Ryobi Lawn and Garden Tools: What We Learned After Testing the Whole Lineup

Introduction

Ryobi’s lawn and garden range has grown into one of the most sprawling tool lineups on the shelf. Multiple tiers of the same tool, gas and battery versions side by side, and a few products that make you wonder why they exist at all. We grabbed the whole collection, from string trimmers and blowers to chainsaws, mowers and a riding tractor, and put the gas and battery versions head to head to see what is actually worth your money.

The short version: Ryobi’s battery tools are the story here. The gas side underdelivered more often than not, while several 18V and 40V tools matched or beat far more expensive competitors.

String Trimmers: Gas Versus Battery

The gas trimmer looks the part, with an angrier, more serious appearance than anything in the battery lineup. In practice it was underwhelming. Throttling up felt sluggish and cutting through thick grass took more effort than you would expect from a gasoline two-stroke.

The cheaper 18V combo trimmer was the weak link on the electric side. The shaft has noticeable play, the adjustment mechanism feels flimsy, and a plastic wing nut where a metal one should be is a clear budget cut. It handles thin grass fine and anything beyond that is a stretch. It is still easy to start, lightweight and low maintenance, which earns it a pass for small, simple yards at its low price.

The standout was the 18V ONE+ Whisper Series trimmer. It ran through heavy grass on a single 4Ah battery with almost no line loss, ran quietly enough to hold a conversation, and did not bog down in brush the way we expected. It comes with two heads, including a heavier brush head, two speed settings, and an adjustable head that lets you angle it for edging. The shaft has no play, the weight is manageable, and because it runs on the same ONE+ batteries as Ryobi drills and other 18V tools, most buyers already have spares. It felt competitive with far more expensive trimmer brands.

The 40V trimmer and blower combo kit followed a similar story, with a quieter Whisper Series design, multiple power and runtime modes, and an automatic line feed that releases a little string every time you let off the trigger. For buyers who want more headroom than 18V, it is a strong option.

Chainsaws: A Rough Outing for Both

This was the least impressive category. The gas 18-inch 38cc two-cycle chainsaw is one of the most safety-conscious designs we have used, with a chain brake and multiple startup steps, but the engine refused to throttle up properly and cutting felt underpowered for a gas saw.

The 40V 16-inch electric chainsaw had a worse problem: out of the box it simply did not run. The unit arrived with bar oil leaked inside the box and would not operate with a charged 6Ah battery installed. That is either a defective battery or a defective saw, and neither outcome reflects well. Our long-standing preference for gas chainsaws did not survive this comparison, but the electric side winning by default is not a glowing endorsement for either. Approach this category with caution and test whatever you buy immediately.

Leaf Blowers: Finding the Right Airflow

The handheld battery blowers ranged from around 220 to 250 CFM in the combo kits, and they were unimpressive, barely shifting acorns off concrete. The compact torpedo-style handheld blower was the clear favorite in that group, with better real-world punch and a much easier shape to store.

The 40V Whisper Series blower, at 510 CFM and 130 mph, was a disappointment relative to its claims. On max runtime mode the output was weak, and even on max power it did not feel like the numbers suggest. The 800 CFM handheld was a different animal entirely, with enough force to lift pebbles, and it won our handheld comparison comfortably.

The backpack blowers were the heavyweight bout. The gas backpack blower is the loudest tool here by a wide margin, though it moves serious air. The 40V battery backpack blower does nearly the same job in near silence, with excellent harness adjustability, a double-extending tube and a comfortable hip-belt interface that keeps the weight off your arms. In our bucket-drag showdown, the electric backpack won decisively while sounding like a fraction of the machine.

Small Tools That Surprised Us

The mini chainsaw was the sleeper hit. Startup is a little slow and there is no bar oil reservoir, so the chain runs unlubricated, which is a genuine long-term concern. But it chewed through small branches and even took on two or three limbs at once, and it felt like a genuine little workhorse rather than a novelty.

