RYOBI HP 18V Brushless Compact Impact Driver Kit Review Part of Kit # PSBCK01K 

I just love the honest videos. Good or bad I want to know the truth. That's why I watch every video you post.

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I have a bunch of these Ryobi tools, but I am just a home owner. I have several brushless tools (hammer drill, 7 1/4 saw) that are great for what I need them for. I carry my old ones on my truck when I am out mowing and they have come in handy. I am invested in their batteries so I have to stay loyal. (For now). Another good video when we see smoke....... I guess they won’t be sending you out any more pre-release tools.

As a homeowner I don’t remember the last time I repeatedly ran ledger locks back to back 25 times. Job site maybe not but homeowner it’s perfect.

A year later and the price point has come down to where I feel this is a great buy for serious DIYers and homeowners. I readily see this kit with 1 and 2 batteries for $79- $99. At that price I would absolutely buy this over brushed if I was a homeowner or serious DIYer looking for a quality tool. I still wouldn't take these onto a job site where they'd be running 8+ hrs a day but for a DIYer or home owner I think they are fantastic tools.

That’s like comparing a v6 charger to a hellcat. Of course the Milwaukee is better but the point is ryobi can hold their own and maybe not as fast can still get the job done without costing an arm and a leg. Keep in mind TTI the parent company owns both brands.

Thanks for saving me some money and being honest....was eyeing this set for Christmas.

Thank you for testing the tools. It really helps for those who are unsure.

Shocker as to why most quality impact drivers (including my old Ryobis) have a metal casing/shroud especially near the front. Absolute shocker. Plastic is an insulator. Metal does the opposite. One traps heat, one helps dissipate it.

*I like the features of the LED light on both the drill and the **MyBest.Tools** . I also like the contractor bag where I carry drill bits and driver attachments. So far the batteries hold charges to my satisfaction.*

Cool. Just ordered one to keep in my truck to change tires. I'll give it a test run when i get it and let you know the results. I asked if it had enough juice to loosen pneumatic tightened lug nuts before i bought it, bit never got a reply. Guess we'll see. So far, i like Ryobi

as you said each and every tool has a duty cycle, what it can do and how often it can do it, so I would say this tool is more suited for lighter loads on the job site and not constant use. When I started in construction the biggest battery was the 7.2volt Mikita and yet we were able to figure out how to use that drill for all kinds of tasks with great success, the point is, use each tool as intended. Now I would also say only use a ryobi on the job site if you have thick skin, as for me my ryobi tools stay home.

I have the older Ryobi brushless set that I bought this year, and I was impressed which made me buy into the full ecoystem. But honestly, after seeing these tool reviews and everything. i regret not going a system like Rigid instead. Price wise, it's not far off and seems to be superior. That being said, I am by no means a contractor so I'm able to get away with using the cheaper brand alternative and I like that Ryobi caters to general consumers with tools like air pumps and handheld vacuums. At the end of the day, if I needed these tools to make me money, for sure I'd be buying Milwaukee, but I still think Ryobi is the best in terms of general consumers.

The price confuses me. At $179 it turns me off. Considering the Makita Sub Compact is the better choice at $199 and sometimes comes with a free 5ah battery or some other promotion. I have the Ridgid sub compact and the "Balls out" impact gives me slippy bit syndrome, specifically with Philips. Other advantages to the Makita Sub Compact impact is the different modes and it somehow "eases" the impacts to keep you from getting that annoying slippy bit issue. I have tons of Ridgid and Ryobi tools. A bit disappointing in this one. I think some smarter modes would have made it a no brainer.

Almost bought it, but you've saved me - thank you.

Gotta say while your test might be on the high end its indicative of the longevity of the tool. If a bosch drill from early 2000 that was used by my dad daily for many years still works to this day id say its a great purchase this didnt even last a day. Imagine someone whos not a pro but will use it with a new battery for an entire day the situation could become dangerous.

I just got the HP impact a few weeks ago. Seems to do just fine for most HVAC tasks. Still use the big dirty Dewalts for hole saws and hammer drills.

For me i always prefer the Variable speed trigger over the speed selection so good job Ryobi. But removing the magnetic tray :(

O well, another Ryobi goes out for a "smoke break"' they tell there salespeople to state" their contactor pro-grade "' and "'butt"' when they go up in smoke they say send it back in ooo but the warranty expired the same day as you bought it because the next one will do the same thing and the next and so on and then some. I have the Brushless line of Nail guns (love the airstrike) drills, impacts, and saws and I push them hard and hum no smoke.

