Ryobi CSD-4030G

Budget screwdriver brilliance for your woodwork

Ryobi have always had a solid knack for putting together decent quality tools for a very small asking price. The CSD-4030G is a good example of this - you get a fair whack more than you pay for. Depending on what your needs are, and assuming we're talking light use, buying this little gem makes a huge amount of sense.

Out of the box

Considering the cost, there are a host of nifty features present on this screwdriver. The unit as a whole is built to last, sturdy and robust in its compact frame. There's also the standard gripzone technology to keep everything feeling comfy in your hands.

As for the actual mechanisms itself, along with the chunky trigger, the torque settings and "insty-bit quick change' click into place confidently. The latter in particular is handy: thanks to an automatic spindle lock, you can pull off bit changes one handed, so if you've got an arduous DIY job to be getting on with you can plough on without having to stop and regroup every thirty seconds.

As you's expect, there's a forward/reverse switch, but with a light to let you know which way you're spinning, and a further LED light for helping you work in dimly lit areas.

In use

We encountered no problems with the CSD: powerful enough to make a doddle of DIY, but with a sensitive enough torque setting to make sure you won't be damaging your wood by accident. Charge times were fast on the battery, coupled with a healthy amount of working time. I can't see this screwdriver breaking for a very long time: the components are sturdy enough to take a lot of punishment, and the chuck is very well built too.

The verdict

You're not paying a lot, as we've said, and of course you're not going to get a top-flight, incredibly professional tool for that price: that's what the likes of AEG are for. What you do get, though, is an efficient tool that's been put together with more than a little thought. It's certainly no throwaway tool that'll let you down after week 1, and it helps you to work in a quick and accomplished fashion.