I tend to get a lot of questions about beginner cordless power tool starter kits, and the conversations usually start out the same.
“I need some cordless power tools, what should I buy?” Okay, what tools do you need? “I don’t know.”
This Ryobi 12-tool combo kit looks like it could be a good answer to that question.
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This combo kit, PCL2200K3N, comes with a lot.
Here’s the full list of what you get:
- Drill/driver
- Impact driver
- Impact wrench (1/2″)
- 18 gauge brad nailer
- Jig saw
- Oscillating multi-tool
- Reciprocating saw
- Angle grinder (4-1/2″)
- Circular saw (5-1/2″)
- Sander
- Miter saw (7-1/4″)
- LED flashlight
- 1.5Ah battery
- 4.0Ah batteries (2)
- Charger
- Tool bags
I wouldn’t recommend all of these tools individually. For a circular saw, for example, I prefer 6-1/2″ or 7-1/4″ blade sizes, although Ryobi says their 5-1/2″ saw can still cut through 2x construction lumber in a single pass.
As a kit, I’d say this 12-tool combo offers much of what new homeowners, DIYers, or aspiring woodworkers might need or want.
Are there better tools? Absolutely. For the same money? Not that I can find.
Price: $599
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An alternative is to buy a smaller combo kit with more premium tools.
This Milwaukee M18 7-tool cordless power tool combo kit, 2695-27S, is also a special buy right now for $499 at Home Depot.
It comes with a drill, impact driver, 6-1/2″ circular saw, compact reciprocating saw, oscillating multi-tool, angle grinder, flashlight, 2x 3.0Ah batteries, charger, and tool bag.
There’s also this M18 8-tool cordless combo kit for $599 at Home Depot, the same as for the Ryobi 12-tool kit.
It’s very similar to the 7-tool combo kit, but with 3x 4.0Ah batteries (instead of 2x 3.0Ah), an additional tool – a 1/2″ impact wrench – and second tool bag. $100 buys you quite a bit more.
I personally prefer the “buy what I can now and expand later” approach.
But what if a beginner also wants a cordless miter saw? Milwaukee’s least expensive model, an excellent 7-1/4″ slider, is $449 by itself.
The Ryobi combo kit offers a good assortment for “I’m not sure what I’ll need” types of users.
Personally, I’d lean more towards this Dewalt 20V Max cordless power tool combo kit, DCK700D1P1, which is $499 at Home Depot right now. It features all-brushless tools (except for the flashlight), a compact 2.0Ah battery, and a higher capacity 5.0Ah battery.
This combo comes with a drill/driver, impact driver, 6-1/2″ circular saw, compact reciprocating saw, oscillating multi-tool, sander, and LED flashlight.
It has a mix of 20V Max Atomic and XR cordless power tools, and should handle light to medium duty tasks with comfortable ease.
Amazon has a Dewalt 20V Max 6-tool combo kit for just under $650 right now (Lowe’s has it for $749). It has upgraded XR tools – the drill, impact driver, reciprocating saw, and oscillating multi-tool – but dials back the batteries to 2x 2.0Ah compact batteries. It also skips the sander that’s included with the 7-tool combo.
The two compact batteries might be a limitation here. Home Depot has a couple of Dewalt battery promos right now – a 2-pack of 5.0Ah batteries for $149, and a bundle of 2.0Ah, 4.0Ah, and 6.0Ah batteries for $149.
The XR has better tools, but the Atomic kit comes with decent tools and a better combination of batteries.
But again, what if a beginner needs a miter saw? Jig saw? Angle grinder? Brad nailer?
The Ryobi is a safer bet for beginners or DIYers who don’t know what they might need other than “a bunch of cordless tools for projects.”
John
Maybe I’m of the select few who does this, but when I work, I want a battery in every tool I am using. There is no swapping back and forth with a couple batteries, inefficient as hell. So yes I have a lot of batteries and no I’ve never bought one of these style kits.
Badger12345
Same here. Battery in every tool and extras that can be charging. Time is the most important asset for many people and certainly a business. Excess swapping also wears out battery to tool interface making them less reliable.
MM
I’m with you guys that when I’m working I want a battery in each tool. And in some cases like grinders I want multiple tools so I’m not wasting time swapping between flap wheels, cutoffs, and grinding discs. I have multiple bandsaws in my shop simply so I don’t have to take the time to swap different types of blades. But this is a starter kit from a value brand. It’s clearly not marketed towards professionals; a hobbyist may not be able to afford that many batteries and may be perfectly willing to swap batteries. Plus if anyone wants more batteries they can easily add them to the set, either upfront or as they can afford them and their needs grow.
