Battery power tool recommendation?

Yep the ONE+ range, the same company who make Milwaukee. The Impact Driver is cheap and good value.

The ONE+ range has Panasonic cells in the batteries, so top quality. Two batts and a charger is £60 in Screwfix. A 'bare' impact driver £70, drill/driver £40, saw £60, £60 angle drill, etc. For e.g., the Impact Driver would be around £200 if it was a Bosch with battery, etc. The Ryobi battery angle drill (not the ONE+ range) is about £100. The ONE battery idea is the way to go as you save a fortune, as the batteries command a large slice of the price. I spoke to the rep, and he said, if they introduce Lith Ion battery it will be compatible to the ONE range. So, all you do is buy the new battery type.

Wickes do a similar thing with the 14.4 batteries on the Pro range. The range is not extensive though.

A recent post on uk.d-i-y from an Aussie mag review:

Techtronics are certainly doing a marketing job with their Ryobi brand in terms of commonality of battery packs between tools. This is nothing new, however. The major manufacturers have been doing it for years.

Ryobi is a mid-market product that is better than the very cheapest of the far eastern product such as Power Devil (Techtronics make this brand also), but not as good as Makita, Bosch, DeWalt, Milwaukee etc. which are designed for professional use. Techtronics make Milwaukee also and are careful not to position Ryobi as professional quality because it really isn't.

I took a look at the Ryobi drills and the circular saw at a tool show at the end of last year. The drills are certainly better than the low end both in terms of trigger control and balance. They are nowhere near as good as Makita in terms of the speed/torque control or the clutch. In fact, the chuck on one Ryobi that I was looking at jammed and the chuck had to be jiggled to free it. I wouldn't consider buying the Ryobi, regardless of the mid-market price.

The Ryobi circular saw, I felt was not of good build quality at all. The plate was rather wobbly and more of a problem, it doesn't have a dust chute. This means that it can be difficult to use if you are trying to cut to a line.

It might be OK for occasional trim saw type applications, but not really at all comparable to a corded circular saw.

Really, for a cordless circular saw that is worth having, one has to look at decent 24v ones like the Bosch, but these cost around £220.

Even the good quality 18v ones are very limited in terms of performance.

To be honest, unless you specifically need portability, a corded saw like a Skil or Hitachi is a much better purchase.

Matt, Ryobi ONE+ is a pro range. I know many pros who gone over to Ryobi.

No, it isn't, nor is it sold as that by anyone.

Ryobi stuff is OK, but it simply wouldn't stand up to daily use over a year.

I'm sure you do.

Another one prattling garbage. From:

"The One+ 18v Impact Driver is another tool in the higher price range of the system, but it is one worth having in my opinion. Readers may recall we reviewed the 12v version of this tool previously, which is part of Ryobi's Professional Line series of tools. This tool is almost identical design-wise, but the One+ 18v version is a little more powerful."

Note the word "Professional".

I beg to differ. I've had a Ryobi Cordless 18v drill and reciprocating saw for over 2 years now. The drill has been used almost every day and has stood up to plenty of abuse and use. I've dropped it several times and thought it might be cracked but still perfect. The chuck has been been beautiful to use since day one, with no jamming or slipping. The saw, although not used that often, has also taken plenty of abuse without any problems.

I wouldn't hesitate in buying more Ryobi stuff.

To the OP, check out the premium stuff Ryobi do, like the 1802 and 1803 drills, they are a world away from the budget drills they do. Also check out power tool reviews on the net - Ryobi do very well.

This is not what the manufacturer says.

Milwaukee is TTI's professional range.

Matt, you should stop making things up.

Matt, that is nice to know, but the Ryobi ONE+ is a pro range.

Interesting. Please can you tell me where the manufacturer says that about this product on their web site.

Yeah!! Just like they use Performance *Pro* range from B&Q. In fact to quote the review that you pointed out, " The CID182L is best suited to the serious DIY enthusiasts or occasional user who requires a little more than what a budget priced drill can offer."

I love my DeWalt 18v, but can't compare with other brands I have not used. Mine are US imports, so dirt cheep, but with no warrenty.

Rick

Matt, Royoibi say these people buy their tools: "woodworkers, craftspeople, and value-conscious contractors worldwide".

Sounds professional enough to me. Now grow up, and stop stroking your Makita manuals.

Bearing in mind some on here think DD is really IMM the following does seem persuasive. But I can't say I have seen many Ryobis on site. Perhaps things are set to change. I doubt there is more to it than the battery and charger quality in a Chinese slave production line:

This is from the site:

"Batteries and Charger

The 18v Ryobi batteries form the basis of the One+ system. Each tool in the range uses this same battery. NiCad cells rated at 1.7Ah, which offers reasonable sustainability for cordless tasks. I believe the cells themselves are of similar high quality to those that Ryobi have used in their Pro Series line of Cordless tools which have proven to give good performance.

We certainly have experienced credible performance,>>> in most cases

Bearing in mind some on here think DD is really IMM the following does seem persuasive. But I can't say I have seen many Ryobis on site. Perhaps things are set to change. I doubt there is more to it than the battery and charger quality in a Chinese slave production line:

This is from the site:

"Batteries and Charger

The 18v Ryobi batteries form the basis of the One+ system. Each tool in the range uses this same battery. NiCad cells rated at 1.7Ah, which offers reasonable sustainability for cordless tasks. I believe the cells themselves are of similar high quality to those that Ryobi have used in their Pro Series line of Cordless tools which have proven to give good performance.

We certainly have experienced credible performance,>>> in most cases

I'm very tempted to get one of them. How much are they from the US and why are they so much cheaper there? And what are you doing about the charger or did it come with a 230v convertion?

They're probably the same 'pros' he 'knows' who were using PPPro just a few months ago and never learn.

It's an advert, pet.