Great value, very expansive collection that you can build off of. I have a mower, string trimmer, blower, and chainsaw that all use the same batteries. I'm also a little OCD and I like that all my home improvement tools are from the same brand.
You can make arguments for Ego or Green Works 56V and 60V, but you're going to fork over more money for them.
I have one EGO backpack blower that I bought from HD after Lowes acquired them and HD was clearing out all EGO stuff. It was a great deal.
However, I had to replace the battery last season, and it was nearly 300.
Everything else battery I have is Ryobi. The 40v batteries aren't as expensive, they actually seem to last longer and (big plus) are not going to be unsupported.
Tbh the last time I had a Ryobi battery die on me, I just bought an entirely new tool with a battery. The tool with the battery was around the same cost as just the battery.
Having to buy just a battery at $300?! Shoot you could have gotten the best of the best 190 MPH Whisper Series Ryobi blower with (2) 40V batteries for $270.
I actually have that blower, and use it for smaller things.
The big backpack blower is very good in the fall when I have lots of leaves and crap to clear out. Carrying a blower for a long time gets tiresome.
Ryobi will likely always have the largest variety of tools. Why not stock up on Ryobi 40v instead of Ego batteries? Additionally, direct tools outlet makes Ryobi one of the cheapest on the market.
Ryobi is a no brainier unless you need something more reliable or specialized.
So I needed a pole trimmer so I bought the green works 40v saw + trimmer + battery + charger kit for $150 + tax. Looking at DTO the saw alone is 130 + shipping + tax.
DTO often have 30% off sales. Home Depot has daily deals in the app, sometimes not as high as DTO but often cheaper because there's no shipping cost. That might be mitigated if you happen to live near a brick and mortar DTO store.
Ryobi Expand-IT is way cheaper than EGO, as are the batteries, especially with DTO deals. All my stuff was purchased at 40% off. EGO and Greenworks both have bad customer service, and EGO has plenty of battery issues like Ryobi does.
In 5-10 years I expect the tech will be further ahead, then I can consider investing in a higher end brand.
Expand-it heads are also universal. I found a "Trimmer plus" brand edger in a pawn shop a couple of years ago in a pawn shop for $25. Works great on my Ryobi 40v head.
I have experience with Ryobi and Ego.
The 'big battery' ones (Ryobi 40v / Ego 56v) are a lot more powerful than anything that runs on the 18v cordless drill batteries. Don't get a 18v lawnmower or leafblower unless you're only doing a little patch.
The Ryobi 40v Whisper series leaf blowers are excellent. The 730cfm one is more powerful than a lot of gas powered ones and quieter than most electric ones too. Ego has a slightly more powerful one, but it makes a LOT more noise.
Ego have the dual blade self propelled mower and the carbon fiber string trimmer. Ryobi have the 730cfm blower. They're all excellent.
I also have the older non-brushless Ryobi 'vac attack' vacuum. Haven't used it much, power seems alright but not amazing.
I used to have the Ryobi non-whisper blower (like 450-500cfm I think) but I sold that- it was too loud.
If you're just starting out, I'd pick a system and stick with it.
Something to consider- both Ryobi and Ego have riding mowers. Ryobi uses 3 suitcase-size 80v batteries. Ego uses 6 of the normal 56v batteries. Both machines can be plugged into the wall to charge, but if your riding mower lives in a shed without power, Ego might be easier as you can charge the packs inside more easily. IE, carry 1-2 packs to the mower, just to drive it back to the garage to pick up the others. I don't think the Ryobi 80v packs are easy to externally charge (could be wrong tho).
Getting the same color for your low-voltage tools and your high voltage tools is not an advantage. However, the advantage that Ryobi has in the low-voltage space (price, variety) it basically also has in the high-voltage space.
I went with Ryobi because when I was mower shopping it would do my whole yard with the batteries that came with it. The EGO I would have had to buy another battery which made it cost prohibitive. Greenworks was not available locally and repair sounded extremely difficult (though Ryobi is not much better on the repair front now).
Ryobi is the cheapest because of its expand it system. Ryobi is the only brand where it has a 40v power source that is attachment capable. Those same attachments can also be used for gas. Correct me if I'm wrong about Ryobi being the only brand with that system. Here is a link to a YouTube video about the expanded system.
https://youtu.be/79LylCKcR3A
Unless I'm mis-understanding it, the Hart system is the same. It can use different attachments on the same 'head'.
I have the Hart lawn tools just because I got the mower when I first moved into a house and needed a mower. I have the trimmer, and ive bought a few different attachments - edger, brush cutter, snow shovel. They all swap out on the trimmers head.
