Full Name: Bosch Impactor PS40-2 10.8V
Weight: 2lb 2oz
Height: 6in. Length: 6.5in
RPM: 1,800
Torque: 800 in-lbs
Batteries: Litheon.

When I first starting using drills to set and strip with, the gym I worked for supplied an 18V hammer drill that just about blew my shoulder off every day. I fought through the pain and the almost constant fear of being pulled off my ladder because using the drill was way faster than turning a little T-wrench on hundreds of holds a day.

In the end the only thing I got from the hammer drill was massive shoulders and a hatred for heavy tools. So when I heard about a “drill” that weighed as much as the battery of that hammer drill I was intrigued.

The Bosch Impactor is that “drill” and is the newest generation of impact drivers that are starting to revolutionize routesetting. (Read a previous article on impacts.) And I wanted one. So recently before heading off to Vail for the Teva Games World Cup I picked up the Impactor at the local hardware store for just under $200. What better way to test a new tool than six days of knarly setting and re-setting in all conditions?

The first thing one notices about the Impactor is its size. At 2.2 lbs it easy to forget that you’re holding a power tool. At no point in the week of setting did my arms or shoulders fatigue from holding up the tool. This is the lightest and smallest impact in the World (that’s no exaggeration, that’s fact).

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