Look at the title of this post, isn't it insane? Who would pit the two against each other?

I have the $499 DeWalt set, bought it at Home Depot a couple of years ago, wasted both batteries, bought a used one, it's on the way downhill now. Dropped the hammer drill off of a few 12' ladders onto concrete, and it's well used.

THE DILEMMA

I wouldn't show up on the job site with Ryobi products, I'm happy with DeWalt, but now I'm in a situation where I'm considering Ryobi.

If I buy a new DW hammer drill, it's $289 at Home Depot, with one battery.

If I buy one DW battery (I need two), it's $80 at Home Depot. Two would be $160.

NOW....if I buy the 18 volt Ryobi set that includes the hammer drill, reciprocating saw, handheld vacuum cleaner, chain saw, jig saw, laser measuring tool, 41 piece bit set, flashlight, circular saw and rolling case, it's $249. That whole set is $40 cheaper than one DeWalt hammer drill.

I heard the batteries are pretty cheap too. The detents on the Ryobi hammer drill are nicer than the detents on the DeWalt, which feels mushy. The Ryobi reciprocating saw seems small and light, maybe it won't cut like a DW.

People on the job who use Ryobi think it's smarter to buy Ryobi and save a bunch of money. They seem happy with their tools.

I'm generally uncompromising when it comes to tools, but here I am thinking about buying a big set of Ryobi stuff. Should I keep buying batteries for my DW set at $80 a pop and beat the hammer drill into the ground and eventually replace it soon for $290, or go with the huge Ryobi set for $245? Any opinions?

I feel like I'll be waist deep in various brands of useless cordless tools in 10 years. I'd hate to spend $245 on a bunch of junk, but the guys on the job say that if they drop a Ryobi off a ladder, who cares? Buy another one. I can't say the same for my DW - it costs too much.

Can I recommend Makita, I bought a 24volt combination drill/hammer drill with 1/2 drive a couple of months ago, and it without a doubt the best cordless drill I have ever used, it has power to spare,the batteries last a long time. Check out makita's website for photos.

Does the Ryobi set include a charger and two batteries?
I don't know about the laser goodie or the flashlight or the 41 piece bit set but it seems you get about five useful goodies for about $50 each. Maybe a good Christmas present.
Ryobi makes stuff for Sears and bought Milwaukee. Black & Decker owns DeWalt.
A can of yellow spray paint costs $2.49.
~Peter

CRM, I'll have to check that out.

Peter, yes, it does come with a charger and two batteries.

I saw this post and had no choice but to reply. I have to tell you i use to be a die hard dewalt fan, how ever now its roybi for me!! i got sick and tired of replacing batteries in my dewalt at some crazy cost. I bought the ryobi set a few years back approx 2 maybe 3 years ago. It came with the saws all, reg drill, flashlight, cir. saw a charger and 2 batteries. Every one laughed at first now they all own them. I just this past month replaced my org. 2 batteries. Thats pretty good in my eyes. The other thing you must consider is now roybi has the new line where they sell each peice by its self with out a battery or charger. Thats is great when it does come time to replacea peice. I also just bought the hammerdrill (3speed) its is much better then there org. 2 speed and flash light kit. so for half the cost of one dewalt kit i now own;
1 reg drill
1 3 speed hammer drill
2 chargers
4 batteries 6 if you include my old ones
1 saws all
1 cir. saw
if you can get all that from dewalt for the cost i paid tell me where but until then im all over roybi!!!!!!!! And i just got the vacuam on sale for $20. at the orange store. well sorry so long winded but i must speak on this topic twice a week at work. best of luck!

You can do much better than the prices HD charges for Dewalt. Just yesterday I purchased 2 18volt Dewalt 9096 batteries for $40ea at the dewalt service center in Atlanta (We needed a new chuck). I buy the 18 Dewalt set DW4k-2 on ebay usually for about $365 including shipping on ebay, this is $499+tax at HD. I've considered trying Bosch or Milwaukee, but we have so much 18volt Dewalt stuff, that it would be hard to start mixing it in since all our stuff works on the same battery now.