It’s clear that they need to refine the electronics this early batch just isn’t working it’s not cutting out like it should

Job site ready I think not, I’m a Milwaukee guy and I’ve never had one smoke

Give it a few months, I'm sure these will be on sale for $129. I'm heavily invested into the Ryobi battery system so this would make an upgrade if i ever needed it. Though my projects are few and far between.

Wow it hit 177 degrees and wow at the smoke @WorkshopAddict

Thank you for testing out the tools for us. All I have to say is that the 1st gen of anything is always the worst. But the good news is that gen 2 always out preforms gen 1.

Not a ryobi fanboy, but in general if you're relying on internal thermal protection to save your tools...then you're probably not an experienced power tool user to begin with (this is not a dig at the tester). This reminds me of when somebody uses a high rpm hammer drill to turn cement and then writes a bad review of the tool after they smoke it at sustained low speed in 5 minutes. This is clearly a torture test and most pro brand tools would burn up too unless they have good thermal protection. Also worth mentioning -- traditional thermal protection in power tools often fades with time and causes reliability problems itself as the circuit components degrade (becoming the weakest link in power tool). I can see why the current manufacturers are adding smarter, better thermal management to do a better job protecting their tools, but I still think the average experienced pro-user or pro-sumer is going to have an idea when they're overtaxing the tool and it needs a break. Admittedly, destructive tests are fun to do and fun to watch, so I get the video; however, I think the emphasis on thermal protection is exaggerated in terms of real-world reliability. The speed performance and torque comparison was great. Finally, there is a reason the owners of ryobi also make milwaukee. I would not be surprised if the new ryobi line was created to sell current ryobi pro-sumers MORE tools to do the same thing as their current tools, and less for taking more share of the contractor market. A pro-version up-sell / upgrade is never a bad play in the consumer market. I do like the rigid line which lies somewhere in the middle, but often for half the price of the milwaukee and even undercutting ryobi at sites like DTO and other discount tools sites.

Good review, thanks Brian.

Thanks for to be honest and clear.

Thanks for warning me! I got the HP set (impact driver, drill,2 batteries, bag, charger) for $139 on black Friday. FINALLY Ryobi makes a smaller lighter set then my compact c3 craftsmans(also Ryobi). I'm a boundless DIYer. I guess I'll be touching the upper part of my driver as I drive and setting it down when I can't hang on. And I guess I'll also be using my 1/2 One+ Impact wrench on lags and timber locks. It's nuts that 160 is melting stuff!

Great review, wont be getting that NON upgrade any time soon. :-/

Really wish they gave the impact driver the same modes as the other tool

Does anyone actually consider Ryobi to be a contractor grade tool? I really don’t think so, especially at that price point. Milwaukee are generally much more expensive. As a home owner and a Jack of all Trades ( master of none ) I’ll stick with Ryobi. I love all the different tools they have to offer, not to mention the battery platform that won’t change anytime soon.

I'm more impressed with the kobalt Xtr power tools more than the ryobi compact tools.

I was thinking about getting one cause I love Ryobi I have a lot of there tools but now I might have a change of heart

I’ve found the DEWALT Extreme 12v impact to be my favorite go to even over my my more powerful 18v impacts. And the dewalt has more power then that ryobi and is smaller

It would be great if the next generation of impact drivers get adjustable clutches or a very sensitive auto mode. I like Ryobi, but these compact versions seem too weak. Going to see if you have a video review of the full-size HP impact driver, drill and impact wrench.

I’m wondering if the smoking is from using inferior grease and the metal up front is distributing the back! It would be interesting if the grease was repacked with a high end grease and see if the smoke goes away and the temperature goes way down used in these conditions.👍🏻👍🏻

While I get the point, you had to put the same screws with Milwaukee. You can make it smoke as well I bet. Milwaukee is around $170 is I'm not mistaken, it is 200% the price

The ryobi is defenitly a lot slower on lags then the Milwaukee but the ryobi is new maybe they will make the next gen more powerful @WorkshopAddict

You were using this for far to demanding of a job. This impact is really made for 3 to 4 inch deck screws at the most, no lags or 8 inch timberlocks

The most shocking thing here is the price that Ryobi is charging for this kit. $180 is WAY out of line considering that Amazon sells the Dewalt kit for the same price and the Milwaukee kit for 3 bucks more. This is a very serious mistake for Ryobi, as it is commonly accepted that their tools are only OK tools, but the real draw was the lower price than the better brands. I think they are banking far too much that folks will buy these to stay in the Ryobi ecosystem. At $129 it might be a different story, but I doubt they will sell enough of these for $180 to recover the cost of the molds.