Jerry
Right now Ryobi days are going on. You can get a kit with charger and two batteries for regular price and add a cordless tool at no extra charge. I started out getting a smaller kit and one of those deals. Got the tools I wanted along with another charger and 2 more batteries for not much more. Note the One + and XP lines qualify.
Steve
I agree, I have about 15 M18 batteries and half dozen of the M12 batteries and all kinds of tools. These are good starter kits though. The seem to lack the higher capacity batteries, which are a huge plus for demanding tasks, but I guess it’s easy to build from there. That Ryobi deal for 12 tools for $500 is a good deal. I also agree with Stewart as brushless is the way to go, but the average guy may not care…
Stuart
Most brands have seasonal battery promos.
I think that 2 batteries are a good way to get started, 3 or 4 batteries do help with projects that involve more tools.
You can swap batteries between tools if needed. But you can’t leverage the functionality of tools you don’t have. I typically advise buying tools and then more batteries later.
Big Richard
Perhaps a bigger issue is only one charger. If they are only going to provide 3 batteries for 12 tools, at least toss in an extra charger or two.
Most people acquire chargers through kits, but since this is sort of a one-stop-shop sort of kit, users likely won’t being buying many more kits, at least not right away you would think. And the seasonal battery promos don’t always have a charger.
Aside from that, this is by far the most complete kit I have seen, especially at that price. Perfect for a new home owner or someone just starting a tool collection.
TomD
I’d be interested in a survey – I have NEVER bought a battery and only ever bought one charger – the auto m18 charger.
All my batteries came from kits and combos (technically I have bought the buy a battery get a tool free deals).
I may finally break down and get the 6ah m12 as I’ve yet to find it in a kit.
Stuart
Readers have asked for and expressed interest in battery deals before.
I couldn’t tell you what the breakdown is, but a lot of users do buy batteries.
Given the promos Milwaukee had been running on the HO M12 batteries, those would be great for updating older 1.5Ah or XC 3Ah batteries.
Travis
I agree. On my last count I have 73 batteries. I’m a contractor so never can have too many if that’s how you make your living
Kent_Skinner
Yeah. I have purchased a few different kits when they were on crazy sale, as well as buying bare tools when needed.
I ended up with 6 drill/driver/impacts in M12 and M18 flavors.
The other day I was installing stair treads at my house and needed 3 different drivers (T-20, T15 something else) as well as 3 pilot drill sizes.
With enough tools and batteries, I was able to not ever swap batteries or bits. Glorious. Yeah, it’s more than I need but it works for me.
MM
It’s hard to argue with the value of a lot of starter sets and that Ryobi one is honestly a killer deal. No they’re not the best tools around and some of those are smaller sizes but you get an amazing amount of flexibility for your money. And Ryobi is a great system to buy into for homeowners/DIYers since they have a lot of craft/hobby tools and OPE you can use on the same platform.
That being said, I don’t think it is too hard to figure out what tools one needs: think through your anticipated projects step-by-step. The same way you make a list of materials you can think about the tools you require for each step. If you can’t think of a need for a given tool there’s probably no point in buying it as a beginner, and you can always add to your set later. And there are plenty of resources these days for DIY projects online where you can see how people do different projects, so if you aren’t sure what kind of saw you need to cut boards for your bookshelf project you can see what others are using. The shotgun approach can be appealing but I think it makes more sense to identify what tools you really need and perhaps spend a little more on those rather than buying a huge set which contains some tools you will never use.
dust
I bought that ROB without looking too hard into it. Got home and took it straight back. Not sure who thought it was ok to make a finishing tool with one speed.
That said, this would be an awesome housewarming gift. An entire tool set that costs less than my 10’ miter there’s a lot of value there.
Mike
Thanks for the list. As a homeowner and not a pro, I bought into the Ryobi brand and have not been disappointed. More than once my son-in-law (who has Dewalt) helps me with a project and is surprised about some Ryobi tool I pull out, like the battery-powered caulk gun. (We actually broke a regular caulk gun on a bathroom project) I have most of the tools in your list (and a boatload of batteries) via buying smaller package deals, so I appreciate your suggestions on what else I need. My birthday is coming up! LOL.
Blythe
That ryobi kit would be sweet if the miter saw was a slider. 7-1/4 fixed is pretty useless for most things. I have miter saws in about every configuration (7-1/4 cordless slider, 10” fixed, 10” slider, 12” fixed, 12” slider, 12” flexvolt, and 14” fixed) and the 7-1/4 slider gets more use than the rest combined because of its fairly large cut capacity, light weight, and portability
TonyT
Does Milwaukee have a similar M12 kit? I think for a typical homeowner, there’s a lot to be said for modern 12V tools: enough power for most tasks, but smaller and lighter.
