New Basic Ryobi 18V Drill PCL201

I originally wrote about the Ryobi 18V drill PCL201 back in 12/12/23 when it was spotted however we know have new official info from Ryobi. Let’s check it out below. A big thanks to DrewBHAM for writing in about the official update!

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Ryobi 18V Drill PCL201 – Features

As I originally suspected, this was and still is an ultra basic drill. Features like a two speed transmission and a torque select clutch which are basically standard features nowadays are non-existent on this model. Other creature comforts like a belt clip or even a spot to place one are also non-existent.

There’s also a severe downgrade in the chuck department. It’s a two handed chuck which means that its two piece design needs one hand to hold the base in place so that the other hand can loosen or tighten the chuck. Ryobi also doesn’t provide any torque numbers or if it has an electric brake.

What they do provide are a variable speed 0-600 RPM operating range which is very slow for a drill and about what you’d find on the slower speed one of a two speed drill. They also provide a weight figure of 2.8 lbs but don’t mention if this is with or without a battery installed. Ryobi also mentioned that it has an on-board LED light which is on the bottom of the drill facing towards the work end which is good positioning. They also mention that you can easily drill holes and drive screws but that’s not really saying much as even the weakest of drills can drill and drive. That’s why torque numbers are a better stat to provide.

Ryobi 18V Drill PCL201 – Pricing & Availability

This new drill is stated to launch February 2024. Another important spec is the price which they do provide. This drill doesn’t have much going for it so hopefully a low price point can make it somewhat appealing. It is said to be priced at $59.97 at launch which isn’t very appealing considering its feature set or lack thereof.

The positive though is that at that price point you do get a battery and charger however that is still double more than similarly equipped drills from Harbor Freight’s Warrior and Walmart’s Hyper Tough brands which are in the $30 price point. I had guessed that this Ryobi drill would be priced at around $50 as a kit and though close, I was $10 off in the wrong direction, yikes! As long as $30 drill kits from Hyper Tough and Warrior exist, it makes it hard to consider Ryobi’s model for $60 while offering less.

Also Harbor Freight’s Bauer 20V drill kit is also priced at $60 and is a far superior drill over this Ryobi model. I suppose the use case for getting this Ryobi drill is if you like Ryobi as a brand and either want to stay in their vast ecosystem or want a way to get into it without breaking the bank.

Manufacturer Specs List:

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Below is the original article written on 12/12/23.

An image of a new Ryobi 18V drill model PCL201 has been spotted. There isn’t any info on this other than its existence. Let’s see what we can gather from the image below.

Ryobi 18V Drill PCL201 – Spotted

We don’t have any other official info other than the above image and its model # PCL201. However we can glean a handful of info from the image.

For example it’s a very compact drill about the size of a 12V drill if you focus on the handle up. It’s also a very basic drill. I mean very basic as it’s devoid of features we’ve come to view as “standard” on modern drills. For example, the first thing I spotted is the lack of a torque and mode select collar. That means that you won’t be able to dial down the torque like you can with regular cordless drills for driving screws flush. That is unless it has some sort of electronic torque mode settings but I doubt it as seeing how basic even the chuck is.

The chuck appears to be a plastic chuck that’s probably 3/8 inch capacity. Many cordless drill chucks are plastic so no big deal there, the big deal is that it’s a two handed chuck. That means that they chuck has two independent rotating sections. Unlike a regular chuck that stays in place as you rotate it to loosing or tighten, this chuck doesn’t do that. If you turn the chuck, it will turn the drive shaft with it. This means you have to hold the back part of the chuck with one hand to keep the drive shaft from rotating as your other hand rotates the front of the chuck to loosen or tighten. I’m not a big fan of these style of chucks and I doubt you will be too.

Ryobi 18V Drill PCL201

The LED light is about the only modern feature on this drill as it has the modern placement of below the handle that faces upwards towards the work piece. I don’t know if it has an afterglow, that is that it stays lit for a few seconds after you release the trigger.

Drivetrain? We don’t know that either. It’s hard to tell if this is a single or two speed drill. Most likely it will have a variable speed trigger but I can’t tell if it’s a single or two speed. I do see a slight bump on top of the drill, it is possible that it may be a two speed selector or just a hard plastic hump. The fact that it doesn’t even have a torque collar makes me lean towards the single speed side.

The shape and build quality looks like a modern design with Ryobi’s solid build quality you can expect. Though no belt clip attachment nor spot to attach one to. And as a kit it looks like it comes with a 1.5ah battery.

That’s about all we can glean from the above image. There’s still a lot we don’t know such as torque figures, max RPM speed, speeds, afterglow, or if it has an electric brake.

My Thoughts:

My guess is that Ryobi decided to make an ultra budget drill such as this one to compete against other bottom of the barrel 18V/20V drills from Harbor Freight and Walmart such as Warrior and Hyper Tough and Chinese no-name brands from Amazon. The Warrior and Hyper Tough budget drills are the closest thing I can compare to this Ryobi drill. They all feature compact li-ion batteries and a single speed transmission with variable speed trigger and two hand 3/8″ plastic chuck. Though Warrior’s and Hyper Tough’s models feature torque collars which the Ryobi lacks from what we can see.

Harbor Freight’s Warrior 18V drill and Walmart’s Hyper Tough 20V drill are both priced around $30 as a kit with battery and charger. That’s a price that Ryobi has to compete against. Currently, Ryobi’s lowest priced 18V drill kit on the Home Depot is $50 (rounded up), but even that model is at a $10 discount at the time of writing with an original price of $60 (rounded up).

My Thoughts: Continued

Ryobi is known as a budget brand however they do uphold a certain level of quality and their batteries though lower priced than professional brands, just don’t come down in price as low as the Harbor Freight or Walmart competition. I honestly doubt that Ryobi will price this new basic drill at $30 as a kit, it just seems impossible considering how much their batteries cost by themselves. Even $40 seems like a hard price point to reach for Ryobi as a kit. I’d say around $50 especially as seeing how Ryobi’s latest tools are priced higher than outgoing models they replace.

But if they want to compete against Harbor Freight and Walmart, they should price it at least $40 as a kit if they want to attract their customers to the Green side. Just my two cents. What do you think? How much do you think this model will be priced as a kit when it gets officially announced? I assume it should be officially announced soon.

DISCLOSURE:
We are a participant in The Home Depot Affiliate Program. It is an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to homedepot.com. Tool Craze does not sell this product or any product on the Tool Craze website. We do not handle the sale of any item in any way. Please refer to the About section for more info.

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