The mini hedge clippers, with an interchangeable grass blade attachment, and the electric seed spreader, which also works well for spreading salt, round out a group of small tools that all performed solidly. This category may be Ryobi’s real strength: affordable, simple outdoor tools that do one job well.

Pressure Washers for Everyday Cleaning

We tested three electric pressure washers, and one clearly stood out. The middle unit, rated around 1,200 PSI, had an excellent trigger response with almost no lag, a three-head nozzle with rinse, turbo and 15-degree settings, and enough power for washing cars, rims, concrete walkways and outdoor furniture. It is fairly heavy for a handheld unit and the rubber hose is stiff, but for normal home cleaning it delivered the best value of the three.

The smaller handheld units are lighter and more convenient but whinier and less capable, and at their price they feel expensive for what they do. A much cheaper compact model exists in the lineup that covers most light-duty jobs. If you want to strip paint or reface siding, this is the wrong category; rent a gas unit instead.

Push Mowers: The Biggest Surprise

The 13-inch electric mower is endearingly tiny and surprisingly capable. It handled tall grass well, was among the quietest electric mowers we have tested, and cut cleanly. The one design complaint applies to the whole mower family: there is no side discharge gate, so you are choosing between bagging and mulching, and mulching very tall grass is not its friend. Even so, for a small yard it is an easy recommendation.

The 40V brushless self-propelled model fixes nearly every gap. It has seven speed settings, turbo mode, LED lighting, a blade replacement indicator, side discharge, mulching and bagging, and a simple push-button start instead of fussy trigger combinations. Cutting through roughly eight inches of overgrown grass, it produced one of the cleanest cuts we have seen from any electric mower, and it outperformed comparable mowers from better-known premium brands in both cut quality and drive feel. Around the five hundred dollar mark with batteries included, it was an easy buy verdict.

Ryobi 80V R1 Riding Mower

The R1 is the flagship. It uses a 30-inch deck powered by a dedicated 180-volt battery configuration built from 40V packs, so those batteries are not interchangeable with the rest of the lineup. It is online-only purchase, and the feature set is fairly basic: hand-operated deck drop, eco mode, a display showing runtime and battery percentage, and a reverse mow mode.

On flat work at the right height it mows well, eats through trimmings, and is quicker than competing small tractors we have used. Pushing it into heavy overgrown grass at speed caused it to bog and leave a ragged cut, though slowing down and raising the deck fixed most of that. We also burned through a quarter of the battery in a short testing session, which is worth factoring in for larger properties. At roughly three thousand dollars it is a lot of money for a machine this basic, but if you need a compact tractor for a small to mid-sized yard and want to stay battery-powered, it is a capable, surprisingly quick option.

Tools We Would Skip

Not everything deserves a place in your garage. The electric tiller barely worked in anything but loose soil and is best avoided. The electric hoe and the trimmer-with-stand accessory both felt like gimmicks, with cheap-feeling construction and little practical advantage over a basic trimmer. The cement mixer works fine, but at around $350 there is no reason to own one when rentals exist. And the gas chainsaw and handheld gas trimmer were consistently outclassed by Ryobi’s own battery tools.

Buying Advice

If you already own Ryobi ONE+ 18V batteries, start there. The 18V Whisper string trimmer and the small outdoor tools are the best value in the lineup. Stepping up to 40V makes sense for larger properties, where the self-propelled brushless mower and the battery backpack blower are the two most impressive products we tested. For the riding mower, go in knowing it is a basic machine at a premium price.

Skip Ryobi’s gas tools almost entirely. In this comparison, the battery versions were quieter, easier to start and, in most cases, more effective.

Conclusion

Ryobi’s lawn and garden range is uneven, but the highs are higher than the price tags suggest. The 40V brushless mower and the battery backpack blower are genuinely excellent, the 18V Whisper trimmer punches far above its class, and the small outdoor tools are all easy recommendations. Buy the battery tools, be cautious with the chainsaws, and leave the gimmicks on the shelf.