In my experience, Dewalt has been the best in terms of balance between reliability, flexibility, and cost. Milwaukee is probably the most reliable but also the most limited. Ryobi are cheap junk. Makita tools I haven't used but I've been told repeatedly that they used to be awesome but are now cheap junk.
All of these companies have at least a few items that are cheap junk (like most of the bluetooth speaker stuff...wtf?) but some are worse than others.
While I acknowledge that Ryobi is at the bottom of the barrel, my experience with them has been really good. I've been using the same drill/driver for 20 years, and have gotten lots of use out of their other tools.
What does bottom of the barrel mean in context though?
I have Ryobi and they’ve all been great, but I’m not a builder, I’m a homeowner who has occasional projects and small fixit/replace jobs around the house.
My brother was gifted a Ryobi set decades ago by my parents, it’s what my dad used, but has since replaced it with DeWalt. However, he has a wood shop in his garage, has added a deck, built multiple retaining walls, a shed and all sorts of stuff in the ~15 years they’ve owned their house.
I feel like how and how often you use the tools plays a big role. I usually get a new tool from Harbor Freight, unless I know it’s something I’ll use a lot. Then if I end up using it enough for it to break/fail I go buy the nicer version.
I have Dewalt/Ryobi battery tools
Ryobi usually lacks features
Take for example an oscillating saw
With my dewalt oscillating saw I can swap a blade or change the angle of the blade in 1 second because you just push down a lever. On the ryobi, you have to break out an allen wrench (which is stored in the tool) and loosen a bolt.
Someone that might use the saw once every blue moon might not care that much, but someone who uses it every day it is a big deal.
Also quality, Ryobi tools just feel cheaper.
I buy important tools in dewalt and less important tools in Ryobi. Like my small leaf blower is Ryobi. No need to pay extra for the dewalt one because it's just for quickly blowing off my walkway or front porch steps. If I need to move a lot of stuff I use my gas backpack blower, which is also Ryobi. Only problem I've ever had with it is the cord snapped a couple times, I think it has to do with how it rubs the grommet. Replaced the last time with a more heavy duty cord and haven't had a problem since. Always starts in less than 3 pulls and very powerful.
There are cons to Ryobi tools, but when looking at the top of the barrel tools the only con is usually the price.
So Ryobi is just fine. With the context you provide if you’re a heavier user who needs the features then you can spend more? If you need a quality tool that will get the job done without frills then Ryobi is great?
Yes
Ryobi is fine
Other tools are better
Internet likes to put down Ryobi but it's not as bad as they make it out to be.
My first power drill was Ryobi like 10+ years ago and still works to this day. I prefer using my Dewalt drill, it's less clunky.
No one wants to be a "Ryobi Guy". Especially behind a screen where you can say you have any tool you want.
Bosch makes my favorite hammer drill. My Makita sander works like a champ. I enjoy my Milwaukee packout toolbox.
People get stuck on brands. And while with tools there are differences, Ryobi works just fine.
I did burn out my Ryobi oscillating saw. But that's the only Ryobi tool that has failed me and I have like a dozen of them. I really like my ryobi finish nailer.
Bosch makes a solid hammer drill...I once drilled into a steel reinforcement in concrete and it melted the bit red hot into a tear drop, and it didn't even stutter
But my Ryobi bits snapped multiple times the first time I used them (I used a center punch and proper form, they just snapped like glass the second I used carbide bits on a freaking aluminum alloy). Their power tools aren't quite as bad, but they're not noticeably better than harbor freight stuff. I genuinely believe black and Decker is better
Granted, I think Ryobi used to be way better...I think they got bought out used for the name a while back
DeWalt is a subsidiary of Black and Decker. Seems like brand name means less than many think.
I love my Ryobi finish nailer! The only Bosch I currently have is an inherited corded jigsaw but it has held up well.
Same… I simply don’t use the tools enough to justify buying the expensive model. If a certain tool fails, maybe I’ll buy the higher quality model, but so far nothing has failed and they do the job. Don’t care too much about having the right brand.
