5 RYOBI Products You Need (And 5 You Should Avoid)

Ryobi was initially founded as a die-casting company in 1943, operating out of a repurposed soy sauce warehouse. A name change in 1973 from Ryobi Seisakusho to simply Ryobi Limited, and a decision to focus on finished customer products like fishing tackle, golfing goods, and power tools led to the company gaining greater recognition, and by 2018, the company sold its successful power tools division off to Techtronic Industries Company, Ltd.

Several ardent haters of Ryobi's line of homeowner-grade tools and products will shudder to think that the company has any relation to a "real" tool line. Still, TTI also owns brands like Dirt Devil, Homelite, and even pro favorite Milwaukee. As a Home Depot exclusive, it's easy to assume that many of Ryobi's bright green tools are designed to catch the eye of the weekend DIYer, but Ryobi produces several reliable and well-designed products — and sells them for a fraction of the price of more established brands, in several cases.

Almost all of the products on our list today are part of Ryobi's 18-volt ONE+ line, a platform that features over 280 different items compatible with a single battery pack design. With a wide variety of tools and products, from drills and ratchets to glue guns and powered coolers, Ryobi was bound to hit on a couple of great successes, and a few stinkers as well. Today's feature will cover five of the best Ryobi products out there, suggested by ratings, product reviews, and comparison videos, as well as five that shoppers would do well to avoid.

A miter saw is a great tool to have in the garage for any basic home DIYer. The ability to cut through a 2x4 straight and clean is always handy, and this Ryobi ONE+ 7-¼ inch" compound miter saw should be great for things like baseboards and basic framing cuts. However, hands-on experience with this saw proves otherwise.

The problem with the ONE+ cordless compound miter saw is a lack of reliability. While it's affordable and lightweight, a lot of little things add up to make this Ryobi saw less than ideal. The miter gauge doesn't move smoothly, and even when locked in, there's still a good amount of movement. The table itself is also quite small. Dust collection with a vacuum attached is sparse at best, with sawdust seemingly blowing everywhere except inside the vac. The blade guard isn't perfect, and the aggressive startup causes the whole saw to jerk, which is potentially unsafe and can mess up a well-lined-up cut. A heavier, better-built miter saw is definitely worth the extra money, even if it's just a corded one from another brand.

A buffer seems like it's a pretty straightforward tool to design. Balance it, give the handles some good grip, and maybe add some features to make it stand out from the pack. Unfortunately, the Ryobi ONE+ Cordless 10" Orbital Buffer doesn't manage to get those little things right. 

While it looks like it should be easy enough to control with two large handles on either side, a combination of the battery sitting high atop the center and aggressive orbital motion makes this buffer bouncy and difficult to control for a smooth polish. Redditors also mention that the buffer stalls out on anything other than flat surfaces, and the battery orientation can lead to unintentional contact with the work surface when trying to work the buffer into tight spots.

For a tool that's a unitasker with no additional features (literally just an on/off switch), having this many issues is unacceptable, no matter the asking price.

Many beginner woodworkers will avoid a router, especially if they haven't been shown how to safely use one by someone more experienced. While the tool can be a little daunting, the amount of amazing things one can create with a table-based unit or something more portable is impressive. However, poor design can negate or minimize the time one wants to spend with a tool — as evidenced by the Ryobi ONE+ Cordless Compact Fixed Base Router.

Just looking at the design, one can already see that balance will be an issue. Reviewers consistently mention that the collet doesn't securely hold router bits in place, which can be dangerous if those bits are thrown during use. Dust collection is subpar, and instructions on properly connecting a dust collection unit don't exist. And many users complain that if dust isn't mitigated, the unit will simply stop working mid-cut. A lack of compatible router guides due to the base design, and the failure to provide bits with the tool make this particular Ryobi router a "pass" for us.

Like routers, table saws often feel like the "second level" for beginner woodworkers and DIY homeowners. They tend to take up space, and even the most affordable ones aren't necessarily cheap, meaning a certain level of comfort with saws and other woodworking tools feels necessary before investing in a table with a big rotating blade sticking out of it. Even new users want a balance between safety, accuracy, and affordability when selecting their first table saw.

Unfortunately, the Ryobi ONE+ Brushless Cordless 8-¼" Compact Portable Jobsite Table Saw falters on all three of those principles. The fence, one of the most important components of a table saw, is unreliable at best. The clamp style design means the ends of the fence move independently, meaning constant measurement is required before a cut. Reviews note that the fence will even move during use because of weak clamping ability, a clear safety issue. The included miter guide is very loose when in position, and the miter gauge is poorly marked and doesn't lock in place. The blade adjustment requires a lot of faith in the decals being perfectly installed and never moving, with the alternative being a digital angle finder being used before cutting to verify the blade angle.

Even at $330, this cordless saw is simply too unreliable to recommend, especially when Milwaukee and Dewalt offer similar, but far better designed, cordless setups for a little bit more initial investment.

In theory, this is a good idea for a product. Pop a charged battery into the Ryobi Power Source, and you have a couple of USB ports or a full-sized 120-volt outlet ready to dole out 150 watts of power. Unfortunately, this unit is underpowered and mainly designed for charging things like a phone or laptop. And while that's not nothing, it's also not what many users expected when they purchased the product. One reviewer notes that his CPAP unit only lasted a half hour with a 6-ah battery pack.

You'll notice two things when you scroll through Home Depot's 3,000+ reviews on this power tool. The majority are positive reviews collected by Ryobi for a promotion. The negative reviews are more believable, with folks quickly realizing the power source is either underpowered or did damage to their electronics when plugged in. These reviews also have more specific issues with the product rather than the generic "saved me in a hurricane/tornado/rapture" line in many positives. 

Just be sure to read the full specifications of the product rather than just reviews, and double-check any products you intend to use with this power source for compatibility and run time.