I've only drilled a couple of holes with a Ryobi drill, so I'm no Ryobi Pro, but it felt really good...anyway,
One of the guys had problems with his Ryobi after about 6 mos, and it was replaced immediately, free of charge!!.


SMF, You afraid of getting teased because you have Ryobi tools?? Just proudly work circles around the other guys with them.
(I tease the guys with DeWalt tools because that's what I bought for my wife to use around the house)

Buy Milwaukee and only buy once.

This issue would be more relevant were the batteries interchangeable.
I tries B&D "Firestorm" alongside DeWalt, and found major differences between tool performance as well as battery performance. And, who wants to carry multiple chargers?

It is not uncommon for me to use up half a dozen batteries in cutting a hole for 1" in cement block- the only way I could have enough batteries is if different tools came with them.
Also, some companies have more extensive lines of products that use their batteries. So, maybe DeWalt doesn't have the 'best' cordless reciprocating saw, but it uses my drill battery, charges in my radio, and there's a vacuum available.

Now, there is a role for "cheap" tools. Some, especially if used only occasionally, are worthwhile. I have several. (None are cordless, though).

You can carry brand loyalty too far: why have a Klein bottle opener if your beer comes in cans?

The one that never ceases to amaze me is the cost of replacement batteries for cordless tools, one is better off to buy a new tool than get batteries,it a total waste one more benefit of our throwaway society....


P.S. The best use of a B&D/Dewalt"tool" is for a tire chock.

Has anyone tried haveing batteries rebuilt?

Okay, okay...I've taken my first step toward the perigee of life, the great crevasse of doom where lives are at risk and reputations are at stake. I broke down and bought a Harbor Freight brand Portaband.

I've been lusting after the real Portaband, but its two hundred some odd price tag put it on the back burner. Today I saw somebody using that Harbor Freight one and I asked him what it was. He seemed happy with it. "$65 on sale right now!" he said. After work I jetted to Harbor Freight, combed the aisles and finally broke down and bought the Chinese version of the Portaband. It was 1/2 off of its normal price, which was 1/2 off the real Portaband price! I could buy 4 of these things for the price of one Portaband. Or...I could buy that big Ryobi set with the chain saw and everything, plus this Portaband wannabe, and still be money ahead of a DW hammer drill and a battery!

Am I bad? I do like cutting pipe with a Portaband, rather than my DW recipro saw. The company has a real Portaband on the job to compare the Harbor Freight version to tomorrow. Porter Cable VS. Harbor Freight! THE BATTLE OF THE CENTURY!!! HAR HAR HAR...Stop...my sides are hurting...

I might not have the Portaband, but my Central Machinery P.O.S. might be like a free tool if I buy the Ryobi set instead of the DeWalt stuff. $65 for a wannabe Portaband, how could I go wrong? It looks halfway decent. If the band stays aligned, etc. it might make a few cuts. Hey, I look at it this way: eventually I'll get a real Portaband, but for now I'll be able to buy a lot more tools and still have a wannabe Portaband. I don't make a million cuts, so it will probably last a while.

Here's my Harbor Freight experience:
-The reciprocating saw is junk
-the hand-held bandsaw works just as well as $$$$ models;
-the angle grinder may/may not have a standard 5/8-11 arbor, and the switch breaks easily;
-the halogen lights are no different from everyone else's;
-the pipe dies work fine for cleaning excess zinc off of rigid;
-the cordless tools are crap;
-the pipe bender can be helpful with EMT (if you're doing small offsets on large pipe); and,
-the $20 hand truck is worth its' weight in gold.

My Ryobi experience:

The reciprocating saw gets a 5 out of 10, where 10 is a corded Milwaukee, and 0 is a broken hack saw blade. The batteries don't last long in the saw, and the saw is not heavy duty.

The cordless variable speed drill is a 10.

The vacuum is a 0, rating right along side a cracked soda straw.

The circular saw is okay for a few light cuts. Better than a hand saw.

I had a battery rebuilt. It cost almost as much as a new battery. When my old Ryobi drill got tired, I bought a new Ryobi set, because it came with two batteries.

What I don't like about the Ryobi set is the huge box in the back of the van. I'm always climbing over it.