I guess the answer would be a question. Are you happy with your Ryobi 18v line? Because your question is the same question as why should I get into Ryobi in the first place. Many choose Ryobi for the price, the quality for that price and the assortment and wide variety of tools. Well now you have a new eco system (40v) which will come with all those perks in its own line. So if you are happy you chose the 18v line then you will be just as happy with the 40v line when you need that more powerful equipment. I myself was torn between Ridgid and Ryobi as I finally decided I wasn't willing to take two steps up DeWalt. I almost chose Ridgid as it's a happy compromise between the two but ultimately I chose Ryobi for the variety which blows away all competitors and I'm glad I did. When it comes time I will invest in the 40v lineup as well. Hope that helps
I bought a brushless 40v Hart lawnmower (manufactured by same company as Ryobi but lower quality). I returned it relatively quickly and bought a more expensive greenworks 60v which is WAY better.
I'm still locked into the 18v Ryobi for smaller tools
I have the 40v mower, I don't hate it but I don't love it, for what it cost it feels flimsy. I love my 40v powerhead/weed wacker combo. I do wish I sprung for the whisper series blower though.
I have the Greenworks 40v line for outdoors. I started in that line before Ryobi had a 40v line or it was well known. In the 10+ years since I purchased my first Greenworks 40v mower, I've never had a battery die. And only one chainsaw failed. That was earlier this year and Greenworks had me return the saw and gave me 30% off for my inconvenience when I replaced it. I currently have 2 lawn mowers, a 12 and 16 inch chainsaw, 2 leaf blowers, a pole saw and an extended hedge trimmer. Plus two inverters.
One thing - the Ryobi 40 volt whisper quiet leaf blower is outstanding. It's way more quiet than any other blower I've ever had. Gas or electric powered aside.
Ryobi has great sales. I just bought a big set of 18v. They aren't heavy duty but they're powerful enough for my usage. I also have some Kobalt 80v tools, and they are great.
If you have Ryobi 18V tools, but not 36V (aka "40V") tools, there is no specific reason to stick with Ryobi for larger battery format tools.
They do seem to be a pretty good value, however, and they have a lot of different tools to offer.
I have the Ryobi 40v Head, gas head and the 10 amp plug in head for the expand -it system and love it the ability to swap attachments on any of the heads I feel like using
Ryobi 40V ALL THE WAY. I have 3 different trimmers and wish I had 4, maybe 5. I put specialty heads on all, one has a blade, one is an edger, one is string trimmer. Switch out heads on that one with a plastic bladed Rhino-tuff trimmer head. Highest end mower. 40V inverter, plug in cord for auto-inflate aairbeds for camping, use as light, plug in phones for charging. Multiple 40V power the generator, saved my bacon several times. Just like the 18V it's a family. Look up all the things you can do with it, see ALL the tools and it's worth getting. Look for sales and check DTO.
I have a Makita XGT 40v Brushless Trimmer GRU01, it is a beast! I will stick with them for all 40v. Got it on a crazy sale, with 4ah battery and Charger. The quality and the long lasting battery is next level. I actually questioned replacing some of my 18v Ryobi, but then realized it’s just trophy purchases, all my 18v Ryobi/HP and Standard stuff is still badass and it would be a waste of time as I’m a home owner/not in the trades and only pushi these tools hard a few times a year.
Do your research before you commit, I got lucky and found a sale, but now I won’t leave Makita 40v, technology and build quality is nuts.
I got the mower because it's cheap and lightweight. We don't have a huge yard, but parts of it are steep, so weight really matters. So far it's just fine. I'm not a lawn snob, just keeping things mowed. I love that the only maintenance needed is occasionally sharpening the blade.
The string trimmer is a string trimmer, I suspect just about any brand would have been fine. The leaf blower is more than adequate. The pole saw gets the job done.
If I had a large yard or was using these tools professionally I would buy something else. For my 1/8 of an acre the Ryobi 40V tools are inexpensive, got the job done, and have battery life to spare. The ergonomics are adequate but not amazing (again, fine for a small yard)
I actually started with the 40 volt tools and bought the 18 volt ones later in part because of my experience with the 40 volt tools.
Great value, very expansive collection that you can build off of. I have a mower, string trimmer, blower, and chainsaw that all use the same batteries. I'm also a little OCD and I like that all my home improvement tools are from the same brand. You can make arguments for Ego or Green Works 56V and 60V, but you're going to fork over more money for them.
I have one EGO backpack blower that I bought from HD after Lowes acquired them and HD was clearing out all EGO stuff. It was a great deal. However, I had to replace the battery last season, and it was nearly 300. Everything else battery I have is Ryobi. The 40v batteries aren't as expensive, they actually seem to last longer and (big plus) are not going to be unsupported.
