Has anyone used the aftermarket batteries? Thoughts? Results?

+1 for rebuilds

RYOBI 18v
Only the new genuine units are worth the $$/Life-hr

The knock-offs are about equal in short-life to the refurbished
in this brand

I've tried the Amazon ones vs the name brand (Ryobi) ones. I notice a difference in how my tool runs, and the cheap batteries have issues with some of the higher draw tools and I'm forced to use a Ryobi battery./

Plus now I have a pretty big fear of lithium fires and the cheap china cells are usually the culprit. $20 more for a battery to get a slightly better china cell seems worth it to me.

Plus depending on brand you can often find deals that are close enough to china battery prices to not make it worth the risk

The older Ryobi batteries, for example, used Panasonic cells. I have some from 2015 that are still kicking.

HD has sales on major holidays for most brand named batteries.

I know I got two 4AH Ryobi's for the price of a single a few years back on Labor Day.

Also, watch for deals on Black Friday. I know the brick stores can suck on those days, but it's better to buy there. Sometimes the Amazon sales can be returned or mis-labled aftermarket batteries that are old or not OEM (despite the label).

I always buy mine new on sale from HD during black friday or from Direct Tools when they run a sale for my Ryobi gear. Dont trust aftermarket.

I've bought a couple of Chinese dewalt batteries knockoffs from Amazon. Don't waste your money on them.

I've converted to Ryobi for price reasons. Home Depot will typically have their promotion 1-3x per year where you can get 4 batteries or 2 batteries and a tool for $100.
Direct tools outlet used to have decent deals but their $15 shipping kills it. I've only bought "blemished" from them and tools look new in box

These aren't there HP batteries but they will typically work for majority of your DIY. I've converted my daughters power wheels to use ryobi batteries so have spares come in handy.

I bought Chinese knockoffs for Dewalt tools - drills, saws, blowers, air compressor, etc... I can't tell a difference and way more than 50% off, Waitley was the brand. Use them 2-3x a week with blower, recharge them weekly for the last year with no issues.

This is one thing I won't go cheap on. I just bite the bullet and pay for the Dewalt batteries.

I do think what a poster above said about keeping them inside and out of the extreme temps is a good idea but I haven't done it.

F that. I go cheap. Still using my original Ryobi batteries but I wanted a higher capacity batt for my grass blower. Got a biggun 3rd party on Amazon and it's been great in the rotation.

I bought generic replacements for my Black & Decker leaf blower about 3 years ago and they work fine- can't tell the difference in performance or charging. With that as a track record I bought generic knock-offs for DeWalt 18V since those DeWalt batteries are discontinued and very expensive if you can find them. The generics work and charge fine- tools seem to run slightly faster and battery charge lasts a little longer. Only complaint is that they were a tight fit in the tools and in the charger. But that has lessened with use. For DeWalt- there're many different companies selling online but I suspect they all come out of the same factory or two. The DeWalt generics are 25-35% of the factory battery cost- a lot cheaper. And they are available.

Lol, a very timely test from Project Farm just hit my feed.

Spoiler alert: Buy generic, you gonna die. Some seemed OK, some were obviously weak/dangerous. I wouldn't play roulette with generic, personally.