Ok, hive-mind… The shed is built, nearly ready to line it as soon as the ball tearing heat disappears, and it's time to start stocking it…
Looking for recommendations on what you trend-setters would consider the best bang for buck power tool range, cordless or corded (I've got a dozen 15amp power points at my disposal in the shed, so building a corded range isn't out of the question).
Thoughts on the best value range for example: Ozito, Ryobi, Katana, AEG etc… I even used some XU1 while doing some renos and was surprised at their bang for buck (build quality notwithstanding).
Will mainly be used for small DIY projects and builds. I have easy access to Bunnings, Mitre 10 and Home Hardware stores, which I'd rather stick with for warranty/returns ease. Have access to Milwaukee tools at work, but cannot justify that level for home use.
Happy to build a kit over time, but could probably go $500-700 & haven't got a set idea of exactly what tools I want, just want to start replacing and develop a single range of tools.
Any thoughts would be appreciated.
Power Tool Recommendations (corded or cordless)
Comments
This. Take them home from work.
Nah.
Not practical, and I want my own set.And the average home user doesn't need Milwaukee… They're good, but over the top for what I need.
milwaekee>
dewalt>
makita>
aeg, hilti, hikoki, ozito>
ryobi>
bosch >
@capslock janitor: If you watch some AvE videos (https://youtube.com/c/arduinoversusevil2025), he takes a lot of these tools apart and shows the quality that has gone into the design and build. Much of this doesn't agree with your list (i.e. Milwaukee isn't what it used to be before it was bought out etc).
Have access to Milwaukee tools at work, but cannot justify that level for home use.
No.
Ryobi then
Cordless or corded?
@Adz81: Ive got several dead cordless drills due to batteries dying..
IMWO if you dont use them often, go corded which I've done as I find if you never use em or never charge em and leave them in the pretty carry case they all come with - the batteries die.
YMMV
@Adz81: Cordless or corded?
Cordless if you are constantly using it, say at least once a week
Corded if you are going to put it away and use it once every three months or longer@Adz81: IMO depends on the tool. Think about what you'll use it for and how. eg a drill you're probably often going to want to take it to the "job" so cordless makes sense but a plunge router you're probably going to use it at a workbench to make something that you'll then take somewhere else so corded is an option.
I agree with the Ryobi suggestion because there's such a huge range of tools on the One+ system and with market leading warranty. Downside is only available at Bunnings so only time they're on sale is when they're running out a model. Don't feel you need to lock in to just one, buy the best tool for the job. I have 5 different brands of power tool currently and a mix of corded and cordless.
+1 for Milwaukee. Look for sales, bonus deals and auctions.
You'd get just one tool with batteries for the $500-700 budget.
Makita 18v everything has worked well for us in a domestic setting. 4 batteries, with 2 sitting on the charger at all times and up to 2 being used in a tool. The range is so wide, it's hard to think of anything that they don't cover! Can be found on special every now and again at ~20% off, or in package deals.
The only corded tool we still have is a Bosch hammer drill, but that's cos I like it. I'm sure the Makita would do just as good, or close enough, if I tried it.
it's hard to think of anything that they don't cover
They don't have a cordless framing gun! Damn Makita…
And there are plenty of knockoff batteries and accessories for makita. More so than dewalt I've found =(
with 2 batteries sitting on the charger at all times
That doesn't sound like a healthy thing to do for Lithium ion Cells.
If the charger is smart it should switch off charge when the battery is full. It will take a long time for the self discharge to drop below a level where the charger would kick in again.
That is true, but remember the terminals of the battery will still be in contact.
This does passive damage to the battery in time. For ALL equipment, if you're storing it, remove the battery from the device and chargers. I learned my lesson with a drawer full of dead GoPro (and other gadget) batteries. Since being more mindful about it, my devices last better, and I'm happier for it.
That budget and DIY would have to be Ozito
yea the good thing with Ozito is you can take it back when it dies first time you use it and swap it.
AEG are great and have 6 years warranty.
Ryobi
Cordless
Ryobi cordless overall for cost, warranty and the ridiculous range of tools. Opt for the Brushless if the option is there and you use it semi frequently.
Anything you use very frequently you could justify going to a bigger brand (Makita, Dewalt, Milwaukee)
And anything you need brute strength or runtime with I would go corded.For me I have a lot of Ryobi kit which I run off three 4mah batteries in rotation.
Then I have a Dewalt cordless drill and Driver as I use these often and wanted something with more power.
Finally I gave a corded power sander and Rotary hammer drill.
Well to paraphrase Adam Savage of Mythbusters… "Get the cheapest tool to figure out if you need it and if it fits within your collection, then go and get the best you can afford."
