One of my favorite tools around is the impact driver. I mean who wouldn’t love a tool that would kick some serious butt. A tool that would pretty much handle any task thrown at it. For the past couple of weeks I had a chance to play with the Bosch Impactor while I was doing a basement remodeling job, a flooring job and a garage job.
One thing you can be sure of is when Bosch builds a tool, they build a tough tool. I have yet to find anything other than quality tools from Bosch. This impact is no different. While it does lack some of the thrills of other impacts, it doesn’t lack feel or power. When I first picked up this tool, I was amazed at how compact the impact was compared to the torque it puts out. The tool is 5.7″ long, but has a whopping 1,500 in-lbs of torque, which is no joke. Being that compact with that much power, you might think it’s hard to control, but actually it is the opposite. The balance of the tool is great and has a well thought out design to make this feel nice and give the user plenty of control. The rubberized over-mold not only helps protect the tool, but gives the user more surface area when using the tool.
The all metal gears produce 2,800 rpm and 3,200 bpm which means this impact is ready and willing to work hard. One thing I did notice was even with its compact design, I didn’t feel a lot of kick back when the impact was hammering. I am not an engineer, so I am not sure if this has to do with the built in spring-loaded impact mechanism or some other design in the tool. All I know is this does feel nice and seems like most of the impact energy is going to the working piece and not your hand or arm.
A couple other things to note is this is a 1/4″ chuck with a quick release feature. To control the tools speed, you have a variable trigger. Using this tool for a while, I have to say it was very nice to work with. When I was attaching a sub floor, I was using a Senco screw gun. The batteries don’t last long, so I ended up using this impact to finish most of the job. While it sucked bending over putting screws in, the Bosch was nice because it drove home the screw every time and the light weight made it a little easier on my back.
Being that we get to test and play with tools, I tend to get a little spoiled. We get to play with drivers that have speed selection, one handed bit changes and more. So when I first started playing with this driver I was a little disappointed that it didn’t have all the thrills some of the other impacts have. Three downsides I saw to this impact were no speed selection, no one handed bit changes and no battery fuel gauge. While the first two are not a real big deal, I still scratch my head and wonder why Bosch doesn’t have a battery fuel gauge on these batteries. I have other Bosch batteries that have the fuel gauge, but not the batteries that came with this.
Overall this is a great impact driver. If you are looking for a no frills impact driver that is tough and up to any challenge, you won’t be disappointed by the Bosch. This tool is smooth and has a great balance. Lots of run time to keep you going.
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I have never used a Bosch power tool but this one looks pretty cool the way it drove that lag in.
great review – thanks! how high would you rank it compared to your favorite impact driver?
Good question. For me its up their with my Hilti and Milwaukee.
I really do like the direction they are going with their line!
Hahahahaha…wait a minute…was this a Bosch review ? What great television! Learn some cool stuff about a wicked nice Bosch AND screw with Dan!!!! I will say that the Bosch is a really nice tool with a great grip. That’s a crazy amount of torque too!
I have owned the bosch impact driver for appr. 6 months now and love it. It’s neveer failed to surprise me by outperforming my expectations.
Hey guys! So I was checking out eBay and CPO Bosch has an eBay store and are offering the Bosch 18v combo with this driver for $139.99 with free shipping, reconditioned. If you’ve bought reconditioned from them before the tools should appear brand new! Awesome price when you think of just this impact alone but with the four pole drill that’s awesome!