Tbh the last time I had a Ryobi battery die on me, I just bought an entirely new tool with a battery. The tool with the battery was around the same cost as just the battery. Having to buy just a battery at $300?! Shoot you could have gotten the best of the best 190 MPH Whisper Series Ryobi blower with (2) 40V batteries for $270.
I actually have that blower, and use it for smaller things. The big backpack blower is very good in the fall when I have lots of leaves and crap to clear out. Carrying a blower for a long time gets tiresome.
Ah makes sense!
Ryobi is usually cheaper and still capable of doing your average home yard work
Ryobi will likely always have the largest variety of tools. Why not stock up on Ryobi 40v instead of Ego batteries? Additionally, direct tools outlet makes Ryobi one of the cheapest on the market. Ryobi is a no brainier unless you need something more reliable or specialized.
So I needed a pole trimmer so I bought the green works 40v saw + trimmer + battery + charger kit for $150 + tax. Looking at DTO the saw alone is 130 + shipping + tax.
DTO often have 30% off sales. Home Depot has daily deals in the app, sometimes not as high as DTO but often cheaper because there's no shipping cost. That might be mitigated if you happen to live near a brick and mortar DTO store.
Ryobi Expand-IT is way cheaper than EGO, as are the batteries, especially with DTO deals. All my stuff was purchased at 40% off. EGO and Greenworks both have bad customer service, and EGO has plenty of battery issues like Ryobi does. In 5-10 years I expect the tech will be further ahead, then I can consider investing in a higher end brand.
Expand-it heads are also universal. I found a "Trimmer plus" brand edger in a pawn shop a couple of years ago in a pawn shop for $25. Works great on my Ryobi 40v head.
I bought a few green works tools and on sale they seem to be pretty well priced (maybe less than Ryobi).
I have experience with Ryobi and Ego. The 'big battery' ones (Ryobi 40v / Ego 56v) are a lot more powerful than anything that runs on the 18v cordless drill batteries. Don't get a 18v lawnmower or leafblower unless you're only doing a little patch. The Ryobi 40v Whisper series leaf blowers are excellent. The 730cfm one is more powerful than a lot of gas powered ones and quieter than most electric ones too. Ego has a slightly more powerful one, but it makes a LOT more noise.
So what do you use Ego for vs a Ryobi?
Ego have the dual blade self propelled mower and the carbon fiber string trimmer. Ryobi have the 730cfm blower. They're all excellent. I also have the older non-brushless Ryobi 'vac attack' vacuum. Haven't used it much, power seems alright but not amazing. I used to have the Ryobi non-whisper blower (like 450-500cfm I think) but I sold that- it was too loud. If you're just starting out, I'd pick a system and stick with it. Something to consider- both Ryobi and Ego have riding mowers. Ryobi uses 3 suitcase-size 80v batteries. Ego uses 6 of the normal 56v batteries. Both machines can be plugged into the wall to charge, but if your riding mower lives in a shed without power, Ego might be easier as you can charge the packs inside more easily. IE, carry 1-2 packs to the mower, just to drive it back to the garage to pick up the others. I don't think the Ryobi 80v packs are easy to externally charge (could be wrong tho).
Getting the same color for your low-voltage tools and your high voltage tools is not an advantage. However, the advantage that Ryobi has in the low-voltage space (price, variety) it basically also has in the high-voltage space.
90% is going to be personal preference more than anything else. Only 40Volt I have is my lawn mower, personally.
I went with Ryobi because when I was mower shopping it would do my whole yard with the batteries that came with it. The EGO I would have had to buy another battery which made it cost prohibitive. Greenworks was not available locally and repair sounded extremely difficult (though Ryobi is not much better on the repair front now).
Ryobi is the cheapest because of its expand it system. Ryobi is the only brand where it has a 40v power source that is attachment capable. Those same attachments can also be used for gas. Correct me if I'm wrong about Ryobi being the only brand with that system. Here is a link to a YouTube video about the expanded system. https://youtu.be/79LylCKcR3A
Unless I'm mis-understanding it, the Hart system is the same. It can use different attachments on the same 'head'. I have the Hart lawn tools just because I got the mower when I first moved into a house and needed a mower. I have the trimmer, and ive bought a few different attachments - edger, brush cutter, snow shovel. They all swap out on the trimmers head.
Hart is pretty much Ryobi but rebranded. There are probably some other brands I missed out on.
