Bosch Power Tools recently announced that they set a new all-time high with sales of 5.8 billion euros in 2021. That’s around $5.73 billion USD.
They reported “strong growth in all markets and regions,” with “double-digit growth in all regions for the first time.”
Things sound great from a sales perspective.
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But wait – what has Bosch been doing in the power tools space here in the USA and North America?
Readers have been asking the same question in different ways. Dewalt, Milwaukee, Ryobi, Flex, Metabo HPT, Hilti, Kobalt, Hercules, and even Makita have all been launching new cordless power tools, technologies, and accessories. What has Bosch Tools been up to?
2022 was a huge year for new cordless power tool and battery tech, and 2023 promises to be even bigger.
So what’s new with Bosch?
I haven’t heard from Bosch Tools USA about any new tools in a very long while, but the brand has been actively promoting their products via consumer newsletter emails and ads sprinkled around social media.
Let’s take a look at what they’ve trying to build some buzz and hype about:
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The focus of most of Bosch’s online marketing has been on their 18V FREAK 2-in-1 impact tool, which they once gave the tagline “Get the Freak’n job done with more torque.”
“The FREAK” has seen multiple generations, starting with the 18V hybrid 2-in-1 impact tool Bosch first launching in 2014, more than 8-1/2 years ago.
It wasn’t always “The FREAK;” that only started a few years ago.
The newest version, which launched around a year ago, was advertised as being little more powerful compared to its predecessor.
Bosch said (emphasis my own):
The new model features increased torque, upgraded from 1800 in. lbs. to 1860 in. lbs., providing even more power to get the job done.
At the time I asked Bosch’s PR contact how this “increased torque” is achieved compared to its predecessor. Was there a new motor? They replied 13 days later (emphasis my own):
The performance comes from the core batteries. Testing in the past has been done with the older generation batteries. Now we use the CORE batteries which are more efficient with the power output. This gives us the small power increase.
I didn’t understand at the time – and must admit I still don’t. The new model provides “even more power to get the job done” because “testing in the past has been done with the older generation batteries.”
So is the tool more powerful, or are they simply testing for max torque differently?
As an aside, you might find it interesting to know that Bosch successfully trademarked their “The FREAK” name last year.
Here’s the certificate, for Bosch’s US trademark, serial number 88896829.
I’m sorry, I digress.
The FREAK/2-in-1 has been a repeated focus of Bosch’s email marketing campaigns.
The Bosch 2-in-1 is described as being easier than your 2-in-1 shampoo. It’s actually the older model that they show here.
The same consumer email-blast also featured a link for the GDX18V-1800CN, which launched in January 2019.
Moving on, Bosch has also been promoting their:
2-in-1 impact: All Driver. All Wrench. All Impact.
I do prefer this 2-in-1 language over “The FREAK.”
Ah, okay, they’ve got a brand new marketing and advertising campaign going on right now. What are they focusing on here?
The 2-in-1! It’s “What Hard Workers Deserve.”
There are two other tools included in this campaign – their proprietary X-lock grinder accessory interface that launched nearly 4 years ago, and a cordless drill.
“Do Two Jobs with One Tool.”
“Easy-to-use tools. For jobs not so easy to do.”
I suppose this is better than “THE FREAK” or something about 2-in-1 shampoo.
I’ve been seeing these ads all over the web and social media.
I conducted a Google search for “SDS plus rotary hammer bit sizing,” in search of a reference to answer a specific reader question.
What comes up on top? A Bosch 2-in-1 impact driver ad.
Clicking on it took me to a “Lowe’s Tour” landing page, which features the 2-in-1 FREAK impact tool, among others.
A lot has been happening in the professional cordless power tool space: Milwaukee is advertising many new cordless power tools (see the Pipeline 2022 launches!), Dewalt is promoting their next-gen PowerStack batteries, Flex has an entire line of next-gen Stacked Lithium batteries, Hilti launched their new Nuron cordless platform, Makita has… XGT?, and more.
This is an exciting time for cordless power tool users!
Bosch has done such great things in the past, but what are they doing now?!
Cordless nailers?
A cordless table saw? After nearly two years, it’s still not available here.
