Bosch Bulldog Xtreme 1/2" Review

BOSCH BULLDOG XTREME 1/2 IN. X 10 IN. X 12 IN. SDS-PLUS CARBIDE ROTARY HAMMER DRILL BIT

Over the last 20 years we have used more Bosch concrete bits than any other brand. Part of it is availability and part of it is the quality. Bosch invented the Bulldog Xtreme SDS system as well as the larger SDS max system. They allow for a much more secure connection to the drill and better performance and lifespan while drilling concrete.

There haven’t been many changes to SDS plus bits in the past several years. Manufacturers may change the hardness of the carbide for longer life in certain conditions or the angle of the flutes to more effectively pull dust out of the hole. For the most part though they have been really similar in design. Even comparing different brands you will see they are all essentially the same. You will have the sds portion at the top. Then the shaft will be a helix design with flutes at varying degrees and then the tip will be a thin piece of pointed carbide brazed to the end. There really isn’t anything wrong with this design. It has proven itself to be effective for decades.

Even though the SDS plus bits look very similar to regular hammer drill bits they are very different in performance and life span. SDS bits turn much slower than regular hammer drill bits so they run much cooler. This means they will suffer less damage from heat. This in turn gives greater life span even though they are made from the same materials as regular hammer drill bits. Namely carbide, steel and bronze.

A few years ago a few manufacturers started to offer full head carbide SDS plus bits. They were designed to last longer than the tried and true design of a thin slice of carbide at the end. They were supposed to have greater impact protection and overall life span.

One place that really needed attention was bit life while drilling reinforced concrete. Rebar has been the death of untold concrete bits. It is a very hard metal. When a bit strikes the metal it can easily chip or shatter the carbide tip. It can also break the whole tip off. Even if it is a full head carbide tip. This is especially so if the tips are brazed to the shaft. Sometimes the bit will barely glance off the rebar. Other times it will bind and break.

Bosch full head carbide to the rescue

The new Bosch Bulldog Xtreme bits are such a big step up. They are full head carbide but they are very different. Instead of using a soft material to try to basically glue (braze) two materials together they are actually welded. This makes for a very strong, reliable connection. It means that when drilling concrete and you hit rebar, the Bulldog X-treme will keep going rather than breaking like most bits.

We were able to see the difference first hand at world of concrete. Not only were we able to drill through rebar reinforced concrete. We were also able to run an extreme test. The test was to run the Bosch Bulldog Xtreme bit in a very unforgiving steel pipe tip to tip against the competitors full head carbide. The results were astounding. Within seconds or less the bulldog Xtreme bits were ripping the heads off of the competitors bits. They were so much tougher that we could keep changing out the competitor bits and just keep running the Bosch Bulldog Xtreme bit. Time after time the Bulldog Xtreme would win going point to point.