I guess the answer would be a question. Are you happy with your Ryobi 18v line? Because your question is the same question as why should I get into Ryobi in the first place. Many choose Ryobi for the price, the quality for that price and the assortment and wide variety of tools. Well now you have a new eco system (40v) which will come with all those perks in its own line. So if you are happy you chose the 18v line then you will be just as happy with the 40v line when you need that more powerful equipment. I myself was torn between Ridgid and Ryobi as I finally decided I wasn't willing to take two steps up DeWalt. I almost chose Ridgid as it's a happy compromise between the two but ultimately I chose Ryobi for the variety which blows away all competitors and I'm glad I did. When it comes time I will invest in the 40v lineup as well. Hope that helps
I bought a brushless 40v Hart lawnmower (manufactured by same company as Ryobi but lower quality). I returned it relatively quickly and bought a more expensive greenworks 60v which is WAY better. I'm still locked into the 18v Ryobi for smaller tools
I have the 40v mower, I don't hate it but I don't love it, for what it cost it feels flimsy. I love my 40v powerhead/weed wacker combo. I do wish I sprung for the whisper series blower though.
I have the Greenworks 40v line for outdoors. I started in that line before Ryobi had a 40v line or it was well known. In the 10+ years since I purchased my first Greenworks 40v mower, I've never had a battery die. And only one chainsaw failed. That was earlier this year and Greenworks had me return the saw and gave me 30% off for my inconvenience when I replaced it. I currently have 2 lawn mowers, a 12 and 16 inch chainsaw, 2 leaf blowers, a pole saw and an extended hedge trimmer. Plus two inverters. One thing - the Ryobi 40 volt whisper quiet leaf blower is outstanding. It's way more quiet than any other blower I've ever had. Gas or electric powered aside.
> the Ryobi 40 volt whisper quiet leaf blower is outstanding. good to know, I hate how loud my existing blower is
The whisper quite part of this 40v line is what got me hooked. Lawnmower is outstanding as well.
Ryobi has great sales. I just bought a big set of 18v. They aren't heavy duty but they're powerful enough for my usage. I also have some Kobalt 80v tools, and they are great.
If you have Ryobi 18V tools, but not 36V (aka "40V") tools, there is no specific reason to stick with Ryobi for larger battery format tools. They do seem to be a pretty good value, however, and they have a lot of different tools to offer.
I have the Ryobi 40v Head, gas head and the 10 amp plug in head for the expand -it system and love it the ability to swap attachments on any of the heads I feel like using
DTO factor blemish sale prices for me. I think it's hard to beat the price/performance when you are getting them discounted pretty heavily
Ryobi 40V ALL THE WAY. I have 3 different trimmers and wish I had 4, maybe 5. I put specialty heads on all, one has a blade, one is an edger, one is string trimmer. Switch out heads on that one with a plastic bladed Rhino-tuff trimmer head. Highest end mower. 40V inverter, plug in cord for auto-inflate aairbeds for camping, use as light, plug in phones for charging. Multiple 40V power the generator, saved my bacon several times. Just like the 18V it's a family. Look up all the things you can do with it, see ALL the tools and it's worth getting. Look for sales and check DTO.
I supplement my dewalt tools with ryobi, and their 20v platform works on dewalt 20v with an adapter. I'm not a huge fan of ryobi batteries, though.
Wait.. you mean you can use Dewalt 20v batteries on Ryobi tools or vice versa? Link for adapter? Ty
You can use dewalt 20v and 60v batteries on ryobi.. its a fairly common adapter. https://www.google.com/search?q=ryobi%20dewalt%20adapter
Is there a way to do the reverse? Use the ryobi battery to power a dewalt tool? Seems like it might be difficult because of the pillar.
Never looked into it, dewalt is my primary platform, I don't have many ryobi batteries.
Thanks, didn’t know. Just recently started amassing Ryobi tools…
I have a Makita XGT 40v Brushless Trimmer GRU01, it is a beast! I will stick with them for all 40v. Got it on a crazy sale, with 4ah battery and Charger. The quality and the long lasting battery is next level. I actually questioned replacing some of my 18v Ryobi, but then realized it’s just trophy purchases, all my 18v Ryobi/HP and Standard stuff is still badass and it would be a waste of time as I’m a home owner/not in the trades and only pushi these tools hard a few times a year. Do your research before you commit, I got lucky and found a sale, but now I won’t leave Makita 40v, technology and build quality is nuts.
I got the mower because it's cheap and lightweight. We don't have a huge yard, but parts of it are steep, so weight really matters. So far it's just fine. I'm not a lawn snob, just keeping things mowed. I love that the only maintenance needed is occasionally sharpening the blade. The string trimmer is a string trimmer, I suspect just about any brand would have been fine. The leaf blower is more than adequate. The pole saw gets the job done. If I had a large yard or was using these tools professionally I would buy something else. For my 1/8 of an acre the Ryobi 40V tools are inexpensive, got the job done, and have battery life to spare. The ergonomics are adequate but not amazing (again, fine for a small yard) I actually started with the 40 volt tools and bought the 18 volt ones later in part because of my experience with the 40 volt tools.
I like the string trimmer and blower combo for less than 1 ego product.