They recently quietly introduced their first 12V Max cordless power tool in a very long time – a compact angle grinder. The same exact – or nearly identical – tool launched in Europe 6-1/2 years earlier.
Bosch Tools USA has been focusing very heavily on their 2-in-1 impact, which launched in 2021. We’re about to enter 2023, do we only have more of the same to look forward to?
What do you think about Bosch Power Tools today?
Here are the most recent Bosch video ads, in case you’re interested:
The Bosch 2-in-1; What Hard Workers Deserve:
Here’s the full ad for their current marketing campaign:
Aaron+S
bosch makes a pretty decent dishwasher. through some wizardry they manage to have a spacious top third rack but still room on the bottom rack for full size plates!
Lowes has their 12v “chameleon” on sale in store lately, looks like the flexiclick with new freakified branding
TomD
The battery thing is real – the performance of the tool depends on how much juice it can get, and the bigger (newer) batteries give more juice. So if you were testing with a newer battery you can “upgrade” your tool.
The Milwaukee tools will outperform their specs if they’re older than some of the newest HD batteries. Project Farm had some measurements: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TpnwBOefbvs
So it sounds like Bosch just reran all their tests with the latest batteries and updated the numbers and implied it was a TOOL change, heh.
I’ll be honest, the “FREAK” idea is kind of cute, in a “I’m not sure I’d every really use it that way but nice” way.
I think it could be really well marketed to the small-time DIYer who wants either a socket driver OR a bit driver, and can get both.
But it’s a feature I’d expect on Harbor Freight or store brand tools, not something on a big national.
Stuart
“The battery thing is real” – yes, but if the battery is solely responsible for a tool’s higher torque rating, then the tool isn’t really “providing even more power to get the job done” when the same is suggested implied about its predecessor.
What if Dewalt started using their 15Ah FlexVolt battery when specifying the max torque ratings for their impact wrenches? Can they then slap a “more power to get the job done” on their spec sheets?
With PF, I don’t take his quantitative measurements at face value. Qualitative? Comparative? Maybe. Quantitative? Inexpensive torque adapters like the one he uses are designed for use with hand tools and not high-speed impact tools.
TomD
Yeah, claiming a *battery* improvement for the tool is a bit suspect; I’d have to hope that the claim is on a *kit* with a new battery and not just upping their numbers because they can.
Jerry
Perhaps the old battery used to come in the combo, and now the new one does. The kit would likely have a new #, and slightly more power.
I’d give Bosch the benefit of the doubt and say they oversimplified it, rather than were trying to deceive.
Stuart
The -1800 model is also bundled with a CORE battery.
It’s available at Amazon and Lowe’s.
According to Amazon, this SKU has been available since 2019. The new -1860 model launched in 2021.
So is there “even more power to get the job done,” if Bosch attributes the higher torque to testing the -1860 with a CORE battery?
Jerry
Ok. I get it now. If I read you right, the same kit # could have different batteries. Im not a Bosch guy so I don’t know how Bosch numbers their kits. I just assumed an updated battery in the kit would lead to a change in the kit number.
Ken
I’m pretty sure the email you received from Bosch is just plain wrong. Torque Test Channel on YouTube tested the 1800 vs. 1860 impacts and confirmed that the 1860 does indeed deliver a small power increase. This comparison used the same “new” Core18V battery on both tools. Bosch engineers almost certainly made an actual change to the tool that resulted in more torque.
Stuart
@Jerry,
The -1800 is available tool-only and with different batteries, including the 4Ah.
@Ken,
That’s possible, and unfortunately it wouldn’t be the first time in recent years.
Jared
If you’re on Youtube and want better information about power tool torque, check out Torque Test Channel. Much better setup and processes for that type of testing.
I enjoy some Project Farm videos too. However, the value is just in the data and comparison he provides – I don’t find his conclusions very valuable.
For example, he does a lot of failure testing as an analog for durability – but those aren’t always the same thing. One of my pet peeves is when he tests hand tools at force levels far beyond what you can achieve by hand – you’re not going to do that, so how much weight should you put on the result (e.g. using a press to cut drill bits with side cutters)?
Sometimes his “results” might be based on factors that have little relevance to what I need in a tool – or ignore factors that seem obviously important.
