5 Budget-Friendly Ryobi Tools You'll Use All The Time
Buying precision hardware can be a bit of a balancing act –- you want something precise and powerful that can accomplish whatever you throw at it. Still, you also don't want to dump your entire life savings into a single workshop tool. Depending on the work you're doing, either professionally or just as a hobby, you may have to shell out hundreds of dollars to get a complete suite of professional-grade tools.
The trick to being a smart shopper is knowing how to spot utility and bargains. You could buy every single product in Ryobi's catalog, for example, but unless you're working with your hands every single day, you're probably not going to use them enough to warrant the investment. Instead of a bunch of random tools for a massive cumulative price tag, you can get a handful of Ryobi power tools for under $100 each that you'll definitely get consistent use out of.
Air Grip Compact Laser Level
Whether you're building a shelf or sanding something down, creating leveled surfaces is of the utmost importance. After all, if your shelf is unbalanced, everything you put on it will roll off the side. Normally, this is accomplished through a level tool, which is just a few air bubbles suspended in liquid on a big ruler thing. It's a bit low-tech and may not always be accurate. If you want a true level, you need laser precision, literally.
Ryobi's Compact Laser Level does have a pair of the usual bubbles, but that's not the crux of the device. The real show is the 20-foot red laser line, projecting perfectly straight outward to clearly indicate a level surface. Whether you're building the shelf or putting it up, the Laser Level will show you where the true level lies. Using Ryobi's proprietary Air Grip tech, you can also attach the laser level to any flat, smooth surface, whether it's a wall or a ceiling. The Compact Laser Level is available at Home Depot for $36.97.
Cordless High Pressure Inflator
If you have kids, a pool, or both, the odds are good you have to do a lot of inflating on a regular basis, whether it's water wings, basketballs, bike tires, or whatever else. Even if you have a hand pump, manually inflating every toy your kids throw at you can be absolutely exhausting. Give your hands a break and let the tech handle it instead.
Ryobi's High-Pressure Inflator can safely and quickly inflate any small object with a PSI between zero and 150, which encompasses everything your kids could need help with. Using the digital display, you just set a PSI, plug in the hose, and let the airflow. Once the set PSI is reached, the inflator will shut off, so there is no need to worry about popped basketballs. This inflator also makes a great emergency car buddy for reinflating flat and spare tires on the road. The Cordless High Pressure Inflator is available at Home Depot for $36.98.
Cordless Hand Vacuum with Powered Brush
Every household needs a couple of vacuum cleaners, one for the big messes on the carpet and one for the small messes on tables and in small nooks. In the latter case, you need a hand vacuum with good suction power to capture loose particles and some tougher attachments to teach it a lesson when you're faced with a stubborn mess. Ryobi's got a lot of vacuum options, but there's one particularly attractive one you can get for less than $100.
Ryobi's Cordless Hand Vacuum features an airflow of up to 30 CFM and a sealed suction of up to 23 inches, good for capturing and holding small particulates in its dual-filtered capture cup. When a mess proves too stubborn for standalone suction, attach the motorized beater bar to the front to kick that dust's butt with a speedy rotating brush. When the brush gets dirty, just pop the side open to pull it out, clean it, and slot it back in for more action. The Cordless Hand Vacuum is available from Home Depot for $79.00.
Compact Power Scrubber
Most messes in and out of the house can be beaten back with enough elbow grease, but for some surfaces, the stains are just too ground in for you to fight with your hands and a rag. This happens particularly often with stone and metal fixtures and water-facing surfaces like sinks and pool siding. For these more stubborn stains, you need a tool that can multiply your elbow grease with the power of strong bristles and rotation.
Ryobi's Compact Power Scrubber packs 300 RPM of rotational muscle into a compact, lightweight frame, allowing you to stick it in tough-to-reach nooks and crannies and deliver a super scrub. The included 2-inch medium-bristle brush is great for cleaning thick, porous surfaces like fiberglass, granite, tile, and more. Plus, the device has an IPX7 waterproof rating, so it can be safely submerged in up to 3 feet of water for 30 minutes, giving you plenty of time to clean those pool walls. The Compact Power Scrubber and its accessories are available in a kit at Home Depot for $59.97.
Compact Workshop Blower
Even the most skilled DIY masters can't keep themselves from making a big mess. It's an unfortunate side-effect of the crafting arts; you end up with a bunch of sawdust and metal shavings all over the place after you're done crafting. Cleaning all of this junk up can be a bit of a headache, especially if you're already tired from working. Instead of using your hands, just feel the wind.
Ryobi's Compact Workshop Blower is small in stature but big in muscle. With its three-speed variable trigger, it can blow air up to 160 miles per hour with 100 CFM, more than enough to blow any loose crafting bits off your workbench and into the trash. The front of the blower also features an integrated rubber nozzle, so you don't have to worry about scratching up your work surfaces as you move it around for cleaning. The Compact Workshop Blower is available standalone at Home Depot for $69.00.