I bought this drill about 6 months ago. My old hammer (non SDS) drill was a BOSCH Skill. Like all SKill stuff I personally think they are pretty crap and this drill proved my point, after a year of DIY use there was a burning smell coming from it and the reverse function didn't work. I have a skill screwdriver which was useless so binned both and bought a 18V makita Li-On, SDS Titan 6KG. Both brilliant in their own right but need a small SDS to complete my drilling needs. i only bought the Bosch pro version because I found it cheap on ebay.
Initial impression
Actually a initially wanted a slightly more powerful drill like the GBH 2-23 (550W) or the GBH 2-26 (800W) but opted for the smaller due to it's price
Initial impression is that is a stumpy, "meat and 2 veg" type drill. Casing looks nice and strong and certainly looks like it can take a knock moreso that the green version. Has a forward/reverse function, SDS on or off , handle and depth stop and that's it. One feature I noticed it didn't have was a roto stop or vari-lock feature like the 500W Bosch green. I think that drill may also have a on-board tool holder, which I think is pointless
The depth stop is a cheap plastic thing which surprised me and is actually identical to the depth stop on my old SKil drill. Its completey useless as it waves all over the place when drilling in SDS mode. I actually suspect that it is not the original one as looking at the pictures it seems to come with a metal one of sorts.
Use in practice
Main feature is that it is easy to use one handed. The handle is a bit redundant and it soon got tossed back in the box never to be use again. The switches are nice and strong
I almost exclusively use it for masonry drilling as the makita cordless does everything else. I have messed about drilling 52mm core hole in 18mm ply (this is where the handle may be useful). I like the long 3 or 4m cord that is supplied with it.
In masonry/brick its excellent for 5 - 10mm holes. Bosch claims that it drill 18mm masonry but I'd say it would struggle at hard brick. Nevertheless you could drill 12mm and then enlarge if you were a DIYer putting on a heavy rad or sat dish.
It does work OK for screw driving but not ideal at all as its all too easy to speed up too quickly
The real benefit for a DIYer is its use as a generally light / medium drill, which is almost all his tasks. I attached batons to my ceiling a while ago to insulate one room of my flat. Was very easy to hold the baton and drill with the other hand. Would be very tiring to do this with a heavier drill
I cannot really justify buying Bosch blue for even heavy use DIY but often you can get pro versions of tools at not a lot more that DIY versions on ebay as there is usually a sale on somewhere. I am very happy that I actually bought the smaller drill and its excellent for tight spaces where you can only get one hand in at it. Most DIYers I think are tempted to buy more powerful in case they need it but my view is to get tools that complements each other. The green version of this drill (PBH 2000 RE) looks a bit silly and could be a problem in tight spaces
I would not recommend a SDS as your one-and-only drill, perhaps the green version non-SDS (PSB 650)
Overall
Well worth the money that I paid for it. I would not have paid the screwfix price. I would only recommend it for a heavy use DIYer is (a) you can get one cheap (b) you have other dills to complement this one and (c) you appreciate a well made machine.
Recommended (8/10), depending on other drills you have.
