Bosch 14.4 batteries

[rick carpenter]

"Tis the season" is coming up and I like the looks of the Bosch 14.4 impact driver -- good rep and NOT chinese made -- but I'm a little less impressed about the reviews of battery life. They are only 2.0ah and the reviews aren't great especially compared to other mfrs, but it all seems workable for what I need. With the criticism though, does anyone know if Bosch is working on higher ah batteries?

I'd buy a US made i/d if available. Thx

[Ken Garlock]

Hi Rick.

Let me suggest the Mikita 18 volt Lithium Ion impact driver.

I have several Bosch tools and yes they do make a quality product, IMO. I purchased the Mikita as an entry into the impact driver world, and I very happy with the buy. The best part is the long battery life. I don't use it everyday, but when I do, it is ready to go.

[Steve Clardy]

I use the Bosch BlueCore batteries.

[Bob Aquino]

I have the Bosch 14.4 driver along with the Jigsaw, Circular Saw and one of the older drills. I like them. Bosch is pretty much my default tool of choice. Battery like is decent, really don't have much experience to compare them with except for an older sears drill and some cheap Delta drills that I got as a freebie with a bandsaw I bought several years ago. Bosh is going to lithium batteries now, you dont even see the nicads in the stores anymore.

You could also look at the Milwaukee drill/driver pair as well as the Makita. A friend of mine got the Milwaukee and was happy with it. Its going for about 2 bills right now as the pair. Its the 18v version with lithium batteries.