If I have to make a choice between Ryobi or DeWalt I would take the DeWalt tools.

If I had to make a choice between Ryobi and my kids Fisher Price tools I would take the Fisher Price tools.

Personally I think Ryobi is another language for "Lightweight junk Americans will buy"

Sorry Scott (electure) we can not agree all the time.

Bob

Dare I say it ryobi is crap in comparison to dewalt, mechanically speaking.

It sounds like battery life is your issue here. I have extra batteies from my last dewalt that outlasted the life of the tool. (About 4 years with heavy use but proper care)

A hammer drill by design will self-destruct, but that is another story. But back to the battery issue. In the old days of rechargables, the Makita batteries needed to completely discharge due to "Battery Memory", and that is now a thing of the past. Yet I still see people running out thier dewalt batteries that have non-memory batteries. If you apply Ohm's law to this practice, you're over-amping the battery every time as the voltage gets lower. Voltage down, amperage up. It destroys the battery and motors.

I have a practice as I start work every day of putting one battery on the charger. I work ALL DAY with the other until it just starts the fade, about 2PM, and switch. Like I said, I have had the same batteries for years now.

Funny thing is, the last time I had to by a drill, due to loss, I thought of buying a Bosch, (a better tool) but I had all these extra dewalt batteries, and chargers I could afford to loose them. And, I'm stuck on 14.4 because that was the biggest they made back then on the initial investment.

Next time you want to drill a 1" hole in cement block, John, try setting up a piece of 1/2" rigid and whack it with a 4 lb. hammer (and quick patch with hydraulic cement). Really, though, I'd get out a corded tool before I used 6 batteries.

I recently thought about getting one of those sets of cordless tools until I read posts of two or three of the tools being light-weight/useless.

I'd rather spend $300 on one tool that I'll love every time I pick it up than to buy a five tool set that I'll hate and end up throwing away. I don't have a single DeWalt or Ryobe tool on my truck.

Dave

Interesting, e57. I didn't know that the amperage goes up as the battery dies, and that this kills the life of the battery. Thanks for the info.

Thanks also John, twh, iwire and Dave. I've always loved quality tools and will spend my last food money on a good tool, and when I'm in a weak moment, thinking of using cheap junk, it's good to have some guys rally around quality. I just missed the $299 deal for a DW 18v hammer drill/impact wrench combo with 2 batteries and a charger, so I have more time to think about it. I DO hate to handle inferior junk tools and was hoping that maybe that Ryobi stuff might be okay (the guys on the job seem to like it, but they might like to be poked in the eye with a sharp stick). If it's junk, I'll just go back to coughing up megabucks for $80 batteries, etc.

Here's an artical about batteries and care: http://www.taunton.com/finehomebuilding/pages/h00106.asp

Thanks, that was very informative. I noticed it too, my old 7.2 volt Makita lasted a long time, my 18 volt DeWalt augered in quick. Man, there's no way to win, is there? They need to make a cooling system. How about a water pumper battery cooling system?

Has anybody had any experience with rigid cordless tools? I personally use Dewalt brand.

Guy's this is how I see it. I bought and use the 18 volt Ryobi set (reg. drill not a hammer drill). My buddy working side by side has a DeWalt set. He used up 2 DeWalt drills and now trying a Ridged. Again both the Ridged and the DeWalt units are in the $250 - $300 range. As for the price my Ryobi set has stood the test and if it should last 2 yrs. it was a worth while investment and I would still have lunch money in my pocket.

A few years ago I purchased a Ryobi "Jobsite" cordless drill with a flashlight, 2 batteries and a charger. It served well, the batteries charged quickly & in general I was happy enough to buy another one when the time rolled around. I couldn't find one with a flashlight, it had a vacuum instead. After a little time & thought I got it anyway. I noticed right away that the charger was different...with a transformer and a 3 hour charge time. Then I found out the batteries were different, lasting about 1/2 hour, and the drill was different...only one speed. This, it turns out was a lightweight POS and I might as well have run whatever dollars I spent on it through the shredder. It should have been labeled LIGHTWEIGHT.

Since they didn't I will never, EVER buy a Ryobi anything...EVER!

Dave