*Ryobi 18-Volt Cordless Kit*
Product Review
By: Jaden
05 November 2005

I must admit, I was skeptical of this kit at first. Cordless power tools didn’t seem all that great to me. Ryobi is a cheaper brand name unlike DeWalt & Makita. My friend got one of these kits for Christmas last year. His was on sale for $139 and they regularly go for $179. I figured the little skill saw wouldn’t cut for beans, the battery would die frequently etc etc. He brought it to work for a project we were working on. I was like "Phyea, looks like a pile of junk." He insisted that I try it out and guaranteed I’d like it. He was right, I did! He’s had his kit for almost 1 year and it’s been used…and used hard and it’s still going like day #1. The battery life hasn’t shortened at all. If we can’t destroy it, nobody can. So we bought one for our work.

The kit includes:

 

There is space for extra blades

The sawz-all & skill saw are the cat’s meow. The skill saw has a guide rod attachment for up to 5" and it works great. This little saw will chew up a ¾" piece of plywood, yes I’ve done it. It’s extremely handy on small projects when a normal skill saw is just too big.

The sawz-all was used on a roof one day. No need to run extension cords.

The drill is 2 speed, FWD & REV and has a 24 position clutch. There is also a magnet below the handle to hold screws (now whoever came up with that idea should be rich). It also has built in levels.

The flashlight is bright. It has a swivel head and will point in most any direction.

The vacuum cleaner works so-so. Good for sucking up sawdust and that’s about it.

The batteries seem to last forever, even when using the skill saw frequently.

For a non-brand name tool kit, I highly recommend this one. I am still impressed. It’s highly portable and it works awesome.

I had my dad try the skill saw and he likes it. Like me, he was skeptical…until he used it. He’s even thinking about saving up and getting one of these kits.
Jaden



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