None of that is to disparage the videos. They can be interesting. I’m just careful about how much weight to give his conclusions.
TomD
Yeah, failure testing is more for the hilariousness (AvE-style) than a real discussion on the tool.
The data is the interesting thing, even if in-exactly measured you can sometimes see differences that are notable.
I’ll have to check out Torque Test.
Kevin
I see your point but I’d wouldn’t say you should trust project farm’s “data.” Sure it’s interesting comparative testing but take the number with a grain of salt, or many grains of salt. His methodology holds water in most cases but the testing rigs are so fundamentally flawed that the tests are producing junk data right out of the gate. I give him credit for being thorough, but the test have problems. If he ran the tests under a control I’m sure there would be problems with reliability and repeatability. Let’s be real here, cheap Amazon-grade measuring instruments, spinning over a lawnmower motor under the load of the engine brake for an arbitrary duration, etc.
Jason C
I feel like Bosch tools in NA needs shakeup with management. They should be working towards a solid line up of industry leading core lineup of cordless tools with possibly an emphasis towards SDS drills. I feel like Bosch invests in fringe ideas like the wireless charging tech which is cool for a production environment, but I don’t think it was that practical on the job site.
Jared
The “Freak” is kind of a let down for me. I’ve still got quite a few Bosch tools – I looked at it seriously for awhile.
The problem is, even though it’s advertised as BOTH an impact wrench and an impact driver, it’s a seriously underpowered impact wrench and there’s nothing outstanding about it as an impact driver.
I realize there are limits to how powerful an impact driver should be or the 1/4″ bits will start snapping. However, the Freak isn’t a class leader. It’s good enough, but good enough impact driver power doesn’t translate well to impact wrench power.
I think it would make more sense as an impact wrench (maybe peaking closer to 250ft/lbs) that has a 1/4″ hex chuck – perhaps have a switch for “impact driver” mode that limits the power. Perhaps that would make it too bulky – but some of the recent small impact wrenches don’t seem all that large.
It’s also about Freak’n time Bosch came out with something new.
Bonnie
Yeah, what none of those ads tell me is why this thing is better than just sticking a socket-bit into a regular impact driver. A quick google shows both Milwaukee and DeWalt have regular-sized impact drivers that offer more torque, so it’s not like it’s unusually powerful to support that socket driver.
Ken
I think the advantage of the 2-in-1 impact over competitors is that you will not snap impact adapters because you can just directly attach sockets to the 1/2″ drive. I don’t think folks running ultra-high torque impact drivers talk about that problem enough. The ultra-high torque impact drivers from Milwaukee, Flex, DeWalt, etc have a major shortcoming in that they produce too much power for impact adapters and routinely snap them. The best documentation that I’ve seen of this problem is from Torque Test Channel on YouTube.
In reality (as Jared mentions above), Bosch’s 2-in-1 impact does not produce enough power to snap impact adapters anyway, so the utility of the combo 1/4 hex-1/2 square driver is greatly diminished. In other words, the freak delivers sufficient power as an impact driver, but is a very weak (bordering on useless) impact wrench. I second Jared’s idea of bumping up the power to about 250 ft-lbs but also clearly labeling a switch that alternates power delivery from “impact driver” (approx 180-200 ft-lb) to “impact wrench” (say, 250-300 ft-lb).
As it stands, the freak is too big and heavy to make it an attractive impact driver, and is far too weak to make it an attractive impact wrench.
Nathan
the freak is a mediocre impact driver that weighs too much and it’s one of the weakest 1/2 impact wrenches I know of.
so hard pass.
but I have a question – per that first slide. or pic.
is the blue tools for boys and the green tools for girls? sorry but that just seems odd to see.
and finally what are all the bosch tool brands – since they toss out a number but I have a hard time remembering what they are. aside from Dremel.
Avi
You see it more in Europe, but the green line is Bosch’s homeowner line while the blue is their professional lineup.
Bonnie
https://14cyiuhvcgv.com/tool-brands-corporate-affiliations/#bosch%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
The notable brands they own are Freud/Diablo, Dremel, Vermont American and RotoZip. They also have CST, which is a big surveying tool provider.