Yes Ryobi should've at least put some technology in there to stop burning up. But if it's getting way to hot from those lags then it's probably not job site material. I could be wrong but I think with a 6ah battery the p238 could handle it

I have one of those but the difference is mys got 4200 ipm

As much as I think Ryobi is good for the guy who uses his tools lightly or once in a full moon; I can't imagine showing up to the Jobsite with Ryobi without being jeered all day.

you should compare to milwaukee or dewalt. So we have an insight on temperatures and how they compare

As a DIY Ryobi user I dont see any point to upgrading to these tools once they are released in my country. I would have preferred Ryobi release a decent 12V line instead (and move to one 12V battery system worldwide, preferably in handle). I suspect this 18V compact line is a way for them to delay this until they are able to filter down 12V tech from AEG/Ridgid and Milwaukee when those brands upgrade their tech. If Ryobi dont release a decent 12V line in a few years I will look to another brand, probably Bosch, AEG or Ozito depending on my budget.

My light blinks when the battery is low an also blinks if the tool gets over loaded

Great series of reviews on the new Ryobi line. I had hopes, but Ryobi has to underperform relative to Milwaukee and AEG/Ridgid, and it shows.

Have U try the Metabo impact driver

What impact driver is truly all day job ready?

So those front noses are made from a plastic and not aluminum. I'm out then. Clearly aluminum is stronger and able to disapate the heat that is building up in the impact chamber. Ryobi went cheap here but the tools keep going up in price. I'm very disappointed.

It not having the 3 led next to chuck and not having the magnet tray as the older Model does discouraged me from buying this

Seemed like ryobi rushed all these tools. Why?

Based on this performance I think I’ll stick with my older Ryobi tools that have so far worked well enough for me. Ryobi might be OK for most of my light duty DIY needs most of the time. Occasionally I’ll do something more serious. As a DIYer I don’t need top of the line tools (with top of the line prices), but I am interested in what might be good value steps up from Ryobi. I don’t want to have too many different incompatible battery brands. It might be interesting to do some broader brand line comparisons. Rigid seems like it might be a step up from Ryobi, but I wonder how the value/performance ratio holds up across their line.

Would you be able to do a tear down of the impact and drill to see what might have caused this? Im curious to see if the cheap quality can be found inside the tools. Also, seriously disappointing to see they used plastic on the housing for the impact driver... why would you do that? Seriously, most every tool I have ever used, even the super chinesium warrior brand from HF has metal housing for their components... I mean this helps with heat dissipation and vastly extends the life of the tool... hard fail ryobi, hard hard fail...

For one there's a price difference 2 people that really don't like Ryobi already go in it as very skeptical and when it doesn't do something as fast as another all can't you see it's already junk but the big thing is they never claimed there are a Makita or a DeWalt

so new tools don´t have the extra contacts?

Great Review could they have forgot to put the right high temp grease and the grease burning inside the tool .

ryobi is quite fast when he puts in the bigger battery so it means it will work flawlessly when you have a powerful battery in it, but for quality I think the Milwaukee is better but the price difference is huge. Like for something DIY or a hobby ryobi is just perfect IMO. Milwaukee is overpriced but your getting what you paid for. Wrong material on the front end it's plastic compared to milwaukee is a steel.

Just saying - the little battery you gave that ryobi is a massive factor. You had the hp battery and I don’t know why you didn’t use it. Those tools are meant to work with hp batteries.

They should’ve stress tested it before trying to sell it.

Could be the lubricant is smoking. If it is then it needs a better/ different grease... . or it's so hot because it doesn't have lubricant to help it control heat dissipation.... that's alot of energy... but as a "jobsite " tool it shouldn't get that hot with that amount of work...

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Wow its melting @WorkshopAddict

I find your videos to be awesome. I hate to say this but you are better off buying a fake BL Makita for less than a Ryobi.

