw in transit and keeps the blade, parallel guide, and wrench together so nothing gets lost in the van.

This review examines an ultra-light 18 V brushless 115 mm circular saw with electric brake, supplied in a TSTAK case. We assess cutting capability across sheet materials, flooring, and trim, handling and one-handed usability, runtime on common battery sizes, and whether a sub-1 kg saw genuinely earns a permanent place in a professional toolkit.

The DEWALT DCS571NT-XJ is a cordless 115 mm circular saw built on DEWALT's 18 V XR brushless motor platform. It spins a 24-tooth high-speed steel blade at up to 4,500 RPM no-load speed, giving it the tooth-tip velocity to make clean, fast cuts in wood, laminate, plastic, and cement board. The blade is 115 mm in diameter with a standard arbor bore, giving a maximum depth of cut of approximately 40 mm at 90 degrees — enough for 18 mm sheet material, laminate and engineered flooring up to 15 mm, and most trim and moulding stock. The saw weighs just 1 kg as a bare tool, making it one of the lightest cordless circular saws on the market. This is a bare-tool package: battery and charger are not included.

The defining characteristic of the DCS571 is its weight — or rather, the lack of it. At 1 kg bare, it is approximately one-third the weight of a standard 165 mm cordless saw. This transforms how you use the tool. One-handed operation is not just possible — it is natural. You can hold the workpiece with your left hand and cut with your right, or reach into a cabinet carcass with the saw in one hand while bracing yourself with the other. The brushless motor is compact and efficient, contributing to the weight savings. An electric brake stops the blade rapidly when you release the trigger, which matters even more on a saw this light because you will instinctively want to set it down immediately after each cut. The blade is positioned on the right side of the motor — standard for DEWALT saws — which gives right-handed users a clear sightline to the cut.

In daily use, the DCS571 excels at the kind of quick, repetitive cuts that fill a fitter's or renovator's day. Trimming the tongue off the last row of laminate flooring, cutting cement backer board for a bathroom, slicing MDF panel strips, or notching a worktop for pipes — these are five-second cuts where getting out a full-size saw would feel excessive. The parallel guide locks into the base plate for repeat-width rip cuts in sheet material, and the base plate itself is a rigid pressed design with good flatness. The Airlock-compatible dust extraction port connects to DEWALT's Airlock vacuum system or to a standard hose with an adapter, capturing a useful amount of dust — especially important when cutting MDF or cement board indoors. A 5 Ah XR battery delivers dozens of cuts before needing a recharge, and the brushless motor sips power efficiently during light-duty cutting.

The DCS571NT-XJ ships with the saw body, a 24-tooth wood blade, a parallel guide, a hex key for blade changes, an Airlock dust nozzle, and — notably — a DEWALT TSTAK compatible case. The TSTAK case is a genuine added value: it protects the saw during transport, stacks securely with other TSTAK modules in a van racking system, and has moulded compartments that keep the blade, guide, and key organised. No battery or charger is included, consistent with DEWALT's bare-tool (NT/XJ suffix) designation. The saw is compatible with all DEWALT 18 V XR and FlexVolt batteries — a compact 2 Ah PowerStack battery keeps the overall weight under 1.5 kg for maximum agility, while a 5 Ah or 6 Ah pack extends runtime for production work.

The saw measures 33 × 2.9 × 18 cm and weighs 1 kg bare. Customer ratings are outstanding: 4.7 out of 5 stars from 348 reviews, ranking #129 in Circular Saws on Amazon.fr. DEWALT offers a 1-year standard warranty that extends to 3 years when you register the tool on their website, plus 2-year EU spare parts availability. At around €165 including the TSTAK case, it is priced competitively for a brushless compact saw from a premium brand. If you already run DEWALT 18 V XR batteries, this is one of the most compelling additions you can make — a saw so light and handy that it earns a permanent spot at the top of the tool bag, not buried under the heavier gear.

This ultra-light 115 mm cordless circular saw is built for kitchen fitters, flooring installers, trim carpenters, and renovators on the DEWALT 18 V XR platform who need a nimble one-handed saw for quick, repetitive cuts in sheet material, flooring, and trim.