yetihunter
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- Joined
- Apr 21, 2013
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As it's been on my bucket list since it was released in Germany, I thought I'd treat myself for my birthday and I purchased the BHC 18. Monday is office work day; but I was itching to play and I have lot's of scrap on my job's property. Immediately, I found something to be amiss, and so it began: I dragged out the contenders and the battle commenced.
Metabo KHA 18 LXT BL - Advertised as delivering 2.2 J
Bosch GBH 18v-26 - Advertised as delivering 2.6 J
Makita XRH06 - Advertised as delivering 1.2 J
Festool BHC 18 - Advertised as delivering 1.8 J
As far as speed and power are concerned, they mostly lined up as advertised. However, as I had previously become aware of, the Metabo is actually equal to or more powerful than the Bosch. I'm known for hating on Metabo, but I can't deny when they deliver the goods. The build quality is good and it's light and compact for it's power class.
Let's focus on the BHC 18. The systainer insert is marvelous. There's a spot for my starmix dust collection nozzle. There's a spot forlong shorter drill bits. We're winning right there. That stuff is normally just rolling around with my kits. The BHC is light, goes off like a wild rascal, and delivers great impact energy for it's size and weight. All for one exception, this is an excellent rotary hammer.
What's the one exception? Well it would be the vibration dampening, or complete lack thereof. The Makita exhibits zero noticeable vibration, the Bosch exhibits near zero noticeable vibration, the Metabo exhibits zero noticeable vibration and, finally, the BHC 18 vibrates my arm like a rotary hammer from forty years ago. My arm is still tingling, hours later. Note that anti-vibration was old news when the BHC 18 came out; and Festool certainly advertises the anti-vibration features. However, it just does not deliver on that promise. For this reason, I am taking it back.
It's a shame about the vibration issue, because, otherwise, I'd prefer to carry the Festool around over the other units. I usually pull the tiny Makita out when on a ladder and while it can deliver 1/2" holes, it certainly takes it's time (for obvious reasons). The Festool is not as compact, but it is very small/light and much more powerful. It's a one hand rotary hammer, just as advertised..well..except..
Every other one of these SDS drills clearly has bind related shut off electronics. Metabo's is so overzealous that it actually becomes a nuissance. The Festool seems to be the odd man out. Weird for a cordless product from the 2010's, but, lo and behold, I got it to spin just like the good ol' wrist breaking drills we grew up with. This isn't really a dealbreaker for me, but just a strange exclusion that I noticed. It's actually preferred over dealing with the aforementioned Metabo.
I have to give credit where credit is due: Like the other Festool drills, controlling the speed of the BHC at the trigger level is heavenly vs the three other SDS drills I currently own.
In summary, the BHC 18 delivers on it's excellent power to weight ratio, has excellent trigger control, and a well thought out case but
just truly loses out on the vibration.
As it's been on my bucket list since it was released in Germany, I thought I'd treat myself for my birthday and I purchased the BHC 18. Monday is office work day; but I was itching to play and I have lot's of scrap on my job's property. Immediately, I found something to be amiss, and so it began: I dragged out the contenders and the battle commenced.
Metabo KHA 18 LXT BL - Advertised as delivering 2.2 J
Bosch GBH 18v-26 - Advertised as delivering 2.6 J
Makita XRH06 - Advertised as delivering 1.2 J
Festool BHC 18 - Advertised as delivering 1.8 J
As far as speed and power are concerned, they mostly lined up as advertised. However, as I had previously become aware of, the Metabo is actually equal to or more powerful than the Bosch. I'm known for hating on Metabo, but I can't deny when they deliver the goods. The build quality is good and it's light and compact for it's power class.
Let's focus on the BHC 18. The systainer insert is marvelous. There's a spot for my starmix dust collection nozzle. There's a spot for
What's the one exception? Well it would be the vibration dampening, or complete lack thereof. The Makita exhibits zero noticeable vibration, the Bosch exhibits near zero noticeable vibration, the Metabo exhibits zero noticeable vibration and, finally, the BHC 18 vibrates my arm like a rotary hammer from forty years ago. My arm is still tingling, hours later. Note that anti-vibration was old news when the BHC 18 came out; and Festool certainly advertises the anti-vibration features. However, it just does not deliver on that promise. For this reason, I am taking it back.
It's a shame about the vibration issue, because, otherwise, I'd prefer to carry the Festool around over the other units. I usually pull the tiny Makita out when on a ladder and while it can deliver 1/2" holes, it certainly takes it's time (for obvious reasons). The Festool is not as compact, but it is very small/light and much more powerful. It's a one hand rotary hammer, just as advertised..well..except..
Every other one of these SDS drills clearly has bind related shut off electronics. Metabo's is so overzealous that it actually becomes a nuissance. The Festool seems to be the odd man out. Weird for a cordless product from the 2010's, but, lo and behold, I got it to spin just like the good ol' wrist breaking drills we grew up with. This isn't really a dealbreaker for me, but just a strange exclusion that I noticed. It's actually preferred over dealing with the aforementioned Metabo.
I have to give credit where credit is due: Like the other Festool drills, controlling the speed of the BHC at the trigger level is heavenly vs the three other SDS drills I currently own.
In summary, the BHC 18 delivers on it's excellent power to weight ratio, has excellent trigger control, and a well thought out case but
just truly loses out on the vibration.
