I tried to get cordless tools from many companies for the Parking Garage Motor Swap and failed. So when Cappa mailed me to ask what I thought about the Ryobi TEK 4 tools , and if I could try to get my hands on them I was doubtful I'd actually get to test them.
I looked at them, and found a lithium 4-volt battery at the base of the new tool lineup that is shock, dust, and water resistant. Things like a multimeter, flashlight, and submersible camera had my interest piqued.
I hate worrying about tools in the Jeep when it rains. And sure, ammo cases are great, but tool bags are cheaper and more convenient to actually get the tools out of instead of dumping them all on the ground. So, tools that could hang out in a bag and handle dirt and rain without any damage just sounded awesome. I figured if I could get my hands on some of them and put them through their paces I could then give an honest review if they were worthy of putting in your Jeep.
I sent a few emails out, not holding my breath, and was shocked when in a few days I heard back from Ryobi's marketing people. I was even more shocked that the company was interested in JP Magazine reviewing the new line. I requested the multimeter, flashlight, camera, non-touch infrared thermometer for testing. I was turned down.
Instead, they wanted me to try the whole lineup. I tried to explain that there likely wasn't much use for a laser level, lockbox, motion sensor, or laser distance measure in a Jeep, but they didn't care. They wanted feedback and now I'm trying to figure out how a laser level could be used in a Jeep, lol. Turns out the laser distance measure is real handy for things like alignments, wheelbase adjustments, checking square of welding projects, and determining driveshaft lengths.
A normal AA battery is 1.5 volts, so these 4V lithiums are almost worth 3 regular lithium AAs. I don't know what the mAh rating is, but I'll find out. And I'll find out just how well these tools work in the real world-Coming to a Jp magazine in the future.
You can see the TEK4 line at Home Depot, or here.