Is Ryobi's Gutter Blower Tool Worth Buying? Looks Like The Reviews Are Mixed

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Cleaning the gutters is one of those chores that's easy to put off due to the effort involved. Climbing a ladder, scooping out gunk or dried leaves, then climbing down, moving the ladder, and doing it again is quite the workout if dealing with several long stretches of gutter. You should clean your gutters once or twice a year to keep them debris-free; it's also an important task to tackle when it's time to prepare for a hurricane. Every now and then, a company comes up with a novel way to make such maintenance easier. Ryobi's Expand-it Gutter Blower Attachment is one such example. A blower head attaches to extension poles that fit the company's Expand-it system, which means no more climbing up high enough to touch the insides of the gutters. 

The Expand-it system starts with one of the company's battery-operated power head kits, with optional, swappable attachments that turn the power head unit into a string trimmer, snow blower, hedge trimmer, or other yard-worthy tools. Ryobi's product page states that the $129 gutter blower attachment is compatible with both gas and cordless attachment-ready devices from other companies, including Craftsman, John Deere, Toro, Yardman, and Kobalt, among others. In theory, a gutter blower on a pole seems like a great idea; in reality, reviews on Ryobi's and Home Depot's product pages for the device are mixed, though mostly favorable. Ryobi makes a number of tools to make yardwork easier, too, so there's a fair chance you're familiar with some of them. 

On the Ryobi gutter blower product page, 23 users give the device about 4.7 stars out of five available. On the Home Depot page, 190 users cumulatively rank it at 3.9 stars out of 5, which is still fairly favorable. Of those, 86 gave it five stars, 37 gave it four stars, and yet 26 gave it one star, mostly due to its weight or lack of power. If you're concerned about either, this may be worth noting, depending upon the height and length of your gutters.  

The gutter blower attachment has a 3-year limited warranty and sends out air at speeds of up to 145 miles per hour. It weighs close to 5 pounds, which could feel a bit unwieldy when holding the device over your head via an extension pole, especially if dealing with lengthy gutters. Some users note that it puts out a lot of air, while one reviewer on Ryobi's site noted that the exhaust isn't adjustable, nor is the angle of the blower head. A reviewer named Kirkanth gave it five stars on Ryobi's site and said it did a great job of clearing out leaves and other matter. They recommended it for high gutters, yet also noted it was "a little awkward" and "a little heavy" when holding it up high with the extension pole in place. 

One Home Depot reviewer said it did a great job on dry leaves, but blew half of them onto the roof. They also stated that it quickly drained older batteries and recommended using a beefy, fresh battery. Another user said that they were "pleasantly surprised" to reach gutters about 17 feet high, taking their own height and arm length into consideration. Another Home Depot reviewer noted that it gets heavy after a while, but resting it along the gutter makes things easier. Another reviewer felt it was difficult to use with the overhang on their roof due to the angle of the blower. The biggest pain points in reviews seem to be the single-direction blower and the weight of the device when held overhead.