Ct451
I’ve used drivers as wrenches and wrenches as drivers. Nothing exciting. There could be some use for this but no one is going to get 2 of these to replace 1 driver and 1 wrench. I have also used both as drills, if they want to go for 3-in-1.
I suspect the usual customers would be the ones that return an impact driver because what they really wanted to purchase was a hammer drill. I’ve witnessed this multiple times.
I bought the 12v grinder and returned it the next day. It was at a power level I had no use for.
Hugo
I get the impression Bosch USA / North America has little to no influence over the Bosch mothership and as a result of that frustration have gone rogue, focussing on strange advertising and hype campaigns that give off a hint of desperation and insult the intelligence of their customers. Bosch would be sensible to shut down the rouge North America operation and try and reboot it with sensible management, close dialog with the mothership, and tight reigns around the marketing/ad department. Unfortunately it seems the Bosch mothership seem to have instead decided stupid marketing gimmicks are a great idea, and are rolling them out in other regions now too (including here in the UK). In my view, they should focus on product development and innovation instead, and let the products speak for themselves.
Mike
I agree 100% – their marketing team and customer service is clueless as to what the European HQ is doing. Their Facebook team announced a new product and I contacted Bosch NA fir availability and they had no idea what I was talking about! I tend to follow the UK Bosch YouTube channel to get any insight.
They are loosing a lot of revenue as their tools are well built and useful features such as latest hammer drill that has kickback control and ability to detect when your drilling at a programmed angle which I used and was dead on.
Robert
Bosch as a big conglomerate seems to not be able to focus needed attention on all divisions. Besides tools and accessories, Bosch makes appliances, coffee makers, air conditioners, auto parts, even tripods. Central Bosch may simply not want to devote any of their design and management resources to North America. Especially after being burned by our (USA) legal system on the REAXX vs Sawstop lawsuit. (Sorry Canadian buddies, you get caught up in the jet wash of our much bigger market.) So Bosch NA is left to go rogue but without hardly any innovated products from home Bosch.
Stuart
That may be, but Bosch Tools USA/NA is a discrete part of their Power Tools division.
I interpreted the announcement as saying Bosch Power Tools – a distinct from the parent corporation – is what set sales records of 5.8 billion euros in 2021.
It has for a long time been my perception that regional divisions, such as Bosch Power Tools USA and Makita USA, have primarily involved marketing, sales, and customer service-focused efforts, due to most if not all of the R&D and engineering taking place overseas.
That’s not a bad thing.
USA-headquartered tool brands, such as Dewalt and Milwaukee – please don’t get started on politics here – also maintain offices and efforts overseas. There are some tools exclusively destined for foreign markets that might be primarily or entirely designed and engineered here.
Bosch NA hasn’t “gone rogue,” they’ve simply been exploring… different… I don’t know.
They’ve been different for a while.
Almost two years ago, they were featuring new products on their website, retailers were already advertising promotions, and they sent me an embargoed announcement for the same products. “you may see it pop up on the Bosch site or Amazon, but we’re asking that you please hold on any posts until [nearly 3 weeks from now].”
This was after they prioritized paid influencers and told me they lacked the budget for press/media test samples.
It is boggling my mind how Bosch Power Tools could be recording record profits when they haven’t been launching new tools – at least none that I’ve heard about – and their primary focus is on older tools and technologies (the 2-in-1 that launched a year ago, and X-lock that launched nearly 4 years ago).
As for being “burned by the legal system” on REAXX, I feel there could have been other motivations behind the table saw, even beyond testing the defensibility of SawStop’s patent protections.
https://14cyiuhvcgv.com/thinking-aloud-about-the-bosch-reaxx-table-saw/%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
With injury lawsuits including arguments about table saws lacking active injury mitigation tech being “negligently defective,” Bosch can make the strong argument that they launched a safer table saw but it was blocked by the courts.
The Reaxx was also imperfect.
Robert
Thanks. I went back and read through that post and the comments. Most thought Bosch would win the lawsuit.
Stuart
I thought it was different enough as well, but the courts determined otherwise.
