Bosch GSA 1300 PCE Professional 060164E200

The Bosch brand is a leader in the production of high-quality equipment, and hand-held power tools in its list are no exception. The 1300 PCE reciprocating saw is professional equipment for many hours of daily use in harsh conditions.

Perfect ergonomics

The device is quite compact and weighs not so much — 4.1 kg. Due to the rubberized inserts on the case and the movable handle, it sits comfortably in the hands and does not tyre during prolonged use. In addition to the passive vibration damping system, there is also an active one — the mass balancer.

Thanks to the hinge, the sole can change position depending on the angle of the surface and is fixed in three positions to adjust the depth of cut.

For convenient hanging of the tool, a metal folding hook is provided in the upper part of the body, and for comfortable work in poor lighting conditions, there is a spot diode backlight. The manufacturer also took care of the length of the cord. Here it is as much as 4 metres, and the wire itself is flexible, soft and durable.

High performance

If everything is on top with ergonomics, there are questions to the technical part. I did not like the lack of fixation of the start button during operation. And this despite the fact that there is a blocking of this very button from accidental pressing. For the saw to work, the button must be kept pressed all the time. The cutting speed has to be adjusted by pressing, as on cheaper models.

A powerful 1300 W motor with Constant Electronic electronic stabilization system maintains the speed even under heavy load, that is, there is no practical difference between idling and under load. Having such a useful option, it is not clear why it was not possible to add the ability to select preset speed modes in it.

However, this, perhaps, "flaws" end.

Thanks to the pendulum action paired with a powerful motor, the saw shows high performance, easily sawing wood with a thickness of 220 mm and metal pipes with a diameter of 175 mm. With high-carbon steel, the matter is more complicated — here a cutting depth of less than 20 mm is possible. When cutting metal pipes, it is necessary to ensure that the working length of the blade is greater than the depth of cut, and the knife is not recessed, otherwise there is a risk of jamming.

The saw comes with a convenient branded case with metal locks and two blades for wood and metal.

The Bosch GSA 1300 PCE Professional is estimated at almost 300 USD, which, in general, is not expensive for the brand, but you can’t call such an optimal ratio of price to parameters either.