ok, heres hte low down on Ryobi from a professionals stand point. I'm a contractor, I have 5 guys that work for me in the remodel and renovation trades, We dont do heavy commercial, but we still work our tools and abuse them.
I use to have a contract with Dewalt years ago for testing and reviews of new products, my van was litterally filled with all Dewalt products. My van got stolen in SC on a renovation product I was on about 5 yrs ago. At the time, I wasnt about to run out and spend 10k to buy all new dewalt supplies, I took a chance on Ryobi just so I could complete the job, I bought a few standard 4pk kits for my guys for 200 a piece, and the Large JobSite unite that had 6 tools including a cordless chopsaw.
I was actually quite impressed, they were durable and strong, alot better then what i figured i'd be getting for the buck, alot better then skill or firestorm in the same price range.
Now to be honest, i have only one gripe with Ryobi, and that was thier batteries, they tend to go weak fairly fast when doing heavy loads, and when I say heavy loads, i mean for instance if it was a demo job and I was cutting through multiple 2x10 rafters with the cordless sawsall, then the ryobi would die after about 5 rafters, where as my Dewalt would cut 6-8 before getting weak. But at the same time, A 18v Dewalt battery costs 75 bucks, and you can get 2 Ryobi batteries for 40, so it's not an issue to have multiple batteries around. Besides, lets be honest, If it's a major site and your doing heavy cutting like say 70 rafters, then you'd be running cords anyways.
Alot of residential contractors are becoming fans of ryobi also. I dont care what name is on it, after a year goes by and the drill has fallen off ladders, and roofs, etc.. etc... it needs to be replaced, so you have a choice, another 300 for a dewalt, or 50 for a ryobi. So you'll find alot of crews now being supplied with Ryobi brand tools.
Commercial is a bit different, they have the coorperate funds to have that kind of purchasing power, and the field is different, theyre running lags into concrete all day, instead of installing drywall or countertops vs. residential.
In a situation like that in commercial, you'll need the high torque and stronger batteries, but again, the companies supply those, so if your looking for something for youself, Ryobi is absolutely the way to go.
I'll be honest, I do both commercial and residential contracting, if i'm on a commercial site with alot of union guys around, I'll pull out my dewalt 6 piece in kit in hardcase, looks like a military case and instantly impresses, but thats merely for impression, personally I love my Ryobi over all the other names because they have a wider range of variety. They have a cordless trimmer which i not only use for laminates, but also as a regular router, and a cordless planer. No other companies offer these, and I dont work in a cabinet shop all day, I just periodicly need these a couple times a week, so it's alot easier just to toss a battery on it then have to run cords and set stuff up. The cordless chop saw I have is also very convienent for small trim jobs, I cant cut 8 inch crown mold with it, but i can run standard base molding and windows and doors.
Now, back to the batteries, my original complain was thier running weak on heavy load (for standard applications, theyre fine and usually a battery last me all day at work), and not charging when hot. They now have a lithium Ion batteries that work with thier existing tools, with twice the power, run time, and holding cycle. I've yet to grab them yet, sometime in the next couple weeks, but a few guys on some crews have them, and i've plugged them into mine, and theyre a noticable difference, being just as strong as my original Dewalts (mind you Dewalt also has new lithium batteries, but again, at 4 times the price)
Last and final, one more VERY important thing to add. I'm not sure the tie in, i've asked around and no one knows, this may have something to do with ITT as the post above expressed, but it's more then that.
Ryobi and Ridgid are tied together somehow, but not like black and decker and dewalt, theyres something more then that. Ryobi recently came out with thier new 12 inch sliding dual bevel compound miter saw, i've been waiting for this, you can even put dido blades on it and other unique uses. BUT... it's only available in Europe and they wont ship it here, i've tried, I even went through Austrailian Ebay to have one shipped, but the shipping far out weighed the idea. However, if you research it, you'll find thats it's only available in europe, but sold under the ridgid name here in the US, and pulling up pics of both models side by side, theyre the exact same saw, but ridgid is orange and grey, and ryobi is blue and yellow, the ryobi also has a few little extras that are handy that the ridgid doesnt and the ryobi has a slightly better degree cut, i think 60 degrees, over Ridgid's 57 degrees.
Uppon finding this out and doing a bit more research, I also found that the original Ryobi 3 speed hammer drill that they sold for a month before discontinuing, are the same guts as the Ridgid hammer drill. Thats all i've been able to find on the matter so far, I asked in the ryobi forums and no one knows anything about it. International forums also put Ryobi in the higher end with the bigger names like dewalt and makita, something about the amp of battery, i think here in teh US we got the 1.9 amp batteries, while europe got the 2.4 amp. I jsut started finding this out a couple weeks ago when seeing if there were any ideas of a 12 inch sliding for ryobi and found there already was, but not here.
food for thought.
So yes, for your DIY, and remodelers/renovators, Ryobi is a great product. It will also handle heavy commercial loads well, expecially with the new ion batteries, but some of the guys will look at you funny.
