10 Ryobi Tools Every Home Landscaper Will Want
Depending on your preferences, home landscaping can either be an enjoyable weekend activity or an inevitable chore. Whether you're in the former or latter camp, it's worth equipping yourself with the right tools to ensure that doing yard work is as hassle-free as possible. Cordless electric power tools are a great way to do just that, but buying each garden tool from a different brand can result in paying for a lot of costly batteries.
Ryobi's interchangeable batteries are a boon for casual gardeners and landscaping enthusiasts alike, as they can be swapped freely between any other tools that use the same voltage battery. That means you only have to buy a few Ryobi batteries, and with one of the brand's fast chargers you can swap between them for potentially unlimited runtime for a wide variety of tools.
We've already covered the best new Ryobi tools to add to your garage, rounded up a selection of the most versatile Ryobi tools that do more than one job, and even the best Ryobi woodworking tools, but if you're knee-deep in the brand's cordless ecosystem and intent on doing some landscaping, it's got options for that too. These are among the best in Ryobi's current sprawling yardwork lineup — each a great pick for both existing Ryobi tool owners and newcomers to the brand's range.
Ryobi 18V One+ HP Pruning Shear Kit
Shears are one of the most essential home landscaping tools, with nearly every keen gardener having one or multiple pairs to take care of trees, bushes, and hedges. Ryobi's 18V One+ HP Pruning Shear Kit offers an easier and more powerful alternative to traditional manual shears, and can cut through branches up to one inch in diameter with one trigger press. The kit includes the shear itself alongside a 2Ah 18V One+ battery and a charger and retails for $199.00 on Ryobi's website. Alternatively, the tool can be bought separately for $149.00.
Ryobi says its pruning shears are best suited to "light pruning and limbing," but there are other options listed below for buyers looking to tackle larger branches. For everyday trimming jobs, these pruning shears are more than capable and can make all the difference for anyone with a lot of trees and bushes in their yard. Not only will the Ryobi shears prevent hand strain, but they'll also make pruning quicker too, with the brand claiming its latest tool can cut up to 1.5 times faster than its predecessor.
Ryobi 40V 24-inch Hedge Trimmer Kit
Three things can make or break the appeal of a hedge trimmer: cutting power, runtime, and how comfortable it is to use. Ryobi claims to have ticked all three boxes with its 40V 24-inch Hedge Trimmer Kit, which retails for $179.00 on the brand's website. It can also be bought as a standalone tool, without the battery and charger, for $129.00. Ryobi says the 40V 2Ah battery is good for up to 45 minutes of runtime between charges. Since the battery pack can be quickly swapped out, anyone with multiple Ryobi 40V batteries to hand can easily double or triple that runtime too.
Gas-powered hedge trimmers remain the go-to option for many home landscapers, but Ryobi says its hedge trimmer is more powerful than a traditional 19cc gas trimmer. It's also lightweight, weighing less than 8 pounds, and can cut branches up to one inch in diameter. The tool includes a "Hedgesweep" attachment, which is designed to remove debris and clippings from the hedge as you're working.
Ryobi 40V HP Brushless 18-inch Chainsaw Kit
To say that there's a lot of choice when it comes to chainsaw brands would be an understatement. In fact, there are so many options that SlashGear has previously put together a list ranking every major chainsaw brand according to expert and customer reviews. Ryobi ranked ninth in the list overall, losing points for its poor-performing corded chainsaw, but its cordless 40V HP Brushless 18-inch Chainsaw Kit receives much more consistent praise.
After more than 250 customer reviews on Ryobi's website, the chainsaw has an average rating of 4.7 out of five stars, and our aggregating of expert reviews for the ranked list also saw Ryobi's battery-powered chainsaws score well. The 40V 18-inch Chainsaw is among the best of the brand's lineup, with a $369.00 retail price on Ryobi's website. The toolmaker states that it delivers power exceeding that of a 38cc gas-powered chainsaw, with up to 168 cuts per charge available from the included 5Ah battery. When it's out of juice, the battery can be charged in as little as 50 minutes with the fast charger, which also comes with the kit. For added peace of mind, the chainsaw also comes with a five-year tool warranty and a three-year battery warranty.
Ryobi 18V One+ HP Brushless 6-inch Auger Kit
Conventional gas-powered augers can be cumbersome to use, but the Ryobi 18V One+ HP Brushless 6-inch Auger Kit is not like its rivals. According to Ryobi, it's around 50% lighter than a standard gas-powered auger, yet it's no less powerful. It runs on the brand's 18V One+ battery, which will undoubtedly be familiar to anyone with multiple Ryobi tools already at their disposal. It's available as a kit that includes the tool, a 4Ah battery, and a charger for $299.00 from Ryobi's website.
The auger features both forward and reverse rotation settings and an anti-kickback system, making it suitable for use in all types of soil. The kit comes as standard with an auger bit that is 6 inches in diameter, but a slimmer 4-inch bit can also be purchased separately from Ryobi's website for $59.97. The tool's quick connect system makes it straightforward to swap between bits.
