Best Cordless Power Drill for Bolting on Lead

Jim Titt wrote:

I´d agree with HB here, it´s spray. The number of FA´s one has done has no relevance to the value of ones opinions regarding other peoples ascents. After all I´ve done more than double the FA´s Paul has so if I say Dawn Wall is an ice climb then it must be so. And if my buddy Gary who´s done over 4,000 FA´s reckons it´s a boulder problem then......

Yes....However its quality that relevant not quantity Where and what are your FA's   Interested . 

USBRIT Ross wrote:

Yes....However its quality that relevant not quantity Where and what are your FA's   Interested . 

Clearly that wasn´t the criteria that Chris Magness above was applying, he seemed to think it was numbers that counted;- "Not sure that many (if any)  first ascentionists  --anywhere on this planet and through history-- have established as many routes as Paul over the span of 50 years." I wouldn´t agree that quality counts either, plenty of world-class routes put up by people who´s intellectual capabilities are about the level of my dog. Pulling hard isn´t the same as thinking hard. 

I´ve put up routes in the UK, Belgium, Germany, Austria, Greece, Italy, Albania, Croatia, USA, Turkey and probably a few other places but I don´t bother too much about it all. I rarely know who put up existing routes I climb, almost certainly never met them and both their and my routes will still be there when I´m long dead.

Jim Titt wrote:

Clearly that wasn´t the criteria that Chris Magness above was applying, he seemed to think it was numbers that counted;- "Not sure that many (if any)  first ascentionists  --anywhere on this planet and through history-- have established as many routes as Paul over the span of 50 years." I wouldn´t agree that quality counts either, plenty of world-class routes put up by people who´s intellectual capabilities are about the level of my dog. Pulling hard isn´t the same as thinking hard. 

I´ve put up routes in the UK, Belgium, Germany, Austria, Greece, Italy, Albania, Croatia, USA, Turkey and probably a few other places but I don´t bother too much about it all. I rarely know who put up existing routes I climb, almost certainly never met them and both their and my routes will still be there when I´m long dead.

Well Jim Titt,I am still interested in seeing at least a few hundred of you 1000+ FA's.. They are difficult to find . I have to date only found one and that is a thirty foot sport climb in Greece... Where are they ?? ...just curious.

USBRIT Ross wrote: Well Jim Titt,I am still interested in seeing at least a few hundred of you 1000+ FA's.. They are difficult to find . I have to date only found one and that is a thirty foot sport climb in Greece... Where are they ?? ...just curious.

You aren´t very good at searching are you?

Just changed from the compact Bosch 36V to the Dewalt 20V.  Great drills and both are good for ground-up work though most of why I do is too steep to drill while free climbing.

Well Jim Titt ... maybe I am not that great at searching ....but it seems you are really good at hiding your thousands of FA's.. You could save me and anyone else who might be interested lots of searching all over your world by giving us a few clues as to your FA climbs other than your thirty foot sport climb ,that I did find>> namely "The Chimp"  ..... PS I have found over 3000 of your comments on MP ... but still only one of your FA's ??

Chris Clarke wrote: I've used both to bolt on lead and prefer the lighter one if I have a choice. But I also strongly prefer bolting from the top down if possible because I think it generally produces better routes.

This 100%

My new 18v Bosch hammer drill works great on the rock! And is super light!! I used a 36v Bosch bulldog for years and holy crap, what a shoulder workout...

The new drills out today are really efficient... i can drill as many, if not more holes with this new 18v battery/drill as i could the 36v bulldog.. plus the batteries weigh a lot less.

And as mentioned before, try rap bolting.. produces a much cleaner, usually straighter line than bolting on lead. Good luck!

USBRIT Ross wrote: Well Jim Titt ... maybe I am not that great at searching ....but it seems you are really good at hiding your thousands of FA's.. You could save me and anyone else who might be interested lots of searching all over your world by giving us a few clues as to your FA climbs other than your thirty foot sport climb ,that I did find>> namely "The Chimp"  ..... PS I have found over 3000 of your comments on MP ... but still only one of your FA's ??

Buy a copy of Sicily Rock from Gebro Verlag, there´s 150 in there, or Argolis from GeoQuest, couple of hundred in there. Or the Dorset guide or the Frankenjura guide or leaf through back copies of Climber from the UK or Klettern from Germany or Korfes from Greece or ........

Give it a rest Paul and Jim. You both have far more to contribute than this pissing match.

Jim Titt wrote:

Buy a copy of Sicily Rock from Gebro Verlag, there´s 150 in there, or Argolis from GeoQuest, couple of hundred in there. Or the Dorset guide or the Frankenjura guide or leaf through back copies of Climber from the UK or Klettern from Germany or Korfes from Greece or ........Thanks,,,.. No problem just interested ... You post a lot on MP .. thought you might post some of your climbs. Cheers  .. 

^^^ zzz  I put up hundreds of routes I just don’t post them on Mountain project or put them in Guide  books  so I don’t care if anyone knows about them or where they are lol I just take my friends there also keeps the crowds away! I got a few on here but that’s about it

Jeffrey Constine wrote: ^^^ zzz  I put up hundreds of routes I just don’t post them on Mountain project or put them in Guide  books  so I don’t care if anyone knows about them or where they are lol I just take my friends there also keeps the crowds away! I got a few on here but that’s about it

Broh, you are probably famous on Instaspray right?

