Bosch 11224VSR 7/8" D-Handle SDS-plus Rotary Hammer

The first thing you'll notice about Bosch's rotary hammer is its great ergonomics, which clearly were a major consideration in the design of the hammer. The grip and trigger mechanism are well integrated, especially the front grip, and long enough to accommodate different body styles (I've got long arms; my buddy is the opposite: we both liked the tool's feel). For a rotary hammer, design is especially critical during overhead and down-drilling operations, where fatigue can quickly rear its ugly head. The tool's vario-lock positioning is great; it gives you 36 different working angles to choose from so you can modify the tool to fit the application. Likewise, the hammer offers three operational modes: hammer only, rotation only, and hammer with rotation. Are there drawbacks? Not many. The bit-changing mechanism is a little stiff and a little cumbersome, perhaps--but that's a pretty minor negative in a tool that otherwise provides such pleasant operation. The people at Bosch really know what they're doing, and it shows in this tool. --Michael Shilling