One of the big power tool brands, especially in the UK, Bosch have a decent slice of the market with their two broad levels of equipment. Their “blue” professional tools and “green” DIY tools vary massively in their capabilities as well as cost. I think it’s fair to say that the PSB 1800 fits squarely in the green DIY camp. Ni-Cad batteries cannot be fully discharged (voltage below 1 V per cell). This damages the battery. The overall feeling I got from this cordless drill is that it’s all a bit underwhelming. The design is unremarkable, and the grip isn’t the best. There are a couple of little features like the direction indicator that look good but don’t add to the performance. The drill isn’t very responsive, and the uninspiring drilling speed makes for slow work.

To avoid the "memory effect" you should perform a "full recharge cycle", Run the device under the battery's power until it shuts down or until you get a low battery warning. Then recharge the battery as instructed in the user's manual.

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The same battery and charger set you get with this cordless drill will work in a range of cordless tools from trusted tool brands including Flymo and Gardena. It’s something I’d like to see more tool brands get involved with, in my opinion.

If anything, the grip is a little on the small side. I’ve got large hands, and the bottom of my palm started rubbing on the battery release button surround almost immediately. I don’t know how comfortable this will be over time, and I don’t think it would be great to use with gloves on. There’s plenty of control when it comes to torque settings on this cordless drill. Bosch have called it ScrewControl, but it’s the same principle. You get 20 different settings that control how much power you can put into a screw, to help save the surface of delicate materials you’re working on. The grip shape is fine, but it’s not as refined compared to the ones on the Ryobi R18PD3 or the DeWalt DCD796. Bosch have been a bit stingy on the rubberised sections as well, as the tips of my fingers are trying to grip on to hard plastic during use. It’s just not as comfortable as some of the other cordless drills on my list. It’s great that Bosch have included a charge level indicator on the base of this drill. It takes the guesswork out of knowing how much juice is left. It’s something that Ryobi could take on board. Right in front of the indicator is the LED work light. It’s reasonably powerful but turns off as soon as you let go of the trigger. You can, just about, run the light without turning the drill on as well, which is nice.

The PSB 1800 LI-2 lithium-ion two-speed combi from Bosch is suitable for drilling in wood (3 cm diameter), metal (1 cm diameter) and masonry (1 cm diameter) and can also be used as a screwdriver on these materials. It is conveniently cordless and always ready to use thanks to the lithium-ion technology and a 60 minute battery life. As the appliance is compact and weighs a light 1.3 kg, it is comfortable to use and won't cause your arm to ache after a few minutes. The softgrip also plays a part in making sure the drill is convenient to use. However, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. You get a decent case and two batteries to play with. These two Power Alliance batteries can fuel a range of tools by different brands, which is remarkable in the age of proprietary systems. It’s a good place to start as long as you don’t expect this cordless drill to perform like one of Bosch’s Professional level tools.