I'm not hearing much Hilti. Those are the best rock drill in general, but the Panasonic EY78 is probably the best drill for bolting on lead ever made. Perfectly balanced!

Phillip M wrote:

I'm not hearing much Hilti. Those are the best rock drill in general, but the Panasonic EY78 is probably the best drill for bolting on lead ever made. Perfectly balanced!

A couple of us in Carolina used this extensively for a few years. I agree, best drill for overhead drilling that I've seen.  

Here to pile on, I’m looking to “upgrade” my 20-year-old Hilti to a newer rotary hammer drill.  For transparency I’m also looking to upgrade my home tools and go to a newer battery base, so I’m hoping it all goes together.

Brands ruled out:
Bosch due to the lack of a home tool combo kit – if I was buying just for bolting I recognize the bulldog is tried and true
Dewalt due to over quality when compared to the rest (my opinion)

That said I am torn between Milwaukee and Makita.

Milwaukee
M18 Fuel 1” SDS Plus Brushless Rotary Hammer
Model: 2712-20
Weight 7lbs (I think this is without the battery)
Link: https://www.milwaukeetool.com/Products/Power-Tools/Concrete/SDS-Plus/2712-20
Supposedly superior battery performance

Makita
18V LXT Sub-Compact 11/16” Brushless Rotary Hammer
Model # XRH06ZB
Weight: 4.6lbs WITH battery (not sure which one though as that would affect weight)
Link: makitatools.com/products/de…

I will mainly be bolting limestone and have a few routes to finish lead bolting.  Prefer to rap bolt as I believe I produce better quality routes.

I’ve seen minimal feedback on the new Makita (however the weight difference is remarkable), and no climber feedback on the Milwaukee M18.  Does anyone out there have any recent experience?   I’ve seen a fair amount of positive responses on the M12, and they are a lot lighter than the M18’s, wondering the if M18 is going to be overkill (weight and drill performance).

Thanks for your feedback.

solitudeclimber wrote: Here to pile on, I’m looking to “upgrade” my 20-year-old Hilti to a newer rotary hammer drill.  For transparency I’m also looking to upgrade my home tools and go to a newer battery base, so I’m hoping it all goes together.

Brands ruled out:
Bosch due to the lack of a home tool combo kit – if I was buying just for bolting I recognize the bulldog is tried and true
Dewalt due to over quality when compared to the rest (my opinion)

That said I am torn between Milwaukee and Makita.

Milwaukee
M18 Fuel 1” SDS Plus Brushless Rotary Hammer
Model: 2712-20
Weight 7lbs (I think this is without the battery)
Link: https://www.milwaukeetool.com/Products/Power-Tools/Concrete/SDS-Plus/2712-20
Supposedly superior battery performance

Makita
18V LXT Sub-Compact 11/16” Brushless Rotary Hammer
Model # XRH06ZB
Weight: 4.6lbs WITH battery (not sure which one though as that would affect weight)
Link: makitatools.com/products/de…

I will mainly be bolting limestone and have a few routes to finish lead bolting.  Prefer to rap bolt as I believe I produce better quality routes.

I’ve seen minimal feedback on the new Makita (however the weight difference is remarkable), and no climber feedback on the Milwaukee M18.  Does anyone out there have any recent experience?   I’ve seen a fair amount of positive responses on the M12, and they are a lot lighter than the M18’s, wondering the if M18 is going to be overkill (weight and drill performance).

Thanks for your feedback.

I haven't used either BUT, particularly for rap bolting you want to look up how many Joules of energy goes into each strike of the hammer and weight of the drill itself is very, very much a part of that energy transfer.

I was considering the 18V Bosch for awhile and used one for a few bolts and is IS super light and compact...but it only puts out ~1.0 J of energy per strike (I think the Millwaukee is the same) so it is noticeably slower to drill holes. I also think that will affect the longevity of the drill (it works harder to do less). It remains an ideal drill for fast and light missions (like the Makita might) or drilling on lead potentially.

I went with this Dewalt which was only $259 with 2 4.0 ampH batteries on Amazon:


Because it puts out 2.6 J per strike and drills up to 1/2" in granite like butta (its rated to 1" and the others only 1/2" which is indicative of their power, about half this Dewalt). The less compact geometry may be contributing to this (but its not an issue rap bolting). I can't comment on Dewalt quality yet, but I certainly would put Millwaukee at the very top, imo.

So, for rap bolting I would suggest a drill that has better power and some heft. I think you are gonna get a lot more mileage out of your batteries and longevity of the tool.

saw a more compact Dewalt model at Amazon.  Shopper Q/A says this model delivers 2.1J mechanical hammering energy per the 5amp battery.  Anybody familiar or have experience with this tool?

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00WG75AKA/?coliid=I1R0T4ZKFS0CF6&colid=WVRN0W5PL3A7&psc=0&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it

amazon.com/Bosch-GBH18V-20N…;psc=1&refRID=989G8RNWDC8RYWFJK82V

How do we feel about this product? It seems significantly cheaper than all the other options, which is obviously a pro for me. I just want to make sure that I'm choosing a quality product.

I am looking for a tool that will be primarily used for ground up trad or mixed routes. I don't need a workhorse rap bolter, I need something that will drill maybe an occasional protection bolt and some top anchors.

Thanks in advance!