It seems that one of the tool brands that people love to hate is Ryobi. Some people will go so far as to avoid even looking at them as if they could be contaminated by being close to those green tools.
This has led me to wonder what’s wrong with the Ryobi brand and its line of tools to make people react to them that way. The only answer that I’ve been able to come up with—which may not be correct at all—is tool snobbery.
Ryobi isn’t considered one of the top brands, so some people don’t want to be associated with it. You just can’t brag effectively about owning Ryobi tools, like you can about owning Milwaukee, Makita, or DeWalt.
I have used Ryobi for years. They aren’t the only tool brand that I have or the only cordless tool brand that I have; but I do own several Ryobi tools which I use regularly in my shop. I also own a few lawn and garden tools made by Ryobi.
The table saw I used for years was a Ryobi; and while it wasn’t the best table saw in the world, it served me well. I have since replaced it, upgrading, at least in part because someone gave me something bigger and better.
Pricing and Quality
The big selling point of Ryobi is their price. Compared to other power tools, they average 30% lower cost. That’s enough to attract my attention, as well as a lot of other woodworkers, especially new woodworkers.
If you buy a kit of all the basic cordless power tools from Ryobi, it will cost you less than $400. If you buy the same kit from the big three I mentioned above, you can expect to pay $200 more. That’s a good incentive for the new woodworker, DIYer, or casual woodworker.
So, just why is Ryobi so much cheaper? Is it that their quality isn’t as good?
Quality is a somewhat variable term when we’re talking about tools. A Volkswagen is a quality vehicle, but it’s not a Mercedes. The same in tools. A professional carpenter might need to buy Milwaukee for their ruggedness, power, and durability, but that doesn’t mean a hobbyist woodworker needs the same.
Yet there are plenty of people out there who will gladly badmouth someone, just because they decided that they don’t need a professional-grade tool.
In the world of tools, there’s a huge difference between professional-grade and consumer-grade. Snap-On is considered the ultimate in mechanics tools, but there are few DIYers who can afford to buy their tools for repairing their pickup or SUV.
A professional mechanic might scoff at Craftsman, which is a consumer-grade brand; but for years, Craftsman was the brand that all other consumer-grade tool companies compared their products to. Why? Because Craftsman was known for their quality and offered an awesome guarantee to back it up.
When you buy professional-grade tools, a lot of what you are paying for is life expectancy. Manufacturers know that professionals will use their tools much more and much harder than hobbyists; therefore, they design the tools accordingly. Hey, power tools get treated roughly on a construction site. People might take care of their own tools, but they sure don’t take care of other people’s.
So, what makes Ryobi cost less than the brands mentioned above? Three things:
Life Expectancy
Really, a lot of what you’re paying for, when you buy those professional tools, is life expectancy. A professional needs to be able to count on their tools working every time. Their livelihood depends on that. So, manufacturers design those tools to be rugged, taking abuse and still working.
Features
More expensive tools will tend to have more features—things that may not be necessary but are nice to have. That’s how they get us to buy them. Luxury cars have luxury features you won’t find on other cars. Likewise, luxury tools have features you might not find on Ryobi.
Power
Professional power tools tend to have more power, whether you’re talking about a cordless drill or a cabinet table saw with a slider. You and I probably couldn’t fit that big cabinet saw in our workshops, let alone have the electrical service necessary to run it. Milwaukee tools beat everyone for power, but you pay for it.
Let me give you an example of what can affect the life expectancy of tools. Most power tools have motors and the two things most likely to wear out on those motors are the brushes and bearings.
Professional tool manufacturers are going to brushless motors to avoid the first problem (Ryobi is too) and the second is solved by the selection of high-quality bearings. But higher quality costs more money.
There are six basic types of bearings that can be used: plastic sleeve, metal (such as aluminum), bronze, oil-impregnated bronze, ball bearings, or roller bearings. I don’t know what any of these brands are using, but I doubt that any of them are using plastic or metal bearings.
But as an example, selecting roller bearings over ball bearings means more cost; but at the same time, it means that the bearings can handle more of a load, especially when the tool isn’t being used properly, increasing the overall life of the tool.
Warranty
As I said, I don’t know the specifics of how Ryobi designs and manufactures their tools; but I do know that they’re confident enough in their tools that they offer a 3-year warranty on them. They aren’t the only ones doing that; several of the major brands offer similar warranties and I believe that there is one brand that is offering a 5-year warranty.
To me, a warranty says something important about the company offering it. It shows just how much confidence they have in their products, regardless of what those products are. No company wants to pay warranty costs, so they make sure their products will outlast the warranty.
To ensure that, they have to design them to last much longer. That’s especially useful when we compare it to other companies and their products. With Ryobi offering as good a warranty as the big boys, that tells us that they are making quality tools.
History and Reputation
Ryobi isn’t a new company; they’ve been around since 1943. At first, they were a die-cast company, making cast metal parts for other tool manufacturers. Through time, they started making their own power tools, with their first electric drill coming out in 1968.
That was a corded model, as cordless tools were just starting to come out. Since then, their tool line has expanded considerably, with today’s lineup including over 300 tools in their 18-volt One + line, plus another 85 40-volt cordless tools.
Innovation and Uniqueness
This can’t happen without a lot of innovation; and Ryobi, like any other major tool manufacturer has done their fair share of innovation, with a very active Research and Development department. They have received numerous prestigious design awards for their tools.
One of the ways that Ryobi is unique in the field of power tools is that their batteries are fully backwards and forwards compatible, since 1996. Battery technology has changed considerably in that time, but they have engineered their batteries to ensure that they would still be compatible.
What this means is if you have a Ryobi battery from 1996 that still works, you can use it with current chargers and in tools you buy today. Likewise, if you buy new batteries today, you can use them in your older tools.
Finally, not only are Ryobi’s prices excellent, but so is their availability. You can walk into any of the home improvement centers and find an extensive line of Ryobi tools on display. Will they have the entire line? Probably not.
But they will have a lot of what you might need. That means that if you need a tool in the middle of a project, you can just run to the store and get it, knowing that it will work with your existing batteries, so you can put it to use just as soon as you get back home.
Final Thoughts
So, where does this leave us? Even though professional carpenters may not choose Ryobi for their preferred line of power tools, they are still an excellent brand. No, they aren’t really designed for professional carpenters and the work abuse that the tools would receive on the job site.
But they are just fine for you and me, home woodworkers, hobbyists, and do-it-yourselfers—especially those who are new to woodworking and have more tool needs than they have dollars to spend. Buying Ryobi will allow the purchase of more tools, which works out in being able to do more projects; and that’s what it’s all about.
Rich is a second-generation woodworker, having grown up in his dad’s workshop, “making sawdust.” Fifty years later, he’s still studying and working on improving his own woodworking skills, while also helping new woodworkers “catch the bug” for the smell of fresh sawdust. While Rich has done some custom woodworking projects, his greatest thrill is helping the next generation of woodworkers along, regardless of their age. His background as an engineer and a writer just adds to his ability to teach his true passion, woodworking.
