Bosch GSR12V-300B22 12V Max EC Brushless 3/8 In. Drill/Driver Kit

Please note that this review is for the GSR12V-300B22, since it's grouped with the older PS32; a drill which I'll be directly comparing this one to.The GSR12V-300B22 improved on the PS32 in three key areas (in no particular order):- It's shorter front to back by about 1/2". One of the reasons I love the Bosch's 12v line is because the tools are truly compact and light. They're not trying to compete with the 18v class, so the tools are sized appropriately, while still having amazing power to size/weight ratios.- The motor is more powerful and faster. Manufacturer torque specs should always be considered a general guideline, and not gospel. The truth is, in normal use, most 12v drills by any of the major competitors will do the job needed of them. Some will be slightly slower, some slight faster, etc. So I don't really read too much into torque specs in the 12v range. What matters the most to me is usually the feature set. Now all that said, the GSR12V-300 is most definitely more powerful than the PS32. It doesn't have to work as hard to drill the same size holes, and driving screws is noticeably faster and with more "oomph" when they sink. This is also due to the drill having higher top speeds in both gears. The top speed in low gear (460rpm) is perfect fro driving screws; Slow enough so you have plenty of control when sinking a screw below the surface of whatever material you're working with. I realize the clutch is a more refined way of setting fastener depth, but I never bother using it; I just keep the drill on the "drill" setting, which completely bypasses the clutch. High speed is fast enough so smaller drill bits drill clean holes without clogging that much (some chip removal will always be necessary with a drill). Now keep in mind that, while the PS32 handled everything I threw at it, these improvements in the GSR12V-300 are very welcome.- The handle has a nice rubber grip overmold. on the GSR12V-300 Whoever decided that the PS32 (and other drill/drivers in the ec brushless line) should have no rubber grip, save for a strip on the middle of the handle, seriously deserves to spend the rest of their working days flipping burgers. That's probably one of the worst design and functional decisions ever made. It never bothered me that much on the PS32, but after using the GSR12V-300, and then the PS32, it's a huge difference in comfort and usability. If the PS32 wasn't such a well-performing tool, I would have bought a different drill.Other things to note:- The chuck on the GSR12V-300 is a ratcheting chuck; the chuck on the PS32 is not. I much prefer a ratcheting chuck.- The charger is a new design. It does the job just fine. The single wire obviously isn't as durable as the standard plug that came on the old charger (BC330), but I do like that the transformer was moved out of the body of the charger and in a power brick instead. The new charger stays much cooler than the old charger in use. There are no wall mounting holes on the new charger, sadly. The same applied to the old charger. I used 3M foam mounting tape to wall mount the new charger. The body of the charger is so light that this was a very easy task.- It comes with a few 2" impact tough power bits in one of their red bit storage clips that go in their storage cases (CCSCL and CCSCM). I really like these impact tough bits; I have a bunch of them and they work great. They're very affordable too; for the best savings, grab one of their kits that includes one of the above mentioned cases and a bit assortment.- It comes in the same soft-sided case as most of bosch's 12v tools. Nothing fancy or special; they do the job. I do prefer a larger hard case with custom cut kaizen foam for storage though.- It comes with two 2.0Ah batteries. In EU this ships with 3.0Ah batteries. This is kind of a slap to the face. Any newer 12v tools should be shipping with the 3.0Ah batteries. It's not a huge deal; I just sell the 2.0Ah batteries and wait for a sale on the 3.0Ah batteries and grab a couple. But really, this drill should be shipping with 3.0Ah batteries.- The forward/reverse feels ever so slightly mushier than the PS32. The difference is definitely minute though. Nothing to worry about IMHO.- The light on the front of the GSR12V-300 is more white in tone the PS32, which has a yellowish cast to it. Nothing major, but a welcome change.- With a 3.0Ah battery, the GSR12V-300 is half an ounce heavier than the PS32. Not even noticeable really.Thanks for reading and I hope this helps!

Update: I bought this drill months ago and certainly liked it. But since I didn't have the chance to use it under different conditions, I only gave it 4 1/2 starts. But after using it to put together a vegetable garden, make a garden door, and do a few more projects requiring both a drill and a driver, I now give it five stars! Used one battery for 4 1/2 hours doing both drilling, as large as 1/2" and driving screws into hard wood. Shockingly, this little tool worked very well! I have been keeping both batteries charged, but it was so nice to keep reaching for this well balanced tool that could keep working when I needed it. It has two things that are not perfect, the keyless chuck really needs to be cranked down or the drill or driver bit can come out. But this is not uncommon for all these types of tools. The only other issue is the direction switch. It can sometimes move when you don't want it to. But again, I don't think this is too uncommon. But the positives certainly outweigh the negatives!Bought this drill after trying some other higher powered units. This drill has two distinct advantages over the competition. First, the quality of the chuck is superior in that it is nicely centered. The others when using a smaller drill bit would wobble like crazy. This one is not 100% centered, but significantly better than the others. The second advantage is the overall size and weight with the battery installed. Since the battery is designed as a continuation of the handle grip, it makes it nicely balanced and not too heavy. The things that bring it down one star is the longevity of the battery and the reversing switch. The battery is slightly under powered for bigger jobs, impacting running times, although it really isn't that much of a problem since you get two and they charge quickly. Also, it is hard to complain too much about this issue since the size of the battery is also a positive, so really a trade-off. The reversing switch is easy to move when the drill is not operating and because if its location high up on the grip, it is fairly easy to accidentally hit it. But the motor is very strong, it is great at drilling and if you keep it in drill mode, you can torque drywall screws into hard wood, so it does have good power for its size.

I use this in an industrial cleanroom environment, for driving tiny screws with lots of buttons and allen heads. They are approx 4-40 screws with some smaller or larger. I generally don't use this tool for much else. I consider it a precision instrument.-This is about 24 hours of work use per week. The battery last about 4 weeks at these low speeds and soft driving.-But it's the CONTROL at these low speeds that makes this a specialist tool. It really, really is precise. The brushless motor combined with some slick hardware and obvious progamming makes this such a pleasure to use. Did I mention how much I love the control of this tool? The on/off and slow speed is amazing compared to other drivers.-The weight isn't overly bad, but I wouldn't call it "light" either.-Speaking of light, the LED is a nice touch, but like most tools today, it's anemic. Not really important to me.-The clutch assembly seems reliable. This is very important with pulling out, and putting in tiny screws.-The included charger and two batteries are perfect. I keep one charged, and only charge them after draining them on a job. This leaves me with a topped off battery all the time.-The bag is incredibly nice for a drill, but it's too large for my particular environment. I just keep it in approved bags inside a work box.This is one of my most highly recommended tools ever on Amazon.