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If you wanted a high performance heavy duty BRUSHLESS 18V drill from the pro brands, you’d have to reach for Dewalt’s, Hitachi’s, Makita’s, Metabo’s, and Milwaukee’s offerings. Up until now Bosch had highly capable high performance heavy duty 18V drills, but those were using brushed motors. That all changes today as now Bosch has entered the high performance heavy duty brushless drill arena with their own high performance premium brushless 18V hammer drill. Remember the European model GSB 18 VE-EC RS that was spotted over in the UK from a recent post? It’s an 18V high torque premium brushless hammer drill and we are getting the USA versions of the new brushless 18V high torque model that debuted over in Europe with two new 18V High Torque Bosch Brushless drills, a new Brute Tough DDH183 Drill Driver & Brute Tough HDH183 Hammer Drill.

Professionals today expect the power and longevity of a corded tool in a cordless package,” said Mats Stellnert, group product manager, Robert Bosch Tool Corporation. “The Bosch DDH183 drill/driver and HDH183 hammer drill/driver deliver the power our users demand while including advanced features like KickBack Control and the precision clutch. It’s these incremental benefits to the user that set Bosch tools apart.”

 

Advanced user benefits continue with DDH183 and HDH183 power, which is driven by an efficient EC brushless motor that provides 2X longer tool life than a standard motor, longer runtimes and virtually no maintenance. The Brute Tough design also ensures a shorter head length and a lighter tool with no reduction in power. That’s combined with an upgraded all-metal chuck that delivers durability and strong bit retention. The Bosch-exclusive Durashield™ housing adds to overall tool durability for the toughest applications and jobsites. In addition, improved handle geometry offers a comfortable grip throughout the workday.

Specifications

• Voltage: 18v
• (1/2″) Chuck Type: 3-Jaw / Single Sleeve Keyless / All Metal
• 663.81 in-lbs torque
• Torque Settings: 25 + Drill
• Brake Type: Electric
• No. of Gears: 2
• LED Job Light: Yes / After-glow / Base-mounted
• Battery Capacity Indicator: No
• Battery Compatibility: 18v Lithium-Ion
• Rotation: Forward / Reverse
• Variable Speed Control Trigger: Yes
• No Load Speed (RPM) High: 0-2100
• No Load Speed (RPM) Low: 0-480
• Screw Capacity: Machine Screw (mm): 12
• Drill Capacity: Concrete (mm): 16 (0.63″ inch)
• Drill Capacity: Metal (mm): 13 (1/2″ inch)
• Drill Capacity: Wood (mm): 82 (3.2″ inch)
• Impact Rate (BPM) High: 0-31500
• Overall Length 7.8″ DDH183B / 8.03″ inch HDH183B
• Net Weight baretool 4.0 lbs DDH183B / 4.1 lbs HDH183B
• Net Weight (Approx. Kg) with 1.5/2Ah Batt: 2.1 (4.6 lbs)
• Net Weight (Approx. Kg) with 3/4/5Ah Batt: 2.3 (5.07 lbs)
• Brushless Motor: Yes

Bosch is bringing over their anti kickback feature from their current brushed high performance 18V hammer drill to these new brushless models. Good news since these powerhouse drills offer considerably more torque than compact drills and can strain your wrist with a high jolt of torque if you’re not careful. Also included is a side handle for a 2 handed grip to allow for better control of the added torque. What strikes me as odd is that these new high performance brushless drill from Bosch have a max 663 in-lbs torque. While no slouch as 600+ in-lbs is quite a bit to handle, this is far below average compared to the brushless powerhouses from Dewalt, Makita, Metabo, and Milwaukee which all offer 800+ in-lbs torque . With Dewalt, Makita, and Milwaukee leading the pack with 1000+ in-lbs torque with current second generation models. In fact this new Bosch model would have been slightly below brushless models from these brands 3 years ago which had 700+ in-lbs for the first gen brushless models. With that being said, 663 in-lbs of torque is still more than plenty for many applications.

Bosch’s killer feature is their anti-kickback feature which few cordless drills today have. This may be more important to potential buyers than extreme torque numbers as safety is always a priority on any jobsite. I tested out the Bosch anti-kickback feature on the new Bosch 18V compact drills and it did a great job at preventing my wrists from twisted from a strong jolt of sudden torque.