Mountain Project: Forum: Cordless Hammer Drill

Cordless Hammer Drill

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By Mulligan
From Middletown, RI
Mar 3, 2009

Hello, I was wondering if anyone has any reccomendations for cordless hammer drills. I am in the market and have heard good things about Bosch bulldog. Any advice would be really appreciated, thank you.

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By Daryl Allan
From Sierra Vista, AZ
Mar 3, 2009

Vouching for the low-cost end of the spectrum, the Dewalt 212 is a solid workhorse. That is, if you're not making a career out of route setting. If you can afford it, get a couple nano batteries. That should keep it under 9lbs.

(PS, keep that rocpec)

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By Eric Rhicard
Mar 3, 2009

Started with a Bulldog in 1986 or so and have used a number of drills and placed 1000s of bolts since then. The newest Bosch with Litheon Ion Batteries is the way to go. Relatively light weight for the number of holes (25+ 3 inch holes in hard granite) you get. This means for most 60 Meter routes you will have plenty of juice and will only need one battery. Watch ebay and you can pick one up cheap sometimes. A buddy got one for $350 and sold it to me when he decided this new route business was too much work. If you really plan to do a lot of new routes get the best. We also use this on ground up adventures. It doesn't take as much effort to engage the hammer as the Bosch Annihilater which is hard to do while on stance on steep rock. The Bulldog is slow and the batteries are nicad and not very efficient for the weight. If you are just going to drill a few holes now and then and it is really cheap then the Bulldog is not a bad way to go. Can't tell you anything about the DeWalt. Hilti makes great drills but they tend to be pretty heavy.

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By WiledHorse
From NoGo
Mar 3, 2009

ditto on the rocpec. light and reliable. curbs bolt-counts.

other than that, i use a supercharged solar-powered modified dewalt, for five second holes.

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By coop
From Golden, CO
Oct 10, 2009

Hey WiledHorse, can you post some pics or explain your "supercharged solar-powered modified dewalt"?

thanks

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By WiledHorse
From NoGo
Oct 13, 2009

coop wrote:

Hey WiledHorse, can you post some pics or explain your "supercharged solar-powered modified dewalt"? thanks

oh! all i meant was that i have external batteries on a 30' extension cord that i fifi/haul behind me (so i guess its not "cordless" ha ha), that are higher amp hours (10 Ah actually) than stock. they are 2 12V lead acid batteries in series. i also have some solar panels (of which are broken at the moment) that can slowly trickle charge the battery (not re-charge it, but make the battery act like a reservoir). i dont ever need to use the solar panels anymore due to my big batteries. all i meant by modified, was that i stripped the housing down of unneccesary bulk and weight to fit into a holster. dont have pics of the setup, but here is one of me drillin:

drillin (start of P4)
Submitted By: WiledHorse on Sep 3, 2009

btw, coop, i have used the piss out of that hammer you sold me a while ago! thanks!

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By KHall
From Nashville, TN
Oct 13, 2009

Check out the Hilti TE7A Rotary Hammer 36V LI-ION CPC 3.9Ah Drills a bolt hole in about 10 seconds. Its a little an the heavy side 10.8lbs but IMO worth the trade off. Also the new batteries seem to last forever. Ive seen one go three months w/o a charge and still put in 2 bolts and a set of rings. But be prepared for sticker shock a new one will set you back about $1700 with a spare battery and charger. Best split it with your buddies.

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By Geir Hundal
From Tucson, AZ
Oct 13, 2009

Eric Rhicard wrote:

Gotta agree with Eric. The bosch outperforms just about everything. I got mine refurbished from CPO bosch for under $450. Look up "Bosch 11536VSR".

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By Dan Levison
From Boulder
Oct 13, 2009

Gotta agree w/ KHall on this one -- the TE 7-A 36 V Li is the Rolls Royce of drills. You get what you pay for (Hilti --outlast / outperform).

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By Phoenix
From louisville, colorado
Oct 13, 2009

Geir Hundal wrote:

Gotta agree with Eric. The bosch outperforms just about everything. I got mine refurbished from CPO bosch for under $450. Look up "Bosch 11536VSR".

Spoken like someone who has experience with drills. How many different hammer drills have you used exactly? Nothing wrong with liking your chosen tool G.H., but you may need be better informed. This statement is kind of akin to writing a book ALL about alpinism after you have surmounted one peak in the lower 48. Bosch, while making good tools, stands in the mid to lower end of good (not great) tools. DeWalt would be in the higher end of this spectrum of good tools, and Hilti, as stated, is the RR of tools. These are my observations after using dozens of different make and model hammer drills (Bosch, Ryobi, Hilti, Rigid, DeWalt yata-yata-ya) in an array of different applications over the last oh, 15 or so years. As far as most people are concerned (again my observations) the performance and quality of a tool are often outweighed by cost. Climbers are more inclined to buy what they can afford, and what will get them by, rather than spend >$1k on a tool that will be around to pass on to ones' children.
EDIT- sorry R.H., I tend to come off as crass sometimes, I meant no offense.

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By Spider Savage
From Sunland, CA
Oct 13, 2009

Recommendation: Rawl hand drill. Makes you think long and hard before you drill for 15-50 minutes to place one bolt. Promotes craftsmanship.

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By Ed Wright
Oct 14, 2009

Cordless drills are expensive and heavy and you generally can't drill very many holes off of one battery. You should look into using an inexpensive 110v drill with a power inverter. You run it off a 12v marine-type battery with heavy duty speaker wire as a cord. The whole set-up should be under 400 bucks. This is how I bolt all my routes on lead without having to lug a heavy drill.

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By Mike Lane
From Centennial, CO
Oct 14, 2009

Phoenix wrote:

Spoken like someone who has experience with drills. How many different hammer drills have you used exactly? Nothing wrong with liking your chosen tool G.H., but you may need be better informed. This statement is kind of akin to writing a book ALL about alpinism after you have surmounted one peak in the lower 48. Bosch, while making good tools, stands in the mid to lower end of good (not great) tools. DeWalt would be in the higher end of this spectrum of good tools, and Hilti, as stated, is the RR of tools. These are my observations after using dozens of different make and model hammer drills (Bosch, Ryobi, Hilti, Rigid, DeWalt yata-yata-ya) in an array of different applications over the last oh, 15 or so years. As far as most people are concerned (again my observations) the performance and quality of a tool are often outweighed by cost. Climbers are more inclined to buy what they can afford, and what will get them by, rather than spend >$1k on a tool that will be around to pass on to ones' children. EDIT- sorry R.H., I tend to come off as crass sometimes, I meant no offense.

Dewalt is the most over-rated crap out there. I was around when they first emerged, they were first marketed as budget tools. Because of cost, they became popular fast. So they raised the prices but not the quality.
Hilti is by far the best anything they make out there. But, for the cost of a TE-7A you could run through 3 Bosch rigs with the separate 12v battery set ups.
I'm still waiting for the 3/8" powder activated gun Stallone used.

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By Brad Killough IV
Administrator
From hartselle, Alabama
Oct 15, 2009