Hot take: buying cheap tools is better than spending big upfront

I used to think you had to drop $300 on a single drill to get decent work done, you know, the whole buy it for life thing. Now I grab a $40 Ryobi from Home Depot and just replace it when it dies, which is about every 2 years for me. The math changes when you factor in how much gear I lose or break on job sites around Denver - why cry over a $300 tool when a $40 one does the same job? Am I wrong for thinking this way, or do you guys stick with the expensive stuff?

4 comments

4 Comments

mark_price16d ago

Treat it like a consumable" is exactly right, but here's something nobody's bringing up yet. The cheap tools also make you less of a target on job sites. Nobody's eyeballing a scuffed up Ryobi in your truck bed like they would a red or teal box sitting there.

joel_butler16d ago

Ha! Right? My stuff is so beat up nobody even bothers looking twice. It's like a free anti-theft system.

mila_harris16d ago

Yeah the whole "cry over a $300 tool" thing really hit home for me. I do the same thing with my impact drivers now, grab whatever's on sale at Lowe's and treat it like a consumable. Way less stress when one falls off the truck bed.

the_anthony16d ago

Man I switched to the same mindset about two years ago after I dropped a brand new Milwaukee hammer drill off a 12 foot ladder. @mila_harris that's exactly where I landed too, just grab whatever Ridgid or Ryobi is on the deal of the day at Home Depot. It hurts way less when something gets busted up or walks off the job site. Plus the newer budget stuff holds up pretty good for most of what we do anyway.