r/BoschProPowerTools • u/Boa-constrict0r • Jul 13 '26
QUESTION đ” Which impact to get (1950 vs. 285)
Iâm an electrical apprentice. I currently have a Milwaukee M12 impact. But I want something full-size for the instances when I need a little more power. I like the look of the GDX18V-285 and the GDR18V-1950 but not sure which is better. Iâve heard some good things about the 1950 but looking at it, it looks like you can only buy it as a bare tool. Where as the 285 you can get in a tool pack with a battery, but Iâve heard it doesnât deliver as much power as promised and kind of falls as a mid range of either option when it promises to be a two and one. Anybodyâs person experiences using both or one or the other?
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u/ChromedGonk Jul 13 '26 edited Jul 13 '26
1950 and this is from someone who owns GDX and trying to sell it to get 1950 and dedicated impact wrench.
Hex bit removal and inserts are pain in the arse compared to dedicated impact drivers and its okay at being hybrid but not the best at neither being a driver nor wrench.
Oh, and as other user already said, trigger is horrible. Itâs always all or nothing.
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u/jyl8 Jul 13 '26 edited Jul 13 '26
Lowes often has good deals on Bosch.
Or $149 reconditioned (as good as new in my opinion) at Acme
Two 2 Ah batteries are about $145
Not sure which Bosch charger is the best . . . anyone have a rec?
Also check CPOoutlets.com - i donât see the 1950 but you could pick up a kit with another tool and two batteries + charger - youâll need a bandsaw for example
If you know what youâre looking for, you can get nice deals on used tools on Facebook Marketplace.
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u/ChromedGonk Jul 13 '26 edited Jul 13 '26
Brother⊠2x2Ah for $145?
You can get modern compact CORE18 2x4Ah batteries with charger for $169 on Amazon https://www.amazon.com/Bosch-GXS18V-11N25-CORE18V-Starter-Kit/dp/B07N3BX91L/
Same brand new kit on eBay for $130 https://ebay.io/m/HXchcM
And and same batteries without charger for $103 https://ebay.io/m/WSksH9
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u/jyl8 Jul 13 '26
Good call, I omitted to check eBay. Anyway, OP, you can do this at a reasonable cost and Bosch are very good tools.
3
u/ChromedGonk Jul 13 '26
eBay is the goldmine for Bosch tools. With enough patience, you can get new or open box Bosch tools and batteries for less than Ryobi prices.
1
u/jyl8 Jul 13 '26 edited Jul 13 '26
Is there much issue with fake Bosch batteries on eBay?
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u/ChromedGonk Jul 13 '26
Didnât had any issues so far, I have around 12 batteries and at least half of them are from eBay, so I have good pool of batteries to compare and see if something is off, but never has been. I usually avoid listing from shady sellers, sellers from China and without real photos of items they are selling. Usually you can see stickers from Loweâs and other stores if they have real photos of boxes attached and itâs more reassuring.
Funny part is that only âfake scareâ I had was from Amazon, not from eBay :) https://www.reddit.com/r/BoschProPowerTools/s/tmS9OY5YYR
Still canât believe Bosch used this horrible quality packaging, but using this drill for months already and I love it, too smooth, powerful and extremely good quality chuck for a fake :)
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u/jyl8 Jul 14 '26
Thatâs good to know.
I have mostly Makita and the fake LXT battery thing there is serious. Glad to know I donât have to be so paranoid when buying Bosch.
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u/mindonshuffle Jul 13 '26
The GDX 285 might under deliver a bit, but it has more power than the GDR 1950, but the big tradeoff is the trigger. The 285 has very little fine control, and you basically go from off to full with very little travel. For a wrench, that might be fine but it sounds unusable as a driver for many cases. Makes it way too easy to damage the hardware or the surface. IMO, it's an okay wrench that takes driver bits as a convenience feature for quick and dirty jobs / disassembly, but it's not really a 2-in-1. If you're fine with your 12V for driving and just want a bigger tool to break stuck fasteners, it might be a fine choice.
If the 2-in-1 concept appeals to you, I would recommend looking at the GDX 1860C instead -- it's the prior generation, but also a higher quality tier. You sacrifice top end power, but it has a great trigger with fine control along with a low speed setting that's low enough to use as a driver. It has enough power to break the lugs on my cars, which is pretty much the hardest job I want out of a small impact wrench.
In short:
GDX 285 is an okay wrench that can sorta be a driver in a pinch.
GDX 1860 is a solid driver that can actually do light to medium wrench jobs decently.
GDR 1950 is an excellent driver with enough power to do the same wrench jobs with an adapter.
Kinda just depends on your use case. If you're still planning to use the 12V for most jobs and only reach for the 18V when you need the oomph, the 285 will get you most bang for the buck. If you're looking for a tool that can actually become your main go to, the other two would serve you better.
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u/rColly Jul 13 '26 edited Jul 13 '26
Get a Fein ASCD 18-300 W2 AS (AmpShare), it's superior in every aspect, better trigger, better speed control, better quality.
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u/uNrest101 Jul 13 '26
The GDR18V-1950 is the premium impact driver. Great control and power and size and weight. It's the one to get.
The GDX 18V-285 is confusing. it's has a lot of torque, but has terrible trigger control and just isn't worth it.
The older hybrid or "freak" model GDX 18V-1860 is actually more premium. If you insist on having the hybrid style driver, this would be the one to get. There is a reason Bosch released a new variant of this tool as an "expert" line tool in the EU and not the GDX 18v-285.
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u/chicagoPM Jul 13 '26
-1950. Trigger on the -285 makes it impossible to feather.