Why Ryobi? Why Not?

[fm2176]

The fact I'm starting this thread hints at my newly acquistioned Ryobi tools.  Anyway, as with the DeWalt, Ridgid, and Milwaukee threads, what prompted you to make your first Ryobi purchase?  If you don't own any or are simply uninterested, why?

 

Ryobi has stepped up their game big time since they ditched the low-grade blue and decided to cater to budget-minded people, both professionals and homeowners.  

 

Ryobi Days finally got me, with the 3Ah starter kit and free pole saw.  I've got a fair amount of yardwork to do tomorrow and needed a pole saw.  DeWalt doesn't offer one that I know of, and even if they did it likely wouldn't be available locally.  To be honest, the 18v glue gun has interested me since its release, so its current reduction in price just made the purchase a little easier.

 

We'll see if I revisit this thread in a few months; there are few tools Ryobi offers that I don't already have in other TTI brands or Yellow, but the caulking gun and a few others might be too tempting to pass up.  I also plan to pick up a 2-pack of the 6Ah batteries before June 20th (the last day of the promo).

[Jronman]

The reason I don't buy Ryobi is because I preffer higher end brands.

[fm2176]

2 minutes ago, Jronman said:

The reason I don't buy Ryobi is because I preffer higher end brands.

 

Pride gets me as well, which is why the bulk of my tools are XR or Fuel, but sometimes we can't overlook sheer value, or the fact that a tool simply isn't available in a "premium" brand.  I initially invested in DeWalt's premium tools before being enticed into Milwaukee.  Later, I realized that some tools such as a router and sanders weren't available unless I "downgraded" to Ridgid or Ryobi.  My Ridgid versions are perfect for my needs (bought another router today as well) and turned me on to the prospect of owning TTI's least expensive brand.

 

I'll find out how the pole saw works tomorrow.  In a way, I wish I weren't so prideful...90% of what I do could be accomplished by Ryobi.  The other 10%, well, I've still got hand tools and ingenuity.

[ToolBane]

The first Ryobi tool I remember buying was a corded router. (I know there was something else before that but it wasn’t terribly important.) My budget at the time couldn’t justify a Dewalt for something I wasn’t sure I would use very often. Man what a godsend that tool was though.

 

I briefly considered making Ryobi my main platform when finally investing in cordless since I am a DIY guy and don’t abuse my tools to anywhere near the degree a tradesguy will, but still passed them up for Makita for an assortment of reasons.

 

I still ended up getting into the Ryobi platform for some of their one-off tools like the glue gun and mattress inflator. I also got their impact wrench to lend camp mates at Burning Man (don’t ask) so I don’t have to worry about my Makita units wandering off. A pair of 6Ah batteries are probably inevitable just for that one purpose.

[Jronman]

Ryobi is arguably the best diy brand out there but it is still diy which means the precision and tolerances are not going to be to the level of my DeWALT and Festool stuff. Some tasks are almost more time and cost effective with the higher end machines.

[ToolBane]

My main hobby that my tools are for is loudspeaker design. I don’t like the amount of slop I’ve accepted in a lot of my older builds. It’s one thing if it’s a deck or 2x4s that are going to be covered over with drywall for the life of your home. I want all my designs going forward to be clean to 1/64” or less. I don’t feel bad about my old designs but would have liked them to have come out more polished. A lot of my other hobbies don’t need that kind of precision though.

[D W]

Way too expensive in Australia. Not far from Makita and Dewalt prices.

[builditguy]

I'll admit, I'm a tool snob.  Ryobi is low end homeowner quality.

 

Having said that.  I will admit.  My name it builditguy and I own some Ryobi tools.  I even bought some yesterday.

 

I have quite a few pneumatic air nailers.  I also had some Paslode.  I liked the Paslode.  Never had an issue with them.  I did have an issue keeping gas cartridges in supply.  Always running out.

I saw a Ryobi brad nailer reconditioned on CPO.  It was cheap.  I decided to give it a try, just out of curiosity.  I bought the nailer, 2 batteries, and a charger.  It worked for 6 months and then it quit.  I threw it away.  After a little while, I decided, even though it quit working, it was a reconditioned one and I never had an issue with it's performance.  I already had the batteries and charger, so I bought a new brad nailer.

It has been a really good tool.  No complaints at all.  

Now I find myself picking up little things, here and there.  I just bought some lights.  For $50 each, they will work perfect in my trailer.  I bought the radio.  It will also work good in the trailer.  Again, $50.  I bought the cordless chemical sprayer.

Actually I don't think I can complete a list.

2 brad nailers

1 stapler

2 lights

2 radios

1 buffer

chemical sprayer

4 chargers

10 batteries

2 fans

jigsaw

I'm sure there are a few more.

 

While I am a big fan of DeWalt, there are some things that I don't mind spending money on, with Ryobi. 

I like the Ryobi fan better than DeWalt.  The fan is smaller and fits in the truck better.  And, even though it's smaller in size, the blade diameter is almost the same.

The jigsaw doesn't even come close to comparing to the DeWalt jigsaw, but It won't go in my truck. Also, if you look, Milwaukee is about to release a new cordless jigsaw.  It is the same design as the Ryobi.  I thought that was funny.

 

The Ryobi cordless nailers are about half the price of DeWalt.  They work great.

