Bosch 13618 18 Volt Brute Tough Hammerdrill

 (5 customer reviews)

I have owned one of these for about 2.5 years and so far no serious complaints as this has been a consistently reliable tool. It has more than justified its high price with its solid performance--for most small masonry applications this drill has proven itself more than adequate. I have been in situations where I have had to really abuse this tool--drilling 1/2" holes in aged cement and while this tool couldn't keep up like a corded it still hasn't died. Oh, and these 18v batteries will work in my 24v Bosch tools, but their 24v batteries will not work in this 18v drill.

The batteries leave something to be desired and the weight still feels excessive to me for 18v--I purchased the 18v instead of an 24v SDS because I don't have masonry applications that often and would like a full-size drill that could handle the infrequent times when I would have to drill brick or concrete, but still be light enough for general use. That said, I have the 24v jigsaw and circular saw from...Read more

I am an electrician, and have generally used a makita 1/2" drill for all my frame drilling. I purchased the bosch 18v brute and have been doing a lot of reno's recently. Drill has enough torque to blow through several side by side 2xwhatever, but the torque settings occassionaly get nudged because they are close to where you grad the drill, same with the forward/reverse. Also a little wobble on the chuck, not sure if this was factory or developed since I used it, but it does concern me. And I have a new duplex coming up, and want to give the cordless a try to drill out the entire thing, more to come on that. I like the rubber grips, and after several uses the battery seems to hold for some decent workload. Havent given much of a run on the hammer drill with it, what I have done, it seems fine, just 3/16 and 1/4 stuff.

I am a dealer for Basement Systems, Inc of Seymour, CT. which means I spend the better part of the week in dirt crawlspaces, drilling into predominantly block walls, but occasionally, concrete footings. This tool gets dropped in the dirt, is used in high humidity areas, and generally worked hard. I had been using DeWalt 18V 1/2 inch hammer drills, but their triggers gave me problems. I also use a 24V Bosch, and so far, these drills have proven durable, powerful, and effective. A tool repairman in this area told me he rarely sees a Bosch tool, but fixes DeWalts often.