As for the whole Cordless vs Corded question…depends on the tool. Some are more suited to being more portable, others not so much. If you already use Milwaukees at work, I'm sure you get that.
Brand wise, Ryobi is a good bet for DIY use. And they haven't changed their battery system in quite a long time, so batteries dying over time isn't as big a concern vs Brands that have changed. But don't be beholden to one tool ecosystem.
For me, I've got cordless tools from two brands (Ozito and Ryobi) and a whole bunch more different corded ones.
Ozito Brushless from Bunnings seems to have good reviews 5-year Warranty on the tool and 3 years on the battery.
As mentioned before AEG with 6-year warranty is also a good choice.
Ozito X brushless if possible, have 4 drills and many assorted others. Great warranty with Bunnings, just drop off the tool and get a new one or a refund, no problems!.
have had other mid to high level tools, not much better but often less noise. Corded is good for limited use or extra grunt for saws or HD drilling jobs.Ozito cordless.
For the home handy person they are more than reliable, powerful enough for general use, cheap enough to buy a set of tools.
Cordless because it is so easy to grab them for minor jobs and with a couple of batteries have enough power for most larger tasks. The batteries aren't too expensive.
In Perth, the 'windy' capital, having a cordless 36v blower always at hand is brilliant. If it had a cord or required fuel I wouldn't do it nearly as often.My dad spent so much money on festool stuff , he has an office job and likes to wood work but its so expensive for what its worth. He has the corded set. Its pretty good stuff but i dont think its value for money.
I on the other hand mainly have corded automotive tools and i buy everything off gumtree second hand. I did buy a bunch of cordless ryobi tools for really cheap because the dude was going overseas.
because the dude was going overseas.
Haha you believed that?
The Makita and/or Milwaukee 18V cordless/brushless range is large, and probably not going away soon (they're doubling up on batteries for tools that need more power).
Makita is built to a price point (like everything I guess) but there is always used stuff going cheap. Milwaukee is more $ and more or less never on sale (at least, not on sale with big discounts from RRP but sometimes they have good bundles).Cordless stuff is fantastic for low-duty-cycle work.
I haven't taken my small 240V grinder out of its box since I got a cordless.
I used my 240V drill to make several holes in a 20mm steel bar because the cordless stuff didn't like it,
but other than that - everything has been cordless.It's just so much easier than getting 240V everywhere you need to use a tool…
For professional trades level tools, you should be looking at Makita, Dewalt, Bosch Blue or Milwaukee. That's what you would mostly find on construction sites and used by tradies. For home DIY, it's better if you purchased tools from Ryobi, Bosch Green or Makita as it's readily available and easy to return or replace with warranty.
As for corded vs cordless, depends on the usage application but the versatility of cordless is well worth the added costs.
I've found the best option for me in possibly similar circumstances is Makita + Ozito.
Makita for the tools I use most and prefer better quality (eg drill, rattler, grinder, etc)
Ozito for circular saw, orbital sander, mouse sander, flood light, chainsaw, pole trimmer, workshop blower, turbo blower, weed sprayer, etc)
Considered Ryobi as the range is pretty huge, but it's not that cheap tbh and don't want to add another ecosystem.for light DIY can you really beat Ozito with its good warranty and easy as piss returns via Bunnings
I had an ozito circular saw and abused the hell out of it with hardwood sleepers, took me ages and ages to kill it - which I think was down to the blade being blunt. Anyway, it handled them easily. Replaced it with a bosch blue and its hands down way better, but it did cost me 5x as much as the ozito did
Cordless all the way. Probably the exception would be a budget corded circular saw and maybe a corded router if you need one.
I have Ryobi and have been happy with everything except the circular saw, but it’s not brushless. I use makita at work and it’s better, has more power but less features like the battery level display or magnetic screw/bit holder on the drill.
I bought a Ryobi 18v drill years ago before other companies really got into promoting the one battery several skins model. Now I’m kinda stuck with Ryobi and Bunnings exclusive, but still got several tools second hand and have around 15 skins and 6 batteries. Time again I might go for makita or similar brand you can get at multiple suppliers because they have sales to compete against each other.
Cordless, always cordless if possible. Milwaukee if you can afford it, otherwise…
Bosche brushless blue Drills
Ryobi One hedge trimmer, line trimmer
Makita drop saw (corded)
AEG or w/e for all the other electric tools you don't use so much or more Ryobi crap.Bosche brushless blue Drills
I'd buy Ryobi over Bosch blue these days. Quality has dropped off massively IMO. The amount of run out my drill has is a joke but within their spec.
