This will be a review of 12 volt Bosch power tools. Specifically, I will give a review of the Drill Driver and the Pocket Driver. I purchased both around the middle of 2010, so I have a lot of hours on them. For those who do not wish to read reviews, but just want the ‘Thumbs-up’ or ‘Thumbs-down’, your are in luck. It is most definitely a ‘Thumbs-up’ for both tools. Now, for the rest of you, here are the particulars.
The Bosch (PS-31-2A) is a 12 volt, 3/8″ Drill Driver. It weighs right at 2 lbs and has 265in-lbs of torque. The motor has two speed ranges (0-350 & 0-1300) which can be set with a very nice switch on the top. The speed is controlled by a variable speed trigger. There is an LED light at the top-front of the handle which lights up your work area nicely. It has 20 torque settings plus the drill setting. This drill is very light-weight and well balanced. It is very comfortable in my hand.
The Bosch (PS21-2A) is a 12 volt, 1/4″ chuck, Pocket Driver. While it has all of the same power and speed of the drill, it is only 5.6″ front to rear, so it can get into the tight spots.
Personal note: I have been known to stick this in my back pocket rather than lay it down. Also, I was a little surprised that the power/speed specs were identical, because my experience has been that they do not seem to be the same. While the drill has never given me a problem putting a hole into anything I demanded, the Pocket Driver has always seemed to be faster and more powerful when driving in screws. I do not have the equipment to test the torque of these two tools, but I question the specs of the Pocket Driver as being down at the same level as the Drill Driver.
While I have not taken time to actually time a charge, my guess is that it usually takes about 15-20 minutes. Regardless of the amount of time, the charging battery is ready long before I can run down the one just plugged into the tool.
These two Bosch tools have never let me down, and if you are in need of a small, powerful, quality tool, I strongly recommend both of these tools.
For power tools, I always recommend corded tools to be your primary source of assistance. A cordless tool is nice and convenient, but a corded tool will always give you full power from start to finish. Before you purchase any tool, there are a number of things to take into consideration… and I will talk about those the next time at Toolboxzone.com. Thank you for taking time to read my blog.