Frank D
Until Bosch USA steps up to the plate and starts making serious inroads with tool availability, to get put a dent in how much their US tool selection lags behind the EU … Bosch US will always be a ” Yes, but … brand. ” Prelium price, 1/4 or 1/5 th of the tool selection?
I absolutely love my Bosch 12v tools ( started with flexi click, have them all … and know they have some of their ergonomics down better than MW ); but every time I see new MW 12v tools released or them having sales specials … I just want to go scream in a pillow.
The freak, the chameleon, … it is stupid and childish.
Get your brand loyal customers tools to buy, ideally at competitive prices.
TIM Wild
Amen! When I bought into the 12 volt Bosch line they were about equal with MW now they are so far behind I often wish I’d gone the other way even though the deciding factor for me was the ergos.
Connor
The Bosch freak has the best potential to be the best impact for a long time if they come out with something like, 2000 inch of torque built like the 20v max compact. I bought the first generation and got Screwed when it didn’t have the power to drive a small tap con. When the freak has that potential and they have a worm drive, I’ll only buy Bosch.
JR Ramos
Bosch has always been a bit of an enigma but in that regard they have really stepped it up a couple of notches in the last decade or better. I don’t think their tools get the recognition they still mostly deserve, compared to years ago (fewer competitors, smaller field, generally).
On the batteries, I would imagine it simply has to do with reducing the voltage drop under load, which is mostly achieved by lower internal resistance in the cells and a resulting slower heat buildup. I won’t claim to be any sort of expert on packs (vs. individual cell performance) or BMS magic, but this is the most likely plausible reason for “improved performance”…all 5 ft lbs of it. Never sneer at a better cell or cell chemistry, but that’s one of those bs marketing spins, imho…looks great on paper!
Stuart
When a company says that a new tool delivers “even more power,” I would expect there to be a new motor, or difference in tech.
If the difference in max torque is solely due to the battery that’s attached to a tool during testing, can’t the same battery be used to re-test the cheaper model? Shouldn’t that be what’s done?
I expect for “more power” to mean “more power,” rather than a more premium model seemingly being tested with a different battery than a budget-focused one.
JR Ramos
Yes, yes, and yes! We need more engineers and tradespeople these days and far fewer marketers. 🙂
Stuart
Yes, and no.
Shopping for industrial products and equipment has taught me that it’s sometimes good for a marketer to hold consumers’ or end users’ hands just a little bit. We need good marketers that know their products and care for end users at least as much as they care about making sales.
Harrison
I feel like Bosch just constantly own-goals themselves for no reason. It’s inexplicable really, you would think with such powerful corporate oversight, they would be more consistent with their products and marketing worldwide.
I was looking forward to their new cordless track saw, (as an opportunity to get into the superior Mafell style rail system affordably) but of course they found a way to fuck that up with the 5 1/2” blade. (Seriously, what were they thinking?)
The freak impact driver was a clever idea that they are just leaning on way too hard. It would make some sense if it fell somewhere between a driver and a compact (250ftlbs) impact wrench power wise, but no… it’s not even a particularly good impact driver.
The only good news is their new cordless 18 & 12v RO sanders. In all seriousness, they are probably the best cordless sanders on the market, simply for being a battery sander with the superior Mirka Deros-style form factor. Double win for bringing them to market at a price competitive with the awful and ungainly 18v sanders the leading brands sell.
Steve
This is what I mean when I say Bosch NA has been phoning it in for years. They keep having false starts on tool launches and end up delaying them, then canceling them. This leads to nothing new. They have been living off “The Freak” for years, and it only has so much appeal. They are losing so much ground to Dewalt, Milwaukee, and Makita, Flex is even pushing them for shelf space at Lowes. They’re almost totally falling out of Depot. They don’t have the new product launchs like Dewalt and Milwaukee aggressively have, even Makita has more new stuff, plus Flex is all new and expanding. They certainly don’t play the promo game to the extent Dewalt and Milwaukee do, even Makita has more promos than Bosch.
So I agree, I don’t know where the sales boost is coming from, unless it’s just from lapping bad years of sales during the pandemic or something. It could also be that their sales were reduced by selling off SKIL right before the pandemic and that a year with a modest recover gives them a 10% bump because sales had been so down the last few years dueto those two events. I’m just offering some ideas here.