I don't think I've ever buy anything cordless again, unless it's for a specific purpose where a cord or engine isn't convenient. Even a Dyson doesn't vacuum a house on a single charge. Ryobi 18v batteries die early plus, like the Dyson, you need spare pre-charged batteries on hand.
My wife bought me an AEG hammer drill for my first project 30 years ago, and it hasn't missed a beat.
I just bought my son in law a XU1 hammer drill, so I'll see whether that works out to be cost effective over time.
But I'd rather a great tool that lasts a lifetime than spread the cost over a lifetime of botched projects as the tools fail me.I'm about to by a set of Stihl petrol garden tools. The shops are full of the rechargeable models, but you know they aren't going to last a lifetime.
As many have said it depends on the tool and usage. There is absolutely no way I'd give up having a cordless drill, even though I know I'll be buying a replacement battery every 5-10 years. For $50 every few years it saves me having to mess around with extension cables all the time.
If a tool is going to live in the workshop then sure, but anything that ever leaves there I'd always go cordless, just for the convenience. Especially once you have a few tools you don't need to keep 2 batteries per tool, it becomes pretty effective.
The tools themselves will last forever. Electric motors are as simple as dirt, much simpler than a petrol engine.
To each their own, but I’ve had no problems with cordless tools. Sure, I’ve had 2 batteries that have died, but they were in the order of 6yo and has a fairly tough life towards the end, almost daily charge discharge. If the tool is almost as powerful as a corded tool the convenience of not having to find a nearby point or run an extension lead far outweighs it.
Then there’s the fact that most tradies are going cordless for near everything because of the additional safety of not having to run leads everywhere and have the tools safety tested regularly. Many jobsites won’t allow corded tools except in specific areas.
I agree,
Hammer drill, impact driver, impact wrench, jigsaw I all have cordless as these are generally for short quick jobs
circular saw, recipro/demo saw, belt sander and grinder I all have corded as I abuse them and a battery wouldn't give me much working time.
I worked for a company that sells power tools for 5 years - we sold Milwaukee, hitachi, Mikita, Bosch, and some other brands.
Makita are the best by some margin, bar none. Least issues.
Milwaukee had by FAR the most returns, and most issues. although they did sell more of them than the other brands and there warranty was pretty good generally.Just a warning about Milwaukee - they used to be owned by Atlas Copco, but sold to techtronic industries many years ago. They are a Chinese company - with an exceptional marketing department. They own (among others) Ryobi, AEG, empire, VAX.
They do this so they can sell Milwaukee as their tradies tool in tool shops, and then sell the same product as AEG in Bunnings (exclusively)
Anyway my point is, if you can get AEG cheaper, it’s the same as Milwaukee. Ryobi is more than fine for home use anyway.
Buying online there are often great redemption offers, and you can score a lot of free stuff.
Anyway my point is, if you can get AEG cheaper, it’s the same as Milwaukee
No it's not.
Not sure why this is being downvoted - no, just because they have the same parent company, the tools are not the same. AEG & Rigid are the same (in most situations), but Milwaukee tools are manufactured almost entirely differently, from plastics used to motors.
I'd be curious to see some references for identical tools between the two.
Not sure why this is being downvoted
People lack critical thinking, and because someone who "worked for a tool shop" said it, it must be true. 🙄
but Milwaukee tools are manufactured almost entirely differently, from plastics used to motors
This, plenty of tests with hard evidence to prove it.
I'd be curious to see some references for identical tools between the two.
Me too.
I went cordless for around the house and sometimes for camping (torch, little blower, chainsaw, fan).
Once you're locked into a brand it's expensive to swap so I made a list with all the tools I might want or need and ended up with Dewalt, no issues so far.
I like AEG but they don't have everything I need and I noticed Makita has an 18V Coffee Machine which would have been cool for camping. Hopefully, Dewal will follow.Can’t go wrong with DeWalt. Have you thought about an air compressor and get some pneumatic tools such as a finishing nailer (15gauge), etc.
Milwaukee would be my choice and I’ve have a couple of their tools, but expensive and more for the pros.
All my stuff is DeWalt and have had the same cordless drill & driver for 16 years - never skipped a beat. Can usually find a good deal on them or see them at Costco
Nice idea, yep, the air compressor is a definite.
I bought my first house and didn't have any tools beside an old corded Black and Decker drill. So I went through a similar process about 18 months ago to choose my base starting gear. I'm not a tradie, not much of a DIYer but keen on doing things myself and curious to learn and be a little self sufficient to be able to build simple structures if I want to. Just completed a surf rack. I'm not building a deck anytime soon.
