Bosch RH540 1-9/16-inch Rotary Hammer With Best-In-Class Impact Energy

Bosch is introducing two variants of the RH540 1-9/16-inch rotary hammer that they say deliver the fastest drilling and the hardest hits in their class. Both SDS-Max(RH540M) and Spline(RH540S) models will hit stores in February 2014 at a suggested price of $419.

With 6.1 foot-pounds of impact energy, the RH540 delivers 38% more impact energy than previous Bosch models and up to 20% more impact energy than competitors in the same class. What's more, drilling speed has been improved with up to a 50% increase over previous Bosch models and up to a 10% edge over its competitors.

At 12 amps, both variants offer users variable speed control from 1,200 to 2,750 blows per minute that can be switched between hammer drilling and chiseling. A Vario-Lock mechanism also makes it possible to rotate the chisel into 12 different positions to allow for greater comfort during operation.