I don’t know what it is, they have the ability to compete in the pro space and it just seems like they are doing the bare minimum to be present. They make good stuff but they should really decide to commit or withdraw. This is why I would advise people not to buy into their battery platforms and only buy corded tools from them you might have a need for.
1day@atime
Here’s a quick run down of what Bosch has delivered on in the last several years up until now. Please by all means correct me if I’m wrong. First it was the megawatt line that was announced in 2017 that never set sail. They created anime characters with cheesy names and hyped it up as if they were actually going to start producing them. Nothing happened. They released the freak and that concluded the megawatt line. Fast forward to 2018 or 2019. They announced a partnership with several different unknown tool companies to form some sort of coalition that was supposed to help Bosch do something that was battery related or something like that. I’m not quite sure. But I know nothing came of that either. At least not here in the US. Fast forward to 2019 or 2020 when they announced the profactor line which was supposed to be superior to the tools that were never released in the megawatt line. Again this line was initiated by the freak pt. 2. Except this time they actually did follow through with producing some tools to compliment their new core battery platform. I think they released a track saw and a miter saw and after that, notta. Haven’t seen or heard anything since the end of 2020. But I think I’ve finally figured out what Bosch is all about. And I like it. I respect their attitude of not giving a shit about keeping up with everyone else. Fast forward to now and what are they doing? They’re rubbing it in our face how much money they’ve made in the European market. Kiss our ass! The market is on their time. They release tools when they feel damn good and ready to. They don’t care about having eight different versions of the same tool. If you don’t like their offerings, then buy something else from a different brand. Ain’t no sweat off their back. Meanwhile they’ll be making plenty of money in Europe while you all are hating back in the US. We’ll let you know when we start to care about your complaints. And why should they care when they’re one of the largest car parts manufacturers in the world and have been for a long time. They don’t need their power tools division in order to stay afloat. Especially here in the US. Not in the least bit. That’s just a side hustle to them which explains why they don’t put much into trying to keep up with everyone else. They don’t have to. They don’t need the rat race like Dewalt and Milwaukee and the others do. Unlike everybody else, they have an entire automaker industry to fall back on as well as their kitchen appliances division which is steady booming. Nobody else has that guarantee to fall back on. The long and short of it all is that Bosch should stick to making car parts and kitchen appliances. If they want to release tools, it’s gonna be on their time. They can afford to do so.
Andrew D.
Anyone have an answer to what a “holistic” battery is? Did we go back to potatoes and clay pots?
Stuart
I think they’re talking about this – https://14cyiuhvcgv.com/bosch-cordless-power-tool-battery-system-alliances/%3C/a%3E – or similar.
chip+hershberger
Bosch the company is doing well,but when comes to tools it’s a little different .
Their corded power tools are everywhere .
D handle sds is probably #1 in sales ,same with 1617 routers,jobsite tablesaw probably #2-5,excellent jigsaws..but it falls off after that.
They are the opposite of Makita impact driver division lol… 3 months vs no more soup for you.
Now to cordless ,very good batteries from what I hear from contractor friends.
Tracksaw,and mitersaw are thought of highly .
I own the 12v planer,and bought the sander for the battery and charger.
Both are niche tools, built very well,ergonomic ,and feels like any great tool does.
So they have batteries ,and chargers which can be plugged into any grid on our planet,innovative and a diverse line-up in 12/18 volt.
Metabo (not hpt) has really pivoted from being metal related only,to making and partnership with other carpentry tools.
As part of CAS they provide batteries to Mafel ,Lamello,and several other brands including specialty plumbing for pex.
The cordless (not released yet) Lemello is going to be very big for their re name recognition .
Bosch could be in the top 4 of tools ,whether corded or cordless.
But I think Metabo will gladly fill the gap.
Ken
Bosch has several completely new tools launching in USA right now. I sent an email to the site with links and am a bit surprised they weren’t mentioned in this post.
One of the less revolutionary new releases is a 1/2″ PROFACTOR drill and it is has been available for purchase for a few weeks now. A new cordless drill driver is typically not something to get too excited about, but I think this one has some notable features.