Anyway I started with AEG fusion hammer drill and impact driver as it had the grinder as redemption. Brushless and good batteries, 6 yr warranty so thought it was would be a good starting point. And add to them over time.
The AEG tools are great. Went with AEG over Ryobi/Ozito/Makita as it felt a little heavier duty than ozito and ryobi and makita/milwaukee just felt "too tradie" for me (nothing wrong with it, just felt overkill).
I think AEG are little better built and Ryobi are a better price point for a DIYer. I do think Makita are worth considering too for their practical range of gear.
Anyway my ramblings explaining my thoughts are below…..
Ryobi just felt a bit too plasticky for me and all the various tools felt gimicky and unnecessary at the time, plus for me, I don't like fluoro green. But saying that I want to have the entire range of tools just to have on hand for any tinking I want to do. Ozito felt just they were disposable and very light duty.
I do have a ryobi brushless line trimmer. It's been great. Will upgrade all garden gear to battery power soon as mower dies or I find a decent deal.
Now 12months on, I've come to realise I wish I spend a little more and got a slightly bigger combo (that included impact wrench, circular saw, recip saw) instead of dicking about waiting for sales or decent redemptions. I have purchased a couple more things like multi tool, lantern, jet blower but I'm sitting on marketplace constantly hoping for a good deal. $350RRP for a brushless circular saw is a little much. (This is my conundrum…..want to have something better but struggle to pay for it).
In hindsight, I'd be happy to have all my gear (indoor and outdoor) to be AEG 18V and supplement few less used items with Ryobi (soldering iron, hot glue gun). Or if budget was more restrictive ryobi's new HP range would be great too as a base. save about $30-50 for each comparable tool that way.
If going garden, I'd be happy with 18V ryobi/AEG or am tossing up 36V ryobi garden range for that extra little more oompff. Used my dad's 58V AEG chainsaw and it demolished a large ornamental pear tree that came down recently. 58V seems too heavy duty general for my needs.
I've personally found the Ryobi One+ system to be quite good and convenient but I'm very much a weekend warrior.
Thanks for all your input, very much appreciated (although no-one mentioned Katana? Is it that much of an unknown?).
Will take your comments into consideration 🤘Key is to get into an ecosystem that will work and scale with what you want in terms of tools. Buy a couple tools with solid batteries and then simply skins following will save some cash while scaling.
From personal experience, Anything under 18v is a bit meh, invest the money up front, even if it means getting less tools and you won’t look back in 5 years and wish you had more power. You’ll get away with it but it also limits your options when it comes to scaling to collection.
I highly recommend dewalt 18v (I think the new stuff is “flexvolt 54v“ or something), for me the basic gardening tools (hedge trimmer, blower) and solid power tools (driver, drill, sander, circular saw, recip, planer) was important to me.
I think ryobi could be a good option if you wanted a bit more re: gardening etc. but personally do not have experience with their products
I have Makita 18V for construction type tools (drill/impact/multitool/saw/etc) and Ryobi 18V for outdoor tools (hedge trimmer/whipper snipper). I'd probably buy 36V+ for outdoor if you can justify the cost. I also have an 18V Ryobi drill skin a mate found on the side of the road. You can tell it's seen a tonne of commercial use, but I can't kill it.
Overall, I think the cost/benefit of the Ryobi probably exceeds the Makita (though they're great). Not sure how the current Ryobi stuff fairs, as it's Bunnings exclusive these days?
Imo Ryobi cordless has the widest range and perfect price vs reliability for home hobbies.
Most power tool brands are pretty much established with a huge array of skins. However, if you like to use the same battery for garden tools then you should choose wisely. Many don't do garden tools.
Corded tools are cheaper, more powerful, and you won't have to replace the battery in 5 yrs. There's a near zero chance the battery ecosystem of todays tools will be supported in 20 years.
In terms of what to buy, don't buy anything beyond a drill/driver and a mower/whipper snipper unless you have a specific need for it. It depends what your projects are as to what tools you'll need
If you must buy more tools, get a power saw and an angle grinder, they're pretty useful all rounders. I'd also recommend getting an air compressor, just a small cheapy for pumping tyres/balls
There's a near zero chance the battery ecosystem of todays tools will be supported in 20 years.
That’s ok. In 20years we won’t need power tools. The robots will just use hand tools for us.
In 20years I wouldn’t be surprised if the batteries are significantly smaller and with 3D printing we’ll be able to make adaptors easily as well. There are plenty available now.
The reality is you won't use an adaptor, and you'll buy into a new battery ecosystem.