Haven't used makita bt. Have 20+ other makita going back 15yrs to brand new ones. All have worked perfectly with incredible power. Same batteries work on all of them. Have had some chargers fail but not a single tool. They get used and abused daily with no issues. Granted this is anecdote evidence.
Curious if the brand new ones will last then. I've had a few friends say that the new ones break more easily than their old ones but that is also anecdotal.
Could also depend on how they're are used and treated. Some of my friends theirs don't last long at all with how they use them.
If it works for you and how you use it, then it's the right tool.
Depends on which line of Makita you buy into I think. I have a right angle drill and the "good" angle grinder from them (not that xlock bullshit) and both get moderate use. Both are 5-ish years old and still work great.
I've got all Dewalt for the stuff that needs to last (circular saw, reciprocating saw, drills, etc), but for some things I get the cheap garbage because the cost difference is so extreme and I know I'm just going to replace them every couple years anyway.
Most of my yard equipment is ryobi. All of the stuff with massive batteries is just so stupidly expensive from Dewalt and Milwaukee. I don't expect an outdoor lithium ion battery to last more than 5 years anyway, so instead of getting the high quality version, I got the shit one and had money to spare on extra batteries.
I have the flexvolt yard tools and they've gone strong for 5 years. Their blower is the strongest out there but only last about 15-20 minutes.
I’ve used dewalt professionally for many years and the tools are top notch
Ryobi is great if you're like me and just need the occasional tool to do a small project around the house and then gets put away for a few months. I've got a Ryobi portable vacuum at work that does great, gets used daily.
Can't, sold my kidneys to afford these and I'm too sore.
I needed to pick a side 4 years ago when buying a drill and hadn't heard a bad word about DeWalt.
So I bought DeWalt.
DeWalt ftw. Granted, I keep getting told to wait for Christmas and getting black and Decker as gifts... It's good enough to manage for my needs, but very noticeably worse
IME, Milwaukee is noticeably more hardy in cold temperatures, Ryobi is absolute garbage, and Makita is pretty good for hobbyist level
But I worked construction during college, and DeWalt was great, and Milwaukee was almost as good. The other two don't deserve to be in the same list
DeWalt gang, stand up!
In my experience, Dewalt has been the best in terms of balance between reliability, flexibility, and cost. Milwaukee is probably the most reliable but also the most limited. Ryobi are cheap junk. Makita tools I haven't used but I've been told repeatedly that they used to be awesome but are now cheap junk.
All of these companies have at least a few items that are cheap junk (like most of the bluetooth speaker stuff...wtf?) but some are worse than others.
While I acknowledge that Ryobi is at the bottom of the barrel, my experience with them has been really good. I've been using the same drill/driver for 20 years, and have gotten lots of use out of their other tools.
What does bottom of the barrel mean in context though?
I have Ryobi and they’ve all been great, but I’m not a builder, I’m a homeowner who has occasional projects and small fixit/replace jobs around the house.
My brother was gifted a Ryobi set decades ago by my parents, it’s what my dad used, but has since replaced it with DeWalt. However, he has a wood shop in his garage, has added a deck, built multiple retaining walls, a shed and all sorts of stuff in the ~15 years they’ve owned their house.
I feel like how and how often you use the tools plays a big role. I usually get a new tool from Harbor Freight, unless I know it’s something I’ll use a lot. Then if I end up using it enough for it to break/fail I go buy the nicer version.
I have Dewalt/Ryobi battery tools
Ryobi usually lacks features
Take for example an oscillating saw
With my dewalt oscillating saw I can swap a blade or change the angle of the blade in 1 second because you just push down a lever. On the ryobi, you have to break out an allen wrench (which is stored in the tool) and loosen a bolt.
Someone that might use the saw once every blue moon might not care that much, but someone who uses it every day it is a big deal.
Also quality, Ryobi tools just feel cheaper.
I buy important tools in dewalt and less important tools in Ryobi. Like my small leaf blower is Ryobi. No need to pay extra for the dewalt one because it's just for quickly blowing off my walkway or front porch steps. If I need to move a lot of stuff I use my gas backpack blower, which is also Ryobi. Only problem I've ever had with it is the cord snapped a couple times, I think it has to do with how it rubs the grommet. Replaced the last time with a more heavy duty cord and haven't had a problem since. Always starts in less than 3 pulls and very powerful.
