Are Ryobi lithium ion drills any good?

Are Ryobi lithium ion drills any good? My first drill was the 18v nicad (about 5 years ago) and it was decent considering the price point. Just curious if the new lithium ion versions have improved over the years of if they still are light duty machines. thanks!

For D.I.Y they are a very good tool, and trades on a budget.

They have quite a range, and are available in many places.

I don’t know if as a trade user if I would have them as my main tool of choice.

If your a DIY guy who uses your power tools occasionally I wouldn’t have any reservations about Ryobi. They’re designed with that type of user in mind. However, if you use your tools daily they won’t hold up. They simply aren’t designed for it. They’re a fine tool for their intended use though.

I see a surprising number of Ryobies on job sites here in my area. I’m assuming they do get the job done. I think a lot of these guys may be writing them off as consumables though. Theft is a consideration in my area as well. I hear the batteries are a weak spot.

I know quite a few trade guys who buy tools from D.I.Y stores over here in the U.K and just use them till they die then walk back in the store with the dead tool and get it swapped for a new one free of charge.

It may sound like a cheap trick and I don’t condone this way of doing things but they swear by it.

Wayne Burgess wrote:

I know quite a few trade guys who buy tools from D.I.Y stores over here in the U.K and just use them till they die then walk back in the store with the dead tool and get it swapped for a new one free of charge.

It may sound like a cheap trick and I don’t condone this way of doing things but they swear by it.

Interesting angle. I didn’t take in to account that people can be so dishonest sometimes. I recall a few of the warranties I read had clauses about commercial use being covered for a shorter time period. I wonder if that is why so many manufacturers have a wait for tools to be repaired or replaced here in the states.

There is no recession for the dishonest pal they just become more bold they have no shame.

Since my last entry on here I have spoken to some trade guys who use Ryobi (who are not cheap crooks who cheat the store lol )

And they are very happy with the Ryobi brand.

The tools looked well used and battle scarred and seemed to be holding up very well. 🙂

A fellow freind of mine and carpenter of over 30 years has used ryobi cordless for a while and the nicad batteries replacement(lithium ion ryobi) work great for him.he uses an impact driver to drive timber screws from 6 inches to 12 inches atleast 3 – 4 days out of week with great results. If milwauke hadnt launched the m18 and m18 fuel line i would of probably picked ryobi for budget reasons and for a decent level of quality for a fair price.my only gripe about ryobi lithium ion is that its 80 dallors on amazom.com for one of their 2.4 amp hour batteries.But for my 3.0 milwauke m18 battery local its only 75 including tax. For a clash of quality levels it dosent seem right lol.

12190carpenter wrote:

A fellow freind of mine and carpenter of over 30 years has used ryobi cordless for a while and the nicad batteries replacement(lithium ion ryobi) work great for him.he uses an impact driver to drive timber screws from 6 inches to 12 inches atleast 3 – 4 days out of week with great results. If milwauke hadnt launched the m18 and m18 fuel line i would of probably picked ryobi for budget reasons and for a decent level of quality for a fair price.my only gripe about ryobi lithium ion is that its 80 dallors on amazom.com for one of their 2.4 amp hour batteries.But for my 3.0 milwauke m18 battery local its only 75 including tax. For a clash of quality levels it dosent seem right lol.

Odd Amazon has the Ryobi battery for $79 and the M18 for $99 last time I looked. You might have some kind of deal going on locally. Maybe they are blowing off old stock of the original M18s to make way for the new red Lith-Ions.

FYI both Milwaukee and Ryobi have the same parent company TTI

As far as those returns go, seems people do those one job shots, return it at and HD resells the tool at a very small discount. Bought one once, won’t make that mistake again! I’ve returned tools before but not with blatant abuse, just did not like the tool. Sometimes people can be real shisters! 

I’m just not a Ryobi kinda guy.

The drills and impact’s are decent for the price. I got a ton of use out of my 18 volt recpirocating saw its not the best, but it did alot of work for me. The circular saw is pretty hopless though.

I know a lot of guys who use ryobi because they don’t get stolen on the job site. And my boss always buys them for our shop because they’re inexpensive.

That being said, I won’t allow him do buy any more. All of our ni-cad batteries are useless and although the lithium batteries will probably last, the drills themselves are not a joy to use. We’ve also burned through a few drills on light use

Some of the peripherals are okay. I liked the radio but it did cack out in less than a year. I’d say that the best peripheral is the palm router. Not too many cordless ones around.

I bought their newer kit mainly for the impact driver when my Ridgid impact was acting up on me, worked great. And I use the batteries in my little ryobi radio that I can’t say enough about and was very inexpensive as well. For the price, I think their combo kit is an amazing deal.

I have no comment…

Hahahahaha Kato, you wear lime green undies!!!! Did you get the finish nailer yet? I can’t wait!

Not yet, still gotta wait. The new job is cool but there’s more important stuff than tools to deal with.

Whoa whoa whoa…..Kato? Are you okay? Did you get hit on the head???? How many fingers am I holding up???!! More important that tools????? Who the heck is this??!!

I never said I was a tool-buying nutcase, I just said I like Ryobi. Owning a lot doesn’t mean I go out willy-nilly and buy everything they make, I still have to wait until either a.) the boss says I can or b.) I have the money to blow. Otherwise I’d actually own everything they make…

I would say that it depends a lot on your needs. I would say they are probrably the best tools you can get considering the price and target demographic (weekend warrior types like myself). If you are within that demographic then I would say they are great. If you are a construction guy who is going to use his/her tools everyday and/or if price is not a concern then I would reccomend something like Dewalt, Makita or Milwaukee. Another advantage of Ryobi though is some of the unique tools they have that other brands seem to lack i.e. the inflator and lantern. They also have some hybrid tools (can be corded or use an 18v battery), that is something I have waited for for a long time.

12190carpenter wrote:

A fellow freind of mine and carpenter of over 30 years has used ryobi cordless for a while and the nicad batteries replacement(lithium ion ryobi) work great for him.he uses an impact driver to drive timber screws from 6 inches to 12 inches atleast 3 – 4 days out of week with great results. If milwauke hadnt launched the m18 and m18 fuel line i would of probably picked ryobi for budget reasons and for a decent level of quality for a fair price.my only gripe about ryobi lithium ion is that its 80 dallors on amazom.com for one of their 2.4 amp hour batteries.But for my 3.0 milwauke m18 battery local its only 75 including tax. For a clash of quality levels it dosent seem right lol.

It’s too late for you now, but Ryobi 4 aHr batteries are now $100 for a pack of 2. That is by far the best deal I have ever seen for any comparable battery.

Yeah the 4.0 batteries are a crazy good value. The only reason not to use a 4.0 on a Ryobi tool is if you want it to be lighter or as small as possible. I have and loved my Ryobi drill for years. The value proposition of many of Ryobi tools is impressive. That and the range of tools on their battery platform is key to their broad success. Also being so inexpensive helps on the job site for many pros I would guess. A) you have less to worry about because you paid less and B) what is likely to get stolen first the Ryobi or that bright red Milwaukee Fuel or the buff yellowjacket DeWalt XR?

That being said the higher grade, as well as more expensive, tools will hold up better under heavy loads for longer. I smoked a beloved old Ryobi drill doing a few too many large hole saw cuts in my 100 year old house’s crazy tough exterior cladding. It wasn’t the drill’s fault, it wasn’t built for that, but you do have to use the tools you have on hand to do the jobs you need to do so buy what will get the job done for you.

I have some Ryobi tools and I love them. But my Milwaukee tools are my daily work horses.