That’s your reality. Mine will be using all my skins until they die and using an adaptor will likely enable that. Will also be a lot easier now most brands have fairly box shaped batteries unlike the Ryobi ‘post’ style battery.
Years ago I had cobbled together an adaptor for some GMC tools with a dead battery so I could continue using them with newer Ryobi battery. They kept working fine until I sold the gmc plus adaptor lot after buying second hand Ryobi skins in a bulk purchase.
@Euphemistic: My reality is the reality of my most people. You've also admitted to ditching your products because they were no longer supported, which is exactly my point
@Bren20: I ditched them because I got extremely cheap replacements. There’s plenty of diy hacks out here that won’t stand for buying a whole new set of tools just because the manufacturer doesn’t make batteries anymore. You can also already buy aftermarket batteries. Most tools are dumb, they’ll accept any 18v input.
When battery adaptors become more main stream it’ll be better for everyone. (Wether YOU want to use them or not)
Will also Be interesting to see where proprietary stuff heads in the future. The EU is already showing they are willing to mandate one standard phone charger to reduce waste and promote cross compatibility for phones. Wouldn’t be surprised if manufacturers are forced to make battery adaptors accessible as well.
Recently switched from an aldi and ryobi mix to ozito. Mostly because my ryobi batteries were giving up after 6 years. Ozito seemed so much cheaper when you factor in he batteries compared to ryobi. And the quality feels about the same (for home diy and gardening).
Ryobi tools were really easy to sell on fb market place. Aldi tools not so much.
Ozito seems fine but it's only been 4 months.
If you're getting a battery whipper snipper and have a decent size garden, don't waste your time with a smaller one. Just get a bigger 36v one. Hated my 18v ryobi.
not ALDI stuff
inconsistent and cheaply madeInconsistent supply is a big killer for them.
Love my Ryobi kit, haven't had any issues with them and they're perfectly capable for around the house stuff. I've heard the ozito stuff is actually half decent as well
Edit: I also have a Ryobi whipper snipper that works great and I can use the batteries from my power tools
Hard to walk past this kit as a DeWalt starter pack - https://sydneytools.com.au/product/dewalt-dck303p1xe-18v-50a…
I tend to use DeWalt for heavy duty stuff and Ozito/Ryobi/Aldi for other stuff.
Personal opinion - Ryobi Batteries are poor, Aldi very good. Better still, I've still got DeWalt packs dating back to 2014 that work fine. Irrespective of brand keep them reasonably charged and cool for a long life.
Don't forget the used market as Masters had some 14.4V DeWalt tools which are really orphans now. A simple mod to the skin will enable them to use the 18V battery and I've never had a problem with them running over-volted.
Milwaukee all the way, wanna save $ look at m12 instead of m18
Ozito cordless if you're not going to use them all the time. Cheap, huge range, generous warranty and no questions asked policy from Bunnings.
Ryobi has a reputation for being considerably better quality though I suspect it's just good marketing to justify charging 2x the price.
My Ozito drill has been used a few times a week for the past three years and hasn't shown any sign of letting up. Why spend more when the cheapest will do the job?
Ryobi has a reputation for being considerably better quality though I suspect it's just good marketing to justify charging 2x the price.
I can only supply anecdotal evidence but I've owned 3 Ozito tools in the past all of which failed. I've owned/own 17 Ryobi tools and had 1 failure. IMO they're definitely a step up in quality.
Fair enough!
The ozito tools seem fine, but when I used them back to back with Ryobi equivalent, Ryobi won hands down for power. Admittedly they were brushed variants, but it was enough to convince me to stick with Ryobi. Makita was a step above again in terms of power.
What I don’t like about Ryobi is they are Bunnings exclusive which limits sale pricing and makes spares harder to come by. I bought a replacement drive belt for a belt sander and had to order it through Bunnings. Bought makita spare parts online.
If you've got any sort of garden to maintain, EGO for garden tools, hands down. Skins are similar pricing to Makita/DeWalt skins but seem to be better designed and built for purpose as a garden range, and the Ryobi garden gear worth using (their 36V family, not the basic 18V line) are not compatible with the overall One+ range anyway and are overpriced compared to the others imo.
For everything else, Ozito is the best value for home use (esp if you monitor Ozbargain as they frequently go on sale to price match Aldi) but Ryobi does have the biggest varied range of skins going for it, so maybe check out their unique skins and decide if it's worth it to you to buy into their ecosystem. If you want better quality I'd skip Ryobi as DeWalt at least go on sale (either trade shows or via US Amazon) where as Ryobi do not due to the Bunnings exclusivity.
Milwaukee