Bosch IXO Cordless Screwdriver, Friday, 23 January 2004
|
| Overall rating |
|
4.3 |
| Performance
|
|
4.0 |
| Build Quality
|
|
4.0 |
| Value for Money |
|
5.0 |
|
I`ll be honest, I had the money, saw the review and fancied one! The Bosch Ixo is a small 3.6V cordless driver. Its marketed as the first power tool to benefit from a Lithium ion power source and comes complete with a charger - come - stand. For your money you also get 14 driver head attachments, a pre - drill bit and a magnetic bit holder.
The construction is fairly basic being entirely composed of "shock-proof"
plastic and grip-rubber. All-in-all it seems fairly well constructed and looks
as if it could probably withstand a fair amount of abuse.
The controls are also fairly basic (how complex could a drill-driver get???). The general "pistol" design of the Ixo means that it sits very ergonomically in
ones hand with both the trigger and the direction selector making the entire design very simple/comfy to use. The Bosch`s clever small design means that its
perfect for fitting into cabinet corners and into restricted spaces. On top of the
device are two LEDs indicating the direction of operation. (nice, but probably not needed!)
In use the Ixo is very impressive. The amount of torque generated is surprising
(presumably helped by the reputation held by Li-ion technology for supplying
high current loads). This can be easily demonstrated by driving dry-wall screws
into wet pine without a pre-drill. Another useful feature of the design is that the gear-box locks when the trigger
is not activated, meaning that the Ixo can be used as a conventional screw driver to finish off those "tough screws" :-)
One down side would probably be a grumble about the hex-chuck supplied on the device. When drilling a pre-drill hole for a screw, once "reverse" is engaged (to remove the drill bit from the wood) the device easily falls off of the end of the
drill bits hex-end!. A locking chuck would have been nice (like the snappy system from trend).
I`d rate the Ixo very highly. Unlike NiCads Li-ion batteries are marketed as being "non-memory", meaning that they can be charged when not completely flat with no detrimental effects. This means the Ixo can be replaced on its charger/stand at any time, which should make it ready-to-go at any time!
In summary, cheap, lots of torque, small, good battery.
