REASONS TO BUY
Compact
Lightweight
Quiet
REASONS TO AVOID
Lacks speed
Torque of higher voltage models
Bosch PS41BN 12V Review
This mini impact gets the job done but can't compete with the premium products
RELATED: Best Impact Driver of 2024
Our Verdict
The Bosch PS41 is a compact 12-volt tool that didn't score that well overall in our tests, faltering a bit compared to the increased power of the higher voltage tools. This little impact driver is one of the quietest we have tested to date and has a fair amount of convenience features, but it fell short in our speed and torque tests. It also didn't impress us all that much with its battery life. It can handle the occasional heavy-duty fastener, but you would be far better served by a bigger impact driver if you routinely work with larger screws in harder materials.
Our Analysis and Test Results
The PS41 could be a great option for a homeowner or DIYer who only tackles the occasional renovation project. You could easily stash this impact and its charger in a kitchen or garage drawer, and it generates far less noise than other products, making your neighbors and anyone else you live with much happier.
Performance Comparison
The compact Bosch PS41BN 12V is incredibly convenient, despite its lack of performance in certain aspects.
Credit: Laura Casner
Speed
Unfortunately, the list of flaws we found with the PS41 is slightly longer than the list of attributes we found favorable. It got off to a rough start in our speed tests, taking significantly more time to drive in fasteners than the premium tools. It took this tool an average of 10 seconds to drive in a 3-⅝" ledger screw into stacked sheets of plywood and 8 seconds to set the same screw in stacked 2x12s, which is about twice as long as the fastest tools.
This impact driver simply doesn't have the power to drive screws as quickly as other competitors.
Credit: Laura Casner
The speed difference became even more pronounced in our lag bolt test. The Bosch takes over a minute to drive in a ½" x 3" screw to its full depth and 24 seconds to remove it. The fastest models we tested only took a little more than 10 seconds to drive in the screw and half that to remove it.
Torque
The PS41 also scored relatively poorly in our torque tests. It just managed to tighten a ¾-10 nut to an average of 147 foot-pounds and took 6 seconds to loosen one of these fasteners tightened to 150 foot-pounds. The top tools easily achieved double this in both tests.
This model is simply too petite to adequately handle torque-heavy jobs.
Credit: Laura Casner
Convenience
The PS41 is a fairly compact impact, allowing you to reach into tighter areas than the higher voltage tools with its shorter front-to-back distance of 138 mm. It also includes a Phillips and a common bit but has no integrated storage options. This driver also lacks different torque settings, a belt clip, and a quick-insert chuck. This means that you have to manually release the locking collar to both install and remove a hex bit when you only have to do this to remove the bit from the quick-insert models.
We like the light pattern produced by the Bosch 12-volt model.
Credit: Laura Casner
This 12-volt tool also has one of the better built-in LED work lights we have seen, thoroughly illuminating the area you are working on. There aren't any inconveniently placed shadows, and you can lightly hold the trigger to turn on the light without starting the chuck.
Battery
To rank and score the battery life of each tool, we alternated between setting 14 ledger screws and driving one large lag bolt in and out until a fully charged battery ran out. The PS41 only made it through 1.75 cycles of this before dying, with the best tools finishing over five sets.
It shouldn't be much of a surprise that a small impact driver will have a small body with equitably short battery life.
Credit: Laura Casner
Noise
The Bosch PS41 delivered by far its most notable performance in our noise assessment. This tool only generated an average of 86 decibels at the ear height of the operator while in use, measured by our SPL meter. This is considerably less than the 100+ decibels of the loudest models. However, you should always check the manufacturer's recommendation regarding the recommended hearing protection to wear while using an impact driver — even with the relatively lower noise levels of the Bosch.
Although it didn't do very well in most of our assessments, we love the size of the Bosch 12V
Credit: Laura Casner
Should You Buy the Bosch PS41BN?
This impact driver is more compact and quieter than many of its competitors, but it is far from our favorite when it comes to driving fasteners. We also weren't super impressed with its battery life. It's a good option if you care about making the least noise possible, but it still makes more than enough sound to be disruptive. Overall, we generally would recommend most people check out some other products over this one.
What Other Impact Drivers Should You Consider?
We don't think the Bosch PS41 is a particularly good bargain option since it didn't score all that well, and there are a handful of other impacts that we thought performed better and cost a bit less. Although it is a bit more expensive, the Milwaukee M12 Fuel is our choice for a professional-grade, 12-volt driver. The Ryobi P238 strikes a good balance between this and the PS41. It offers the power of an 18-volt battery at a price point that falls slightly below the M12 Fuel.
—David Wise and Austin Palmer
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