Personally I like the ryobi tools we have in the workshop, looking to replace a 12 yr old “light duty” black and decker with the ryobi. That said I don’t use the workshop tools super often, any major gripes besides the usual made in China one? Just looking for a cordless lithium drill and battery kit for $100ish that can handle typical round the house jobs, nothing that needs to drill through 4 in of concrete.
I use several Ryobi products at home and have never had a bad experience. After several years I finally had one of my battery packs die. They’re typically cheaper than a lot of other brands and I have never had a problem with their quality. They have my vote.
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I’m happy with my DeWalts. But they are from before Black and Decker took them over
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The Ryobi One+ tools live astonishingly long lives at DMS when not beaten with intent to kill. They’re generally more than sufficient for the home gamer. I’ve rebuilt two sections of fence and my shed with their base-level tools (not the hawt new brushless) - drill, impact driver, smallest-size circular saw, angle drill.
The main shortcoming with Ryobi is the pack-in batteries. The vanilla “Lithium” batteries simply aren’t as good as the “Lithium+” or newest “Lithium+ HP”. That being said, if a self-described “light duty” drill sufficed then the two 1.3Ah batteries in this kit are likely to be more than adequate. Or for $20 more you can get a brushless drill kit with 2.0Ah batteries.
TL;DR version of the following is that if you intend to engage in prolonged projects, cough up the greenbacks for the bigger batteries - they’ll last longer during the work session and also last longer in general.
All this being said, my satisfaction has likely been vastly enhanced by my acquisition of numerous Lithium+ 4.0Ah batteries. Not only do they have triple the number of dancing pixies on tap that the basic pack-in 1.3Ah cells feature on paper, but two additional advantages:
- The larger capacity in Ah means that the same work that would fully deplete the lesser 1.3Ah battery should deplete the ~3x more capacious 4.0Ah battery by less than a third due to the load being a lower effective C rate
- The 4.0Ah larger batteries are parallel-series designs (5S2P) vs the smaller 1.3Ah batteries’ series design (5S) which theoretically doubles the current capacity while placing even less strain on the individual cells; the latest 9.0Ah batteries are almost certainly 5S3P and thus likely to realize even greater runtimes than their advantage over lesser batteries
Before I got the 4.0Ah batteries, I had one of the pack-in vanilla “Lithium” batteries fail and eventually had one of the compact 1.5Ah “Lithium+” batteries fail as well. Perhaps some “battery hygiene” plays a role here as well - I don’t store batteries slotted into power tools for long periods, don’t store them on chargers long-term, and also try to anticipate the end of the project and store them in a partially-discharged state.
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are you talking about in the 60s when Black and Decker bought them or in the 90s when they branched out and rebranded their “construction grade” tool line as Dewalt? Either way that is impressive to have a cordless last that long 
As of a bit more than a year ago…
Black and Decker has owned Dewalt Inc since the 60s…
Agree with @ESmith, the ryobi one+ drills have done well.
My only concern is I’m wondering if the wireless tool market is about to go through another Battery Design Flux. The Ego Tool Brand has really spun the market by not only bringing in great cordless tools, but also better batteries. Dewalt is finally putting in a real response with their new line of FlexVolt Tools. I’m getting the feeling that the nicer cordless tools are going to move to their own proprietary versions of this tech in the next year or two.
I had a Ryobi 18v drill from 2004 until I grew tired of the batteries taking a dive in 2012, this was me using it professionally. Granted it was not on a daily basis but it was asking more of it than your regular homeowner. My boss was cheap then what can I say. Not once though did I have to worry about any brushes or other maintenance items. I did however have a Dewalt that only lasted about 2-3 years of use before it bit the dust. The Ryobi replaced the Dewalt. I replaced my Ryobi in 2012 with a Milwaukee 18v, it served me well until it decided to part ways with me Via storm sewer 3 weeks ago. I had actually let some of the smoke out of that one but it wouldn’t die either. It just decided to jump out of my van into an awaiting storm sewer.
I think the Ryobi’s do tend to catch shit, but you know what, they work. Not a lick of problems out of it. This was as of 2012 for my experience. The speaks volumes of how long they last with us at the space. I’d like to see a cordless-athon between the different manufacturers. DMS would be probably the best place for such a test bed.
For your entertainment a picture of my Milwaukee letting out some smoke.
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It wasn’t the 60s. I just didn’t seem to use them that much until recently now that they are in my work toolbox
I have several Ryobi 1+ tools several years old for light duty work and have had no problems. Some of the batteries have died. What is the best source of replacements?
I got mine from Home Depot
Wayne has several Ryobi that are beaten and abused on lighting gigs and installs. The biggest peril to them is theft. 
The member that works at The Tool Box in Music City Mall might have them for less than the 'Despot, however I gather that there are possible warranty issues if sourced from there.
I bought my miter saw, nail gun, jigsaw and inflator from HD… but got 2 cut off saws, circular saw, 1/2" drill, and a couple of batteries from The Tool Box. I’ve had zero issues with things from there. I used that drill to wire one of the cabins on my hunting property and just about broke my wrist a couple of times - that damn thing is a BEAST when drilling through multiple 2x4s at the corners to route the wires through. It drilled straight through where my DeWalt 3/8" wimped out.
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I have a full set of Ryobi One+, they are amazing but I had very similar experiences as @ESmith did. Now only using the 4.0Ah batteries, finally real tools with that kind of capacity and duration of use.
I can’t find the thread - and have slept since then - so perhaps I’m mistaken, but my mind is really sticking on the notion that since they’re not Home Depot (the apparent official exclusive retailer) warranty claims are apt to be Interesting™.
Nothing against them - suspect the service is better since they’re a small independent outfit - but I’d ask first and would love to be wrong.
If I were just starting on my shed project - or had any other significant work lined up - I’d be seriously eyeing the new 6- and 9-Ah batteries.
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At the prices I paid for the ones from The Tool Box, I’d consider them disposable and would buy another to replace it.
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Intriguing. I’ll give them a look next time I have a hankering for more Ryobi green anything since the Despot’s pricing is less than enviable.
I bought the ones that didn’t look pristine and was very happy.