Bosch has added two new 36V drills to their power tool lineup.
While I do get excited about new tools from any brand I dont see the point of these new 36V tools and Ill tell you why. First of all 36V batteries are huge! Pair a 36V battery to a compact tool like a drill and you have something bulky and unwieldy to use and not to mention heavy for such a tool. Because the tools are larger, 36V batteries work well with them. However, I think those who have 36V tools would appreciate the 36V drill. This way you won’t have to buy 18V tools just to have a cordless drill.
Bosch’s Brute Tough 36V drills weigh in at 885 lb, but this is not a class-leading performance. You can actually get more torque from a high torque 18V drill made by Hitachi, Makita and Metabo, Milwaukee, and even AEG. Thats not to say 885 in-lbs of torque isnt bad, thats very strong performance, its just that I would expect more from a 36V drill especially when you consider that 18V high torque drills put out up to 1300 in-lbs of torque. The reason people go for higher voltage power tools to begin with is for more power than whats available than 18V but that just isnt the case with these new 36V drills.
Whats also interesting to note is that Boschs new 36V drills arent even using brushless motors. It doesn’t make sense to not have a brushless motor in late 2017. These new 36V brute-tough drills come with Bosch’s amazing safety feature, Kickback control. This uses an integrated acceleration sensor to limit tool rotation and detect sudden movement before shutting down the motor. The feature mitigates injury risk in bind-up situations. This safety feature works well on the newer 18V brushless drills.
Anyways if you find these new 36V tools interesting, you probably might lose interest when you find out that they are worth for a baretool! This is a cordless tool that does not require a battery or charger. Thats based on the price Bosch advertises in the box below. Im hoping thats a typo and is the kit price with two batteries and charger but even then its still not a good value when you can get a more powerful 18V drill for less.
These 36V tools would have made headlines if released in 2013 or earlier but todays best 18V tools offer much more. Honestly I feel that their product research and development would have better been used on creating something else like a strong right angle drill similar to a holehawg, or a large and powerful SDS Max cordless rotary hammer, or even a cordless table saw or 10-30 cm miter saw.
Bosch HDH361 36V Cordless Drill/Driver, and HTMLH361 36V Cordless Hammer Drill/Driver FactBox
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