Bosch DDB181-02 18-Volt 1/2-Inch Compact Drill Driver Kit

Initial impressions. Will update later as required. I have owned a Bosch 18 volt drill/driver for a few years. It has been awesome. I also have a Bosch 18 volt, handheld vacuum, and a reciprocating saw. Figured I needed some more batteries. A fat pack would have been nice, but this was too good to pass up. Two more slim packs, another drill/driver and charger, essentially; for free. I had asked the question of the people; “have they improved the chuck?” The chuck is not great on the older one. The response was, paraphrasing: “seems fine to me”. It would appear to me as well, that the chuck is MUCH improved. This is a great drill. Not sure why everyone doesn’t do this, but having the light down on the base works great! No shadows as others have pointed out. Seriously, others… a light on the body behind the chuck is useless. A few observations though. This is even more compact than the older version. I don’t have the specs on the old one, but if will be interesting to see if as powerful (the old one is a beast, given the size). The motor is much smaller. Second, the two batteries are 1.5 amp, with no fuel gauge. They have no label that my old eyes can read, maybe 611’s? My old one also has 1.5 amp BAT610Gs, with fuel gauge. I think the more expensive, newer versions come with 2.0 amp batteries. Still a good deal. But know what you’re getting. Pic is of the old (left) next to the new.

My original review is below, but, as you can see, I have changed it, giving this Bosch drill, and the Bosch company, the five stars they deserve!! Let me catch you up: I was disappointed that the drill stripped out, because my husband loved this drill, and used it a LOT. He is a project, DIY kind of guy. He told me this was the best drill he had ever owned, and he has owned about every name-brand drill there is, both rechargeable, and corded. So, whe it stripped out, just a little over a year out, and the warranty here on Amazon had expired, I was really disappointed. BUT – let me give Amazon props here – I applied for, and got, the Amazon Visa, and got a $70.00 gift card, with which I paid the majority of buying another Bosch drill, just like this one…so, it only cost me around $20.00. THEN, my husband, Mr. DIY – Persistent kind of guy – called the Bosch company direct, and they paid for us to ship the broken drill to them, repaired the drill, and shipped it back, at $0 cost to us! (I know, right?) So, my hubby now has TWO wonderful Bosch drills, at a cost of $20.00 out of pocket! (I paid the Amazon Chase card off, right away, to avoid interest.)Original review:(Only giving two stars, because, even though this is a five star drill while it works, it stripped out internally after owning it for one year, three and a half months…just past the warranty date of one year. A drill that costs this much should last longer than a little over a year. My husband absolutely loved this drill. So disappointed!)

I really loved this thing while it lasted but after 13 months the motor has blown out. I really expected this to last longer, it seemed very well made. I only used it for smaller projects too. It is really light and has a decent amount of torque. My dad has this same one and the larger version and has had no issues so maybe I just got a bad one.

I bought this drill mainly because of the excellent reviews in Consumer Reports and the glowing customer reviews on Amazon. The drill is smaller than most but that suits me because I am hardly a power user and it seems to have more torque than I could ever use when the clutch is set high. The battery pack easily lasts all day for me and there’s a spare included in the package in case it doesn’t. So you can have one charging while you use the other one if you need to work continuously for long periods of time (which I don’t). The case is very nice. When you’re done, it all packs up nicely. It comes with one screw bit that would probably fit a lot of heads, but I bought a bit set to go with it so that I could get just the right fit. There’s even a belt clip for heavy users.

I waited almost two years to review this drill in order to get some real use out of it because I have had other cordless drills which over time I became quite dissatisfied with. My original reason for purchasing the drill was to take with me on a driving trip to Alaska. That trip is very demanding and as expected required a number of equipment repairs along the way, some of which needed a drill. I wanted something that was cordless, and small so that I could use it totally off-grid and not consume a large amount of space since I needed to pack a considerable contingency of tools and parts to be self sufficient on the trip. This Bosch cordless really fit the bill. It is one of the smallest cordless drills out there, has two good lithium ion batteries, is reversible, and comes in a handy carrying case which keeps it all together. It was great on the trip for things like windshield chip repair and screwing down replacement tank strapping when one of my fresh water tanks broke loose in the Yukon.Once I returned, I put the drill in my shop and have used it for quite a few drilling and screwing tasks, as well as priming engine oil systems, and it has not let me down. This is one tool that I am really glad to own.Pros: – Compact size is easy to carry, and handier in tight spaces – Excellent Lithium Ion batteries work for a long time, and do not discharge easily in storage – Two batteries included, which means that even if you run one down, you can keep working while it recharges. – Nice carrying case keeps everything together – Reversible, and ratcheting torque can be set for driving screws to avoid overtightening – Good power, outperformed a small corded drill in priming a 351W Ford oil system recently – Keyless chuck is just one step handier when you are in the middle of nowhere, or anytime reallyCons: – Seemed a touch on the expensive side when I bought it, but it is clearly a case of getting what you paid for

Love this drill. BEST I have ever owned. Feels “solid”, quality construction. The lithium battery is AMAZING! Handles MONTHS of my small household projects without needing to recharge. Previously, I was using cheaper “black and decker” orange cordless drills–which lost a charge after 3 or 4 days, weighed much more, and were probably made as the “cheapest-available” drill niche. Switching to the Bosch drill is like getting RE-BORN! From now on, I will probably stick with ot her BOSCH products (if the quality/value is like this drill!). So what it costs a bit more than cheaper (B&D) drills? It will clearly last MANY MORE YEARS and do its job PERFECTLY. Well, I guess you can tell I like this baby. GET IT!

I found it a 1/4 Lb heavier than my 7.5V DeWalt that it is replacing only because a new set of batteries cost as much as this new kit. I do a lot of cabinet work & drill screw pilot holes in hardwood so was concerned about comments that this unit did not hold small drill-bits securely. However, it held a 1/16″ bit just fine; I did not try anything smaller than that. At this time I have only given it a trial use, so cannot comment further on how well it will perform over the long run.

This drill has really surprised me for it’s value. I got it to do small jobs around the house. It’s lighter than the 18V Dewalt. I ended up using it to build an entire 100×100 foot wooden fence this summer. It’s done everything I’ve asked of it so far. Not a jobsite drill but the next best thing being so lite. The battery lasts a day’s work without capacity loss over a year. Charges on a reasonable time. If the battery was bigger it would be heavier. After a year it’s still like the first gay I used it. I wish now I had bought two.