Bosch showed off its latest tool, the RHH181 18V Compact Rotary Hammer at the 2013 CES this year. While we don’t know a ton about this new tool, we can glean a few helpful bits of information from the video we saw at this year’s event. First off, it shares quite a bot of features from the RHH180 Rotary Hammer that we reviewed last year. But, it adds a few more important features to an already-impressive tool. First, the battery system has been upgraded to utilize the newest Bosch 4.0Ah batteries with cool pack technology. These packs are really needed when you’re trying to get corded quality out of a cordless tool in this category.
The second thing we noted was that Bosch added a chip-only mode to the RHH 181. That means that when you need to do minor chipping work, like digging out an area around an electrical box, the RHH181 can take care of it without requiring you to reach for a larger tool or resort to having to use a *gasp* cold chisel and mini sledge. We were very impressed with the RHH180 Compact 18V Rotary Hammer and this tool looks to be a worthy successor.
Bosch RHH181 18V Cordless Rotary Hammer
The RHH181 has almost no significant external design changes, and continues to use an EC (brushless) motor to deliver more power and greater efficiency. In fact, Bosch claims the new RHH181 will drill 150 holes on a single charge (we’re guessing that’s roughly 1/4″ diameter). The rotary switch, which occupies the same space as with the earlier model, now includes the chipping-only mode at the right-most position.
This looks to be a great tool for those looking to reduce the amount of tools they need to bring to the job site to accomplish a majority of basic concrete drilling tasks. I can think of tons of applications that simply do not require the use of a larger tool. To be able to port around something this lightweight, and have access to these kinds of features, is a tremendous opportunity to simplify your required everyday tool-set. And when you need the bigger guns to get the job done, there’s a Bosch tool for that as well.
Check out the video:
Pricing and availability have yet to be formally disclosed so we’ll update as soon as we find out.