I love my ryobi tools but ryobi needs to stay in the DIY where it belongs

saw a video of the ryobi ratchet let smoke out after running one fastener. ONE

Seems like they have overheating problems on all of the new HP line of tools. Was looking forward to these but I think I’ll pass

Everyone is a construction worker. But I wont get the latest ryobi

You aren't the only one to show the impact isn't any good... the older version with 3 speed/power switch and only a little bigger/heavier seems to perform way better.

I just bought a milwaukee cordless router. After 10 minutes the screws that hold the motor in place backed off ... even with blue loctite. Ill just return

I Choose AEG over Ryobi any day

I asked my A/C repair guy why he used the cheap ass ryobi tools & he said they are made by same Company as Milwaukee & that they were same quality I just laughed at him & said sure they are the same

After watching many reviews. its doesnt look like its for a job site.. but its perfect for home use... which is what I need it for.. they need to back off the jobsite thing

After watching this video, I am very disappointed about them since I am into Ryobi ecosystem. Well, I guess that I am gonna keep the Makita Subcompact drills/impact driver combo.

The new Kobalt XTR is good quality and value Pro-Sumer level

Ryobi dosent seem very powerful compared to the Milwaukee interesting 🤔 how are they saying its contractor and pro Grade @WorkshopAddict

These tools are fine for me but if i did it for a living i would not buy these if your lively hood relies on tools these are not the ones to buy if home watch home builders etc the are using the high end tools why they don't have time to keep chasing down and replacing tools

should compare it to dewalt not m18 or ridgid as ryobi is there higher low tier brand

Why would anyone use a compact tool for that work especially with a 1.5 ah battery

Wow im not buying this sub compact line anymore. Hell no. They dont even look for diy use. Diy is pushed a lot harder nowadays. These tools are so disappointing.

No one is going to use Ryobi on the jobsite. Unless they want to be laughed at.

I found the contractors who used Ryobi, are no more than cow boys or newbies. The power electronics of Ryobi may not have incorporate the zero voltage switching technique for controlling the MosFETs.

It’s ironic because they’re both owned by the same company

The problem here is that ryobi is claiming “jobsite ready” and that is stupid!! Is it good yea, is it more than a diy person needs helll yes but they are fucking up calling it jobsite ready

This is good for "diy" homeowners stuff like that, not an ideal tool for an everyday day job site use

No such thing as a job site ready Ryobi. Light duty homegamer tools.

Are these jobsite tools, maybe not. However, the likely hood of driving one fastener after another continuously, isn't that common. The only situation I can think of for that is drywall installation. There are stops in-between fasteners. That said, I'm not defending it because I don't think it should be getting that hot, that fast. Just saying.

Seems to be faster with the 6AH battery or at least with lags.. But still junk...

edit :lol sorry was only half way through video but still I think your being to hard on this besides specific lines of work most won't sink al those lags back to back but this not realistic test for a person considering ryobi line of tools even me I do pro work and dont sink no where near that many lags back to back i see diy ppl commenting thst they regret getting ryobi they might not get that this a torture test beyond what this is designed to do

I don't know why they're trying to push "jobsite" for ryobi stuff. they already have Milwaukee to fill that need. I think they're trying to appeal to or trick the homegamer / DIYer into thinking they're getting a jobsite-quality tool for less (when it's really not). There better be a big price difference between the two tools... but if it's $20 or so, always go for the Milwaukee instead.

Well,ryobi,now is producing more plastic parts tools. Combos,no longer come with big batteries and chargers,and the right combination of tools they included before....now i just buy batteries,and accessories,but new tools,not anymore......

That’s also nowhere near the best drill that tho I is coming out with in 2021 that’s Milwaukee’s best impact driver

maybe u found an Apple with a worm in it out of that tool if u get what I mean.

The grease is probably cooking in that poor little impact gun

After watching this video. I certainly will not be purchasing a ryobi hp compact impact driver. Thanks for the review.

I have no idea why there pushing the jobsite crap these tools will not hold up to a jobsite just my opinion @WorkshopAddict

Pretty stupid to have a plastic nose piece on an impact driver, the engineers here really dropped the ball big time.

Lol 4300 Ipm and 3600 rpm

HP stand for hot piece(of shit).

If you’re just gonna dog the tool why even review it