There are cons to Ryobi tools, but when looking at the top of the barrel tools the only con is usually the price.
So Ryobi is just fine. With the context you provide if you’re a heavier user who needs the features then you can spend more? If you need a quality tool that will get the job done without frills then Ryobi is great?
Yes
Ryobi is fine
Other tools are better
Internet likes to put down Ryobi but it's not as bad as they make it out to be.
My first power drill was Ryobi like 10+ years ago and still works to this day. I prefer using my Dewalt drill, it's less clunky.
No one wants to be a "Ryobi Guy". Especially behind a screen where you can say you have any tool you want.
Bosch makes my favorite hammer drill. My Makita sander works like a champ. I enjoy my Milwaukee packout toolbox.
People get stuck on brands. And while with tools there are differences, Ryobi works just fine.
I did burn out my Ryobi oscillating saw. But that's the only Ryobi tool that has failed me and I have like a dozen of them. I really like my ryobi finish nailer.
Bosch makes a solid hammer drill...I once drilled into a steel reinforcement in concrete and it melted the bit red hot into a tear drop, and it didn't even stutter
But my Ryobi bits snapped multiple times the first time I used them (I used a center punch and proper form, they just snapped like glass the second I used carbide bits on a freaking aluminum alloy). Their power tools aren't quite as bad, but they're not noticeably better than harbor freight stuff. I genuinely believe black and Decker is better
Granted, I think Ryobi used to be way better...I think they got bought out used for the name a while back
DeWalt is a subsidiary of Black and Decker. Seems like brand name means less than many think.
I love my Ryobi finish nailer! The only Bosch I currently have is an inherited corded jigsaw but it has held up well.
Same… I simply don’t use the tools enough to justify buying the expensive model. If a certain tool fails, maybe I’ll buy the higher quality model, but so far nothing has failed and they do the job. Don’t care too much about having the right brand.
Haven't used makita bt. Have 20+ other makita going back 15yrs to brand new ones. All have worked perfectly with incredible power. Same batteries work on all of them. Have had some chargers fail but not a single tool. They get used and abused daily with no issues. Granted this is anecdote evidence.
Curious if the brand new ones will last then. I've had a few friends say that the new ones break more easily than their old ones but that is also anecdotal.
Could also depend on how they're are used and treated. Some of my friends theirs don't last long at all with how they use them.
If it works for you and how you use it, then it's the right tool.
Depends on which line of Makita you buy into I think. I have a right angle drill and the "good" angle grinder from them (not that xlock bullshit) and both get moderate use. Both are 5-ish years old and still work great.
I've got all Dewalt for the stuff that needs to last (circular saw, reciprocating saw, drills, etc), but for some things I get the cheap garbage because the cost difference is so extreme and I know I'm just going to replace them every couple years anyway.
Most of my yard equipment is ryobi. All of the stuff with massive batteries is just so stupidly expensive from Dewalt and Milwaukee. I don't expect an outdoor lithium ion battery to last more than 5 years anyway, so instead of getting the high quality version, I got the shit one and had money to spare on extra batteries.
I have the flexvolt yard tools and they've gone strong for 5 years. Their blower is the strongest out there but only last about 15-20 minutes.
I’ve used dewalt professionally for many years and the tools are top notch
Ryobi is great if you're like me and just need the occasional tool to do a small project around the house and then gets put away for a few months. I've got a Ryobi portable vacuum at work that does great, gets used daily.
Can't, sold my kidneys to afford these and I'm too sore.
I needed to pick a side 4 years ago when buying a drill and hadn't heard a bad word about DeWalt.
So I bought DeWalt.
DeWalt ftw. Granted, I keep getting told to wait for Christmas and getting black and Decker as gifts... It's good enough to manage for my needs, but very noticeably worse
IME, Milwaukee is noticeably more hardy in cold temperatures, Ryobi is absolute garbage, and Makita is pretty good for hobbyist level
But I worked construction during college, and DeWalt was great, and Milwaukee was almost as good. The other two don't deserve to be in the same list