OldDominionDIYer
Never bought a kit like this I tend to buy the best tool the company offers and get them one at a time. I have probably 30+ M18 and M12 batteries so yeah I never swap out between tools either. These are some great kits though.
JoeM
Here’s a thought: In favour of the Ryobi kit, this may be the perfect solution for situations like “I accidentally left my TSTAK/ToughSystem/Packout/Etc. with all my tools at work last night, now it was stolen… I need some tools to tide me over until I can (Get Paid/Get Insurance Money) to replace what I had… I need to cover my bases…”
Are they the best you can get? No. Will they do the job? Many jobs, yes. Some jobs, no. Is that a good price for an “Oops” moment like losing your tools? Absolutely! Does it matter, at all, if you are insured for the tools you lost? Well, I suppose that depends on whether you got that insurance through work, your home insurance, or some other program, doesn’t it? But I think a $600USD price on that Ryobi kit is too good an option to say no to, when you’ve potentially got theft insurance coming in to replace what you had. Between the time you realize your tools are gone, and the time the paperwork is filled out and you get a budget to work on? That Ryobi kit should do until you get everything back. Worst case scenario, you resell it to recoup at least some of the $600 you used to buy them for this purpose.
Right?
fred
I’ve assembled a few power tool kits as housewarming gifts over the years. These sorts of kits have been tempting based on a sort of price per pound basis. But my thought has always been that assembling a kit from scratch was better although more costly. Then. if it turned out that the recipient did not want a particular component – returning pieces of my made-up kit would be easier. In this mode – I’ve gifted both cordless Makita and Milwaukee kits. But I also remember an expensive (for the time) corded tool kit that I assembled with a Bosch jigsaw, a Fein Multimaster, a Milwaukee Sawzall and Hole-Hawg drill, a Skil 77 Circular Saw, a Porter Cable Router and Sander. That was probably 40 years ago – when it was easier to cherry pick among brands.
Koko The Talking Ape
I haven’t bought any of these sets, but only because I didn’t have that pile of cash available all at once. That has meant I spent more in total, of course.
If I DID have the cash, I’d go for the DeWalt brushless set too. I don’t need the recip, but I’m told I can sell it on eBay, or maybe even return it for a prorated refund.
The Ryobi set gives more tools per dollar, but they’re also pretty cheap bought singly, so if I ever want a Ryobi tool, I’d get it alone.
Rog
Overall I think these are a good value and Ryobi can’t be beat for the DIY user. However, I think this kit would be better served if they dropped a tool or two (looking at you, angle grinder and miter saw), and gave a couple more batteries. Not sure how often a homeowner is breaking out the angle grinder.
Joatman
I took the plunge into the RYOBI pool a couple weeks ago. I gave into the 3-battery- free-tool deal at HD that’s still going on. I chose the brushless 6” pruning chainsaw. It works incredibly well! I put it through hell during the past week…..no joke……no complaints. Batteries take quite a while to charge, but overall, I can now recommend the RYOBI line.
The multi-tool deals would be perfect for DIYers who are just starting out. But if you’re just staring out, chances are you don’t have an extra $500 set aside for tools. Although I’ve been buying Red and Yellow tools for decades, I’ve always noticed the incredible lime green deals around the holidays, always thinking they must be cheapos. But, so far, I’m impressed with the quality and value. Looking forward to getting the fogger. I’m also considering the RYOBI rotary drill……but may stick to Red or Yellow on that one.
eddie sky
Anyone else notice that DeWalt is the trailer of the pact with less tools per value? And what is with the stupid flashlight? Most have small tactical lights but that thing? Hey DeWalt, look at Milwaukee LED lights, then read the comments and make something that is improvement over their M12 and M18 products. Stop making useless one offs.
Stuart
Dewalt has mega tool count combo kits also, but I prefer and recommend the brushless ones more.
MM
The tool count isn’t the only factor at play here. Yes the Dewalt sets posted have fewer tools but those which are included are a step up in quality compared to Ryobi, and even moreso if you pick the set with the XR tools.
I have a love-hate relationship with that light. I have three of them, I paid $10 or less a pop for them from the flea market. They’re not very bright by today’s standards, they’re not pocket friendly. They don’t feel very durable though mine have lasted several years. They often show up to pad the tool count of kits and I think their MSRP is absurd if you wanted to buy just the light. But they are handy general purpose around-the-house lights: I keep one near each door to the house and one in the kitchen. They’re easy to use-guests, seniors and kids figure it out instantly. They’re brightly colored and therefore easy to find if you leave it outside or need to find one when the power just went out. They don’t use much power so even old half-worn-out packs work well with them. You can hold them in your hand like a flashlight or set them down and use the angle head to light up something. They’re certainly not the best light out there but they have their uses if you’re on the 20V max platform and you’re getting them cheap.