Ryobi 18V One+ 8-inch Cultivator Kit
Soil preparation can be another strenuous landscaping chore, but it doesn't have to be. Ryobi's 18V One+ 8-inch Cultivator Kit is designed to do the hard work for you, with three settings available to tackle different stages of the cultivation process. The four tines, made from heavy-duty steel, can be adjusted to create tilling widths from 6 to 8 inches. The cultivator is also one of the lightest tools in its segment, weighing 13.5 pounds.
It's available as a kit from Ryobi's website that includes a 4Ah battery and a charger. The kit retails for $349.00, but as of this writing, is reduced to $249.00. The tool can also be bought separately for $189.00. Both the tool and the battery come with a three-year warranty as standard, the same as almost every other product in Ryobi's 18V One+ range.
Ryobi 40V HP Brushless Whisper Series 730 CFM Blower Kit
If you saw the underrated Ryobi compact blower tool and thought "I need something bigger," look no further. It's still a while before peak leaf blower season (depending on where you live), but it never hurts to be prepared. The 40V HP Brushless Whisper Series 730 CFM Blower Kit will deal with the leaves when they do start falling, and in the meantime, it doubles up as an excellent way to keep your yard clear after doing landscaping work. It can generate jets reaching 190 mph, which Ryobi states is better than most 27cc gas-powered blowers. It's also quieter than gas-powered blowers, and its Whisper Series noise reduction tech makes it even less noisy than most other electric blowers, too.
A turbo function enables a temporary burst of power to clear thicker piles of leaves and other garden debris, while the two included 4Ah batteries ensure that extra power doesn't come at the cost of runtime. The brand says that using one full charge of both batteries should generate around two hours of runtime, but anyone with other Ryobi 40V batteries to hand can increase that figure even further. The kit retails for $329.00, but the blower can also be bought individually for $184.99.
Ryobi 40V HP Brushless 8-inch Stick Edger Kit
The 40V HP Brushless 8-inch Stick Edger Kit is another Ryobi tool designed to make home landscaping as easy as possible. It uses the brand's interchangeable 40V battery, meaning the tool's total runtime is simply a question of how many 40V batteries you have available. The edger kit, available for $329.00 from Ryobi's website, comes with one 4Ah battery and a fast charger. The charger allows you to fully recharge the battery in around an hour, so cycling only two or three batteries gives you potentially unlimited runtime. Anyone with enough batteries and a fast charger from another Ryobi tool can buy the edger separately for $299.00.
Ryobi usually benchmarks its cordless power tools against a gas-powered equivalent for easy reference — in this case, it says its battery-powered edger is as powerful as a 21 cc gas edger. It's also just as versatile as its gas-powered rivals, with the option to adjust edging depth from 0.5 inches to 2.25 inches. A 5-inch rear wheel ensures that it's easy to accurately control the edger for more precisely cut lawn edges.
Ryobi 18V One+ Lopper Kit
Pruning large trees requires a suitably capable lopper, like Ryobi's 18V One+ Lopper Kit. The kit includes the tool, a 2Ah 18V One+ battery, and a charger, and retails for $168.84. It's also sold individually for $149.00, but in this case, the price difference between the kit and the standalone tool is so small that it's almost certainly better value to opt for the kit. The lopper can cut branches up to 1.25 inches in diameter, making it able to deal with branches up to 25% larger than Ryobi's cordless pruning shears.
The lopper packs enough juice for prolonged use too, with an officially quoted 101 cuts available between charges using the included 2Ah battery. It can tackle trees of medium height, with the ability to extend up to 2.5 feet in length. Like most of Ryobi's 18V tools, the lopper comes with a three-year warranty.
Ryobi 40V Attachment Capable 15-inch String Trimmer Kit
With up to 71 minutes of runtime available from the included 4Ah 40V battery, the Ryobi 40V Attachment Capable 15-inch String Trimmer Kit will last long enough to trim the tricky corners of large or unusually shaped lawns. The string can be adjusted to trim diameters between 13 and 15 inches, with the former potentially improving runtime. The tool can be bought as part of a kit with a battery and charger for $179.00 or as a standalone tool for $129.00.
It's also worth factoring in some extra cash to take full advantage of the trimmer's available "Expand-It" attachments. With the right attachment, it can double up as a pruner or even a snow thrower, and each attachment is easy to switch thanks to the quick change coupler. The attachments can be bought from Ryobi's website alongside the trimmer, with the Expand-It pruner attachment retailing for $129.00 and the snow thrower attachment retailing for $149.00, and there are a number of other options too.
This is a great Ryobi tool for living off-grid or if you're interested in homesteading, too.
Ryobi 18V One+ HP Brushless Whisper Series 20-inch Lawn Mower Kit
Home landscapers with larger lawns have many mower options at their disposal. In many cases, the larger the lawn, the more money it seems justifiable to spend on a mower. However, those with smaller or average-sized lawns don't need to spend a fortune. The Ryobi 18V One+ HP Brushless Whisper Series 20-inch Lawn Mower Kit should do the job just fine, and it retails for $499.00.
It's suitable for lawns up to a third of an acre in size, with up to 45 minutes of runtime available with a fully charged battery. The mower is self-propelled and features two blades for more cutting precision. It's also one of the most compact mowers of its kind and can fold up for vertical storage to save space when it's not being used. The mower comes with an 18V One+ battery as standard — there's no option to buy it without the battery — but that battery can also be used on any other 18V Ryobi tool.