In a world of dirty trucks and small piles of drywall dust, this one’s a winner.

From Ryobi comes the Tuff Sucker, a name that describes both construction and, ahem, sucking ability in a way that probably appeals to far more consumers than will confess their amusement with the name. An 18-volt cordless hand-held vacuum in a world of more and more increasingly cordless tools leaves this consumer wondering, “What took them so long?”

Opened the box and out fell a dustbuster-like vacuum, one 18.2 volt battery, battery charger, and two attachments. Followed by a manual that reads in multiple languages which was a relief since I gazed at the thing and wondered just how much can a company write about a cordless vacuum. Fortunately, it’s not that much, just the same stuff in various forms of expression.

The battery came low-charged and needed a good hour – minimum – in the charger before I was ready to try my Tuff Sucker.

Battery & Charger are easily adapted to other uses with the battery readily interchangeable with other 18.2 volt cordless tools from Ryobi. Granted, I don’t own any but I imagine I know have an excuse to test drive some in the near future. The charger comes with the warning that it be plugged in only to 120-volt, AC power sources meaning this was made for your home’s electrical service. A three light system is used on the charger: Green means you’re all charged up, Yellow is used only the first few seconds to indicate the battery charger is working up into the ‘fast charge’ mode, and Red indicating the fast charge is occurring. Life should be so easy for you also need to recall that should your charger display a yellow and green light simultaneously you could have a bum battery. So many scales and degrees of colors to memorize nowadays.

Tuff Sucker, minus battery, is the size of a traditional hand-held vac. Just so we tool guys would feel that it’s not a household appliance it comes with a dark blue body and clear yellow nose area. The on/off switch is positioned clearly at the top of the unit and with the handle works ergonomically, fitting any user’s hand except for that of my two year old daughter.

Collection reservoir is at the front of the unit and holds a few cups of dry debris and a minimal of liquid. Emptying and replacing the reservoir is equally self-explanatory and easy enough without being so easy the thing would pop off on its own. For liquid a “fill line” is included indicating the maximum level of liquid held.

Tuff Sucker + Battery equals an additional two inches of length and about 1.5 pounds of weight. This is not your kitchen’s DustBuster and weighs in around five pounds total not including any debris you may be storing for later dumping. It’s certainly not a bothersome weight but worth noting regardless.

Sucking power is excellent, I’d event place it in the realm of my Shop Vac in terms of dealing with little pieces of junk that lodge in my truck and in dealing with dusy-type pick-ups. Because of the size of the unit I would hope it’s obvious this is not meant for big chunks of anything or gallons of liquid. Think of this for quick pick-ups or working in smaller areas which make the hose of a large vacuum an annoyance.

Tuff Sucker + Battery + Tools means I can get in that space between the seat and back of my truck seat with relative ease. I never think crevice tools stick into place all that well and this is no exception. Yet the sucking power is maintained through the crevice tool which is a plus. I have yet to utilize the brush attachment though I imagine it would be more useful in a home situation on upholstery.

How many more times can I get away with typing “Tuff Sucker”? This tool saves me having to utilize my large shop vacuum for every little spill and pile of sawdust I may create. It’s certainