When I was shopping around for a cordless combo kit Bosch was offering a free jigsaw and also a mail-in certificate for a free accessory with their 4-piece set. I chose a third battery as the free accessory because you can never have enough batteries when working with cordless tools. Also influencing my decision to purchase Bosch tools was the great reputation that their corded tools have. Plus you never see their cordless stuff on jobsites, and I wanted to stand out from the typical Dewalt user. I will be comparing these tools to Dewalt's because that's what I've used the most before this purchase.

Let's start out with the tool I use most, the hammerdrill/driver. It was the biggest disappointment in the whole kit. The auxiliary side hande would be a great addition to the tool if it actually worked. There is no way to attach it in a stable and safe manner due to the lack of notches or anything for it to grip on to. In fact, it seems as if the more you tighten the handle in place, the more likely it is to slip off. I think this is a huge safety issue, and I can't believe Bosch would sell such a cheap thing. As for the rest of the drill, it only has 2 speed settings, where Dewalts have 3. And compared to the Dewalt, Bosch's drill is extremely heavy and it's max rpm seems very slow. It does have a lot of torque, and works pretty good in hammerdrill mode.

The reciprocating saw was also a disappointment. At first it seems like a great tool with a lot of extras like 2 stroke length settings, the toolless blade clamp, and the pushbutton foot adjustment. The blade clamp is a joke compaired to Dewalt's. The blades seem to get jammed in there a lot and you can't undo the clamp without a pair of pliers. Overall, this sawzall vibrates way too much, and the dual stroke settings don't help this at all. Cutting metal conduit and threaded rod is a pain because this thing bounces all over the place. I think it has to do with the speed of the strokes, just like the drill it doesn't seem to have the speed of a Dewalt.

The circular saw is great. The only complaint I have is that it eats batteries very quickly. But this is a problem for all corless circular saws, and I would say that I like the Bosch better than the Dewalt corless saw.

The flashlight is a flashlight like all the others, but Dewalt's snakelight can be a lot more usefull. But I've seen a lot of those where the neck goes limp and then they become useless.

The jigsaw seems like a great tool but I haven't used it enough to give it an honest review. Bosch is known for having quality woodworking tools and this seems to be of very high quality.

The tool bag seems like a great idea but I began to dislike it after a while. There is almost infinite room for all your accessories but it just doesn't protect the tools like a hard case would. And as big as the bag is, it doesn't seem nearly big enough when all the tools are stuffed in it. Another thing I didn't like was the 1-hour charger that comes with the kit. Yeah it charges the batteries in about an hour, but it doesn't begin the charge until the battery cools down. Supposedly this is preserve the long life of your batteries but it is impractical in the real world. If you've just killed your battery using it, chances are it's too hot to be charged. So if it takes 1 hour for the battery to cool and another hour to charge, it's actually going to be 2 hours before that battery is charged and ready to use

So in conclusion, after about a year of using Bosch's cordless tools, I still feel I should have just stuck with Dewalt. In all fairness, I don't believe Bosch has been making cordless tools all that long and I'm sure they'll be making improvements over time.

I ordered this combo set back in July 2004 from Amazon based on reviews, an extra battery pack rebate, free shipping, and my experience with other manufacturer's products. I had the same problem as G. Shaw with the jigsaw. It smoked and stopped while working a fairly simple job. Thankfully I still keep my old corded tools around for just such occurrences. What really sets companies apart though is how they treat their customers.

We live in Ocean Springs MS and had decided to ride out hurricane Katrina at home which is several miles from the coastline. We have a bayou about a quarter mile from the house, but I have never worried about that as we are 20 - 25 feet above sea level. I had put my Bosch cordless tools and my portable tool box that holds my Craftsman's hand tools in the trunk of our car that was parked in our garage. I figured we would suffer wind and roof damage from Cat 3 winds and that would be the extent of our problems. However, around 10 AM Monday, Aug 29th, I found myself standing at my living room door with water up to my waist. Well to make a long story short, we lost 3 vehicles and the use of two homes, as my Mom is also my next door neighbor. It was several days before I could get to the tools and I thought they might have survived because the car appeared to be floating as I prepared my wife for moving into the attic -- Wrong. I found that my Bosch cordless tools and several batteries were severely corroded and the tool box was full of water. Lacking power, since the generator had been under water also, all I could do was let the tools air dry while I dealt with more pressing issues like throwing out furniture, carpet and saturated drywall.

Nearly 2 months after the storm with both houses in various stages of repair, I began looking at getting my tools repaired. I contacted Bosch and they gave me an address to ship my tools to for a "no charge inspection." I was at the post office the next day with my tools. Within a week I had my tools back, some were serviced and made like new and in the case of the drill, which had major problems, I got a replacement that looks either new or very near it. They even threw in a replacement battery. I really appreciate this type of service and it speaks well of the company. I can't speak of what other companies may be doing for its customers in similar circumstance, but Bosch treated me very well. As a homeowner and handyman, I always try to get the best value for my money and I think I made the right decision to go with the Bosch cordless tools. Thanks Bosch.

I've had this kit for about a year. The jigsaw recently quit on me (after minor use), I could smell something in the motor burning. The power drill hand-tightened chuck seems loose and does not grip the bits well. The saw bits do not lock into the reciprocating saw well (they were third party bits though). And the circular saw is underpowered. The bag doesn't seem to be made for the kit either, it is too small with odd pockets. Next purchase will probably be DeWalt.

**Update**

This Bosch kit came with a 3-year "Proadvantage" warranty (which is a very good deal). Customer service was superb. I'm currently waiting on my jigsaw replacement now. So I'll upgrade my review from 2-stars to 3-stars.

The product, whose value won't be determined for years as the test would be time, was delivered in two days and beat all competitors prices.

I bought the combo kit with bonus jigsaw, and the killer addition of a bonus impact driver. What a deal with Amazon's additional $25 off and free shipping. The local Bosch rep lives near me and travels around with the Bosch Bash truck doing promos at local hardware stores. He had a Bosch Bash special on this setup, but couldn't touch the Amazon deal- he said it was below cost.

It took 2 months to get the impact driver which was free after mail-in 'rebate.' It is a sweet tool for installing cabinets, and in general, working on things that don't need the size and muscle of the 18v hammer driver.

As others have said, the saws eat volts, but I've cut a ton of plywood and siding with the circ saw, and it works great. Just goes through batteries quickly. I rarely pull out my corded tools, but I'm doing remodeling around my own house- so I'm not using them as hard as a contractor would- for sure. I love the recip saw. I've used it a ton already- everything from cutting steel to notching trusses, to trimming tree branches that would have been a pain to get to with a corded saw.

A 15 minute charger would be nice, and a third battery.

I love my cordless bosch combo, and my Bosch 4412L SCMS, and hope to soon add a Bosch table saw to my garage.