[Claeg]

1) Ryobi cordless is now every bit as good and better than Makita cordless 15 years ago. I have both. I know pros look at Ryobi and think of the the blue plastic versions that could do barely half of what red, yellow, or teal can do. They are right about the old stuff. However the new stuff, produced in the last five years has moved the quality of tool from 40% of the big brand to about 80% the quality and in some cases, like the nailers, fans, and lights are just as good. I prefer Milwuakee and Makita, sonetimes the cost beteeen them and Ryobi isnt justified. 

 

2) Ryobi is a great compliment line to red, teal, and yellow. Vacs, lights, nailers, glue guns, fans, and others round out people's line-ups well. 

 

3) The OPE line-up is large and doeant break the bank. They have evey type of OPE need at thrid of the cost of the big boys. Spending 150 per sting trimmer, blower, and hedge trimmers is alot when i can those plus a pole saw, chemical sprayer, and chainsaw for rhe same price. 

 

 

 

 

[builditguy]

Sitting here opening my new Ryobi stuff, made me realize one thing.  I bought the Ryobi radio over the DeWalt radio, because of size.  The smallest DeWalt radio is still fairly good sized.  The next one up is even bigger.  The size of a toolbox.  And their 3rd one, that fits on the Tstak is still big. 

The Ryobi will fit in my truck, easily.

 

I also picked up the chemical sprayer.  I thought it would come in handy, around the house.  Just now opened it and realized it comes with a charger and a battery.  Sure, the battery is the cheapest version, but it will work fine in my yard.  $70 for a sprayer, battery, and charger.  You can't beat that.  

[stefcl100]

The backpack chemical sprayer is what makes me consider investing into the Ryobi one+ platform. As well as the brushless recipro saw. Unfortunately, they are not available in Europe for now.

 

On 5/20/2018 at 4:21 PM, Claeg said:

However the new stuff, produced in the last five years has moved the quality of tool from 40% of the big brand to about 80% the quality and in some cases, like the nailers, fans, and lights are just as good. I prefer Milwuakee and Makita, sonetimes the cost beteeen them and Ryobi isnt justified.

 

Exactly my thought. To the point I am starting to consider selling my Makita stuff and switching to Ryoby. I guess it would be somewhat of a regression on quality, but compensated with a guaranteed gain in quantity 😉. As a DIYer, there are many tools that I end up not buying because I can't justify paying the high tier price for occasional needs (the 400$ Makita 18v sprayer is among them).

 

I also get the feeling that with all the progress being made on cordless tech, you can no longer expect nowadays tools to hold their value over years, making me even more reluctant to spend too much of my hard earned cash on best-in-class products if the immediate necessity isn't there.

 

 

[fm2176]

2.5 years later...

 

I still don't regret buying into the Ryobi One+ system.  I recently used my backpack sprayer, and one of my most used "tools" is the Devour sweeper.  While I do have a barely-used drill (an old blue model my father-in-law bought for the batteries) and a bare-bones impact driver (picked up on clearance mainly for the smaller battery), I don't regularly use Ryobi's core tools (drivers and saws), opting instead for DeWalt, Milwaukee, or Ridgid.  

 

Another great thing about Ryobi is the brand's gifting potential.  I recently gave my inflator to a friend who inherited a Ryobi drill and a couple of batteries, and now I'm tempted to get him a larger battery and some more tools.  I know I can get him a decent gift without breaking the bank as I would with other brands.

[Eric - TIA]

Thanks for the update.  We hear that a lot about Ryobi.  It's a great line of tools.

[Der_Dachs]

I bought my first Ryobi because the price was right and because I thought it was Japanese.  It wasn't until later that I learned that the only Japanese thing about Ryobi is the name and even then, TTI simply licences the use of the name.  Ryobi itself actually has little to nothing to do with the tools themselves.  I think that Ryobi recently sold off the tool part of the company and its now owned by Kyocera anyways and still, TTI does all the design and manufacturing of the tools themselves.

Even still, Ryobi makes great tools and for someone who is on a budget or simply a DIYer who only uses their tool occasionally and doesn't want to invest a ton of money into it, Ryobi is a great option.

 

[fm2176]

It's been well over a year since the last update, and I'm still gradually adding Ryobi tools to the kit.  I did end up giving a 4Ah battery to the aforementioned friend, and I also let him select his own Ryobi Days promo last year in exchange for some work he'd helped me with, so he's pretty well set now.  He got the blower and seems satisfied with it, but he mostly uses it to help start fires in his burn barrel.  I got the jigsaw, since my DeWalt is still loaned out, and am looking forward to what they offer this year (though it'll probably be disappointing compared to past promos).

 

I often recommend Ryobi to friends and coworkers as a less expensive alternative to DeWalt or Milwaukee.  I'd probably put it in the same category as Craftsman and Porter Cable: DIY bordering on prosumer quality.  Unlike those two Stanley, Black & Decker (SBD) brands, though, I see plenty of Ryobi green on various jobsites.  While the SBD brands are ostensibly available at numerous stores and Ryobi is a Home Depot exclusive, it seems like Ryobi just has the better marketing, prices, and visibility.  The green stands out more than PC gray (let's face it, PC seems to be on SBD's backburner anyway) or Craftsman red, and I personally find The Home Depot's tool section more consumer friendly than Lowe's, with TTI's displays particularly eye-catching.  It also helps that they categorize their tools by brand/color in both the outdoor section and the tool aisle, and that they feature end cap displays across the front of the store for the TTI brands (and DeWalt).