It takes a bit longer than the top blowers to clear stuck-on dirt and grime, but the Ryobi RY40460 could usually do it if you got close enough. It has a respectable enough range with lighter items, able to blow sand a little further than 13' away when the Ryobi is held at a stationary point.
It also did fairly well at floating the beach ball, able to get it to hover at a distance of 4' from the end of nozzle on it High mode and 5' on Turbo.
The RY40460 did well at moving leaves, litter, pine needles, etc., but it was a step down in power levels from the top blowers. However, it has a decent amount of oomph and is able to move lighter items and even smaller pebbles and stones relatively far. It got bogged down if the pine needles were matted together, only able to move the lighter portions of it rather than moving the entire clump.
The Ryobi's 40-volt, 4 amp hour battery lasted for 26 minutes on high and a little more than 18 minutes on Turbo mode, which overall counted as a runtime of 20 minutes and 24 seconds for scoring purposes when using our estimated 70/30 split.
Unfortunately, the Ryobi RY40460 takes an exceptionally long time to recharge, with a dead battery only hitting 100% charge after 2 hours and 45 minutes on the charger.
The Ryobi blower was one of the most comfortable and ergonomic models of the group. It's about average when it comes to heft, weighing in at 9 pounds with the battery installed.
This cordless leaf blower has a very comfortable grip, and it naturally rests at a great angle when held in a neutral position. The trigger is a little stiffer and wider than the others and takes a little more effort to engage than some of the others but it is still relatively easy to press. It also isn't a hassle to hit the Turbo button while holding the Ryobi normally.
This blower has an air intake on the back of the main housing but the battery protrudes from the back, providing some protection and preventing your shirt from getting caught when you switch the RY40460 between hands.
Regrettably, the Ryobi thoroughly failed to impress in our noise assessments. It's one of the loudest blowers we have tested to date.
This blower measured in at 93.3 dBa on its Turbo mode for the person using it and 83.7 dBa for someone 50' away. On top of being one of the louder blowers, the Ryobi also has a high-pitched whine that all of our judges universally agreed is highly unpleasant.
While the Ryobi isn't the most powerful and is quite loud, we think it's the absolute best option for a budget-minded shopper trying to keep costs down while getting a decent leaf blower.
Overall, it's definitely the Ryobi's relatively affordable and attractive price that earned it recognition, not necessarily its performance. It did fairly well in most tests, but can't compare to the top-tier models. However, it does cost less than half as much, making it one of the absolute best choices if you are shopping on a tighter budget.
