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Believe the hype

Popular Mechanics’ glowing review of this drill is well deserved in my opinion. It is light, fast, well-balanced, and easy to use. Bosch’s competing model (17618-01) feels faster and stronger, but it also weighs a ton, is a bit lengthy, requires you to switch between driving and drilling modes by rotating the 25 position clutch selector all the way back to zero, and the side handle slipped around a lot on the floor model I played with.

With the 9-9/16″ Makita you can instantly flip between driver, drill and hammer modes with a little switch, hoist it above your head for extended periods of time without strain, and the forward/reverse selector is also much easier to hit. Throw in the handy depth gauge thingy and the belt clip and it’s tough to miss those extra few BPMs Bosch has to offer unless you plan on dropping your drill on concrete with any degree of frequency. I can’t comment on Bosch’s battery life claims as I did not use one long enough to wear it down, but if you really need a lot more power than this, get something with a cord.

This will absolutely not replace anybody’s rotary hammer, but if all you need to do is plant some Tapcons or knock a hole through some brick to pull cable through, it’s a wondrous jack of all trades drill indeed. I have no complaints so far.

Update (2/7/2012): This item is currently on sale here for the lowest price I’ve seen.

The featured review for this product, Makita BHP454 18-Volt LXT 1/2-Inch Lithium-Ion Cordless Hammer Drill Kit Tools & Hardware, was written by orangekay.

The average rating for this item is 4.7 out of 5 stars, according to 3 reviews.