Ryobi One Lithium Review
Posted: Sun May 18, 2008 7:05 pm
I have always been kind of a tool snob. A long time ago I found that you do get what you pay for. There is no magical material or process that allows one manufacturer to produce better equipment for less cost (although a company can choose to make less profit per unit).
But a while back, I received a Ryobi One 18v drill/flashlight kit as a gift. At first it was delegated for helper use, which it saw a lot of. I started using it when I needed to change bits often. I do have quick change chucks, but this was still faster. I found I really liked the Ryobi with the exception of the chuck. It seems to loosen on it's own a lot. Well, a lot of miles went on the old blue Ryobi and it still functions and charges like new. I added to the Ryobi tools set with the circular saw, caulking gun, 5 more batteries (2 are still new in the package) and another charger.
The other day in the middle of putting up an aluminum awning, my DeWalt charger went out. No lights, no nothing. I needed 2 drills for the job, so I ran down to Home Depot to get another Ryobi, so I could use the fully charged batteries I already had at the job. When I got there, I saw the new Ryobi Lithium products, which are fully interchangeable with the old blue Ryobi (except I don't think you can charge the lithium batteries with the old charger). The box says that the lithium batteries has twice the run time of the standard batteries. From my use, I think that may be true. It is a lighter more compact tool, which is nice. It appears to have a new designed chuck, which I am hoping will be better than the old unit. It hasn't let go yet. The old style batteries do work in the new gun, which allowed me to get back to work on the awning right away. But before too long, the new lithiums were fully charged and in use. So far I am very happy with the new tools from Ryobi.
Now I started by saying you get what you pay for. I still believe that is true. The 12v DeWalt XRP has more torque than the 18v Ryobi. The Ryobi is not built nearly as industrial strength as the DeWalt. But that being said, at about half the price of the DeWalt XRP line, I feel that it may be a better value. The fact that I now have a total of 9 batteries and 3 chargers that will work in any of my 4 Ryobi tools (not counting the 2 flashlights), is a big plus.
One side note, I also tried out the $99 12v Ryobi Lithium drill. It is an occasional light use only tool. You can easily stop the chuck with your hand at full power. I doubt that you could bury a sheetrock screw in plywood with it. I would only recommend the 12v for work on electronics or something that does not require power.
JMO
JD
But a while back, I received a Ryobi One 18v drill/flashlight kit as a gift. At first it was delegated for helper use, which it saw a lot of. I started using it when I needed to change bits often. I do have quick change chucks, but this was still faster. I found I really liked the Ryobi with the exception of the chuck. It seems to loosen on it's own a lot. Well, a lot of miles went on the old blue Ryobi and it still functions and charges like new. I added to the Ryobi tools set with the circular saw, caulking gun, 5 more batteries (2 are still new in the package) and another charger.
The other day in the middle of putting up an aluminum awning, my DeWalt charger went out. No lights, no nothing. I needed 2 drills for the job, so I ran down to Home Depot to get another Ryobi, so I could use the fully charged batteries I already had at the job. When I got there, I saw the new Ryobi Lithium products, which are fully interchangeable with the old blue Ryobi (except I don't think you can charge the lithium batteries with the old charger). The box says that the lithium batteries has twice the run time of the standard batteries. From my use, I think that may be true. It is a lighter more compact tool, which is nice. It appears to have a new designed chuck, which I am hoping will be better than the old unit. It hasn't let go yet. The old style batteries do work in the new gun, which allowed me to get back to work on the awning right away. But before too long, the new lithiums were fully charged and in use. So far I am very happy with the new tools from Ryobi.
Now I started by saying you get what you pay for. I still believe that is true. The 12v DeWalt XRP has more torque than the 18v Ryobi. The Ryobi is not built nearly as industrial strength as the DeWalt. But that being said, at about half the price of the DeWalt XRP line, I feel that it may be a better value. The fact that I now have a total of 9 batteries and 3 chargers that will work in any of my 4 Ryobi tools (not counting the 2 flashlights), is a big plus.
One side note, I also tried out the $99 12v Ryobi Lithium drill. It is an occasional light use only tool. You can easily stop the chuck with your hand at full power. I doubt that you could bury a sheetrock screw in plywood with it. I would only recommend the 12v for work on electronics or something that does not require power.
JMO
JD