First, it claims to have 1330 inch-lbs of torque, which I believe is only outdone by Milwaukee’s gen-4 drill driver with 1400 inch-lbs.
Second, it has kickback control, which is a relatively new feature. Reviews of Milwaukee’s gen-4 that has kickback control are not great, so I’m curious to see how Bosch’s driver performs. I’ve decided that I’m going to spring for a driver with this feature after having several close calls with dangerous kickback. I’m not a big person and don’t want to break a wrist.
Finally, the new Bosch drill has a novel “angle detection” feature which would be somewhat useful when driving structural screws which specify a specific entry angle like Simpson truss screws.
The other new tools that I sent an email about are drywall tools. To my knowledge Bosch has never offered drywall tools before, and these appear to be launching in NA at the same time as Europe.
So it does appear that Bosch is quietly working at bringing new tools to market. I’m as frustrated as anyone by their impossibly stupid marketing and apparent inattention to the NA market, but these recent developments make me hopeful that they might get their crap together.
2 in 1 shampoo? That is something my wife might think is cute. Virtually all of the tradespeople I know have very little hair (bald or shaved), and may not even be aware that there is anything but a single-stage way of cleaning hair. How could such inane marketing have been approved?!
Stuart
I saw those – thank you! – after drafting this (sorry!), and am working on gathering more info.
Josh H
I dint understand the naming thing. That seems strange to, just give me a product number and designator if its brushless.
Bosch DD 1330 (brushed)
Bosch Pro Factor DD1330 (brushless)
Something like that instead of freak, chameleon, bulldog
Stuart
They have model numbers too.
The FREAK
Chameleon
Hitman
etc are names for recognition purposes.
Sawzall
Bulldog
M18 Fuel
Profactor
High Output
FlexVolt Advantage
Atomic
These names can aid in consumer recognition, completely separate from model number differentiation all of the products have anyway.
Nathan
so did those other CAS companies already have ties to Bosch because I always thought that Mafel and Bosch were related someway.
Jim Felt
My first 10.4/12v tools were Bosch. And later a bunch of CORE batteries for 18v. I like many of their tools but at least half of mine have come from Europe or Asia directly. Not Bosch NA. That’s absurd.
Regards their warranty and repair turnaround they’re great. But that’s still absurd in the face of their otherwise dopey marketing and crummy retail channels. “Lowes”? Locally awful.
There is one trade oriented tool vendor near me that actually stocks Bosch but I’ve mostly moved on. Sad really.
Josh H
I love looking at amazon Uk for cool bosch tools.
Josh H
I own one of the 2-1 impacts, its the 1600 model. Got it for 39 bucks on clearance at lowes With battery and charger!
I also have their mid SDS, 12v router, flexi click, and i think thats it.
Its a great little tool, the deal killer for me and why i wouldn’t buy the better more powerful one is 2 handed bit insertion.
You need to push the bit in and pull back the lock ring.
After being spoiled by my M12 gen 1 and festool impact means ill never go that route.
A big plus for me and this has always been at the back of my mind but really came front and center half way through 2020 is not buying any more chinese made tools. The bosch fits that, Thailand, Malaysia, and eastern europe is where i think all my Bosch tools are made. Festool is the same(europe).
So if that’s important to you then give bosch a positive mark in that column.
Ken
I am with you 100% on the country of origin issue, Josh. Although some of my Bosch tools are made in China, they are mostly made elsewhere. Bosch and DeWalt are the only “mainstream” brands to offer power tools (not accessories) made in developed countries: USA for DeWalt, and Germany (and arguably Eastern EU countries) for Bosch.
John sharkey
I bought a Bosch straight line laser, I use it for a paperweight
Chris
I started with Bosch cordless tools in 2012. I have liked every tool and I have a lot of them. The batteries are excellent! The warranty service is excellent with Provantage. With that said, other tool makers have really stepped up their game in the past 5 years or so. Milwaukee comes to mind as a real force now in cordless tools. Bosch has fallen behind in new tools and makes it hard to shop them in the retail space. Lowes has a small Bosch display but always over shadowed by Delwalt and Craftsman. No presence at Home Depot at all. Bosch really needs to step up their game in the USA.