Doesn’t matter too much to me. One is Dewalt and the other Ryobi. I like them both but I prefer yellow over green. The Ryobi has a large battery that lasts a very long time. The Dewalt has better ergonomics and is older, the batteries are gone (but that’s the benefit of having two drills/four batteries). I’ve dropped the Dewalt a bunch. The Ryobi is quieter and smoother torque at variable speeds.
I’ve eyed Festool for their sanders and dust collection, but soo expensive I don’t think I could buy them unless I’m getting paid for my work.
Its not like they are the exact same tool.
I have a ton of Ryobi tools and am perfectly fine with them, but they are not designed and built to the same standards of use and durability as Milwaukee. That’s why companies have multiple tiers to cover everyone from the occasional user to the professional. Some companies really go nuts with that and have seemingly a million brands (I’m looking at your SBD) but thinning out a company’s lineup of too many brands is sometimes very tough from a customer loyalty perspective.
Even so, it’s not about who owns them, it’s about their design, specifications and quality assurance. Milwaukee is head and shoulders above Ryobi in quality and durability (and cost).
Have a few Rigid tools (cordless drill, impact driver, router, contractor table saw, orbital sander). Originally started buying Rigid for their “lifetime warranties,” but after using their registration process, it appears they’re doing everything they can to make people give up, so I don’t buy this brand any more. The contractor table saw is great, regardless.
I now buy Dewalt cordless tools. Good quality, but battery prices are ridiculous.
For tools I don’t need to use very often, I buy from Harbor Freight. Some tools are barely usable, some of their hand tools are superior to other store brands from other stores.
Harbor Freight is a lifesaver brand, by that I mean if you have very little cash but you REALLY need something to finish the job, they’ll do that one job and you’d still have a tool you can use ocasionally
There have only been a handful of times where going with a cheapo HF tool was the correct answer in the long run. HF’s higher end tools are not bad, but then again they are priced at a similar level to “real” brands, so why go with HF? Their lower end tools are mostly throw-away and something that you will need to replace - the old adage of “buy once, cry once” applies. Now I am not saying ALL HF stuff is garbage (their car jacks are good), but it’s just not worth it to me. Other’s can buy what they want.
The icon line is supposed to be comparable to the tool trucks and I have some of them and so far, I’d agree and it’s about 1/5th of the cost. I’ve been beating the hell out of the 3/8 impact swivel sockets and haven’t broken one yet. They’re still tight.
ozito is a local brand stocked at bunnings, i wouldnt rely on them to make a living with but they are more than good enough around the house and im so deep into the ecosystem at this point it makes no sense to change
I’ve got Ryobi battery tools and Bosch Professional corded tools (vacuum lock-in…). The Bosch tools are nice to have but at least for me Ryobi is good enough for most applications.
If you’re in the market for something specific check out Project Farm on Youtube. He does a pretty good job of putting whatever he’s reviewing through its paces - sometimes I watch his videos for stuff I know I’ll never buy
I don’t know enough to have any brand loyalty, though there might be a handful of brands that I probably won’t buy from again. If I could buy some of my cordless tools again though I’d try to consolidate down to a single brand so I didn’t have so many dumb chargers to sort through.
Milwaukee 12v is the bomb for most drill/driving/ratchet. Super compact, ergonomic, well built, and the same power as “20v” equivalent twice their size. It would be my number one choice for anything except larger impact wrenches.
The shop I work at decided that we would get Milwaukee for most of our cordless tools, so that’s what I have for the convenience of being able to share batteries. We even have a 3/4" and 1" impact from Milwaukee, both work great. The 3/4" sees use every day removing 500ft/lbs lugnuts off of heavy trucks.
Yeah, unfortunately the beastly impacts are M18 so different batteries than the smaller M12 tools. They do make an awesome M12 3/8" Stubby Impact. Anything bigger you need to bump up to the M18 line.
I’m not paid to shill for the tool company I buy my kit from. They all use the same battery, so it’s cheaper to not mix and match.
I would probably only recommend my Bosch sliding compound mitre saw of all the tools I’ve owned - my only complaint about it is that the laser is not adjustable enough, but cuts are quality, angles are repeatable and I’m broadly very happy with it.
Anything else is much the same as every other tool on the market.
Companies with an advertising budget larger than all the currency that will come through me in a lifetime, especially as they’re all owned by more or less the same parent corporations totally eliminating competition or variance, don’t need my voice.
That’s how they got me as well. Lowest priced plus on sale. Reviews were mostly fine for the trimmer itself. Most people seemed to have more issues with the customer service, which, that’s pretty standard for many companies these days. I was tired of constantly having to fix the name brand gas weed eater I had, so I picked up one of the battery powered Ryobi models. It works…fine lol. Battery could last longer. Otherwise it does exactly what it says it does on the box. I’ve never had a problem with it. My other handful of Ryobi tools are in that camp. Kinda cheap feeling but seem to work as advertised.
The only one that was shit is the drill. I have a low-end black and decker drill that has lasted me about ten years. The Ryobi I got maybe hit three.
I’ll tell you though, the best tool I own is my Scott manual push mower. Picked it up for $99 and I’ve never had an issues and it still cuts like it did when I bought it four years ago. A little WD40 in the spring after pulling it out of shed hibernation and off to cut.
I always heard “buy a cheap tool and if it breaks buy better version” - haven’t really done enough to go thru any ryobis yet, except for leaving batteries out in the garage all winter.
Milwaukee, because thats what was on clearance at Home Depot when I wad finally disgusted with the poor performance and junk batteries on my craftsman C3 stuff.
