[Ramtuff]

I bought the 5 piece Ryboi 18 volt set at Home Depot for $199 plus tax, and I love it. It came with a 1/2 drill, a sawzall, 8 inch circular saw, dust buster, and light. My only complaint is that the dust buster could be more powerful, but I just wanted it to do a quicky on my carpets when I go to carshows, so it's perfect for that. The light is super bright too.

I use the Dewalt 18 volt line at work, and the Ryobi line is just as good and durable, but a lot cheaper. This set is perfect for the home do-it-yourselfer that doesn't want to spend a ton of cash. I use these tools for everything from carpantry projects to working with metals and it hasn't disappointed me yet. It comes in a nice hard plastic case that holds all the tools, the two batterys and charger, and has plenty of room to stick drill bits, saw blades, etc. in.

Ian

 

[Bogie]

I bought the same set about a year ago before it came with the dustbuster a very good set for the price my only complaint is that they only supply 2 batteries with 4 tools and the storage case wont hold extra batteries.Caution dont leave your batteries in the charger for long periods of time after they are charged one of mine was ruined this way.but that allowed me to make an adapter out of it to run the tools off of my truck now i can use the sawzall all day long

 

[tugboatw200]

I'm a trim carpenter (install doors and baseboards, crown moulding, etc) and use the Ryobi 18 volt kit. I first started using them after one of my crew had all his tools stolen and couldn't afford to replace em. All his were Dewalts. After a few months of using them and having no problems I picked up the set. They work very well, the only problem I've had with them is in the heat of Vegas in the summer time the batterries didn't want to charge. They would have to cool for quitew awhile before they would hold a charge. Other than that, great tools! It's been a year and I haven't had to invoke the warranttee. And with a two year warranttee I don't expect to have any problems in the future!

 

[Tracks]

I liked my ryobi tools too. But after about 2 years booth batteries were shot. After taking it to a Ryobi repair shop (they also fixed all the other brands too),to test the charger(it was ok). They told me ryobis are ok but the batteries are junk, he said hes never seen one last longer then 3 yrs. New batteries no matter where I looked were about $45 ea. So I went out and bought another drill with 2 batterys thinking no big deal two drills would be nice. I won't have to keep changing bits. Well I found out when I got home the new batterys don't fit in the old drill or charger. I called Ryobi and everything. Needless to say I took it back and bought a Makita with NiMH batteries instead of NiCads. Then I took apart both packs tested every cell. I found only 1/2 the cells where good in each, so i cut them apart and made one good pack. This is why the charger was having trouble charging them, the cells went bad one at a time. So when you notice it taking longer to charge them test them with a volt meter before and after you charge them you might catch them early and be able to get a new one under warranty. (I'm an USN Electronics Technician)

hey Bogie did you work on the pile?

 

[Ramtuff]

How's this for tough? I mom drove over the sawzall the other day with her Ford Aerostar!! I was scared when I saw her pull away and noticed the tire mark going over it, but to my amazement it's fine. Even though the sawzall's body is plastic, it's not cracked or deformed in any way!!

 

[Ramtuff]

As a side note, there's another Ryobi product worth buying. It's actually called Homelight, and it's an 18 volt cordless weedwacker and bush trimmer set with two batteries and a charger. The price at Home Depot was around $85. Both tools work great, and there super light. You can go weedwacking and still carry a beer with you. This is an excellent option if you're tired of messing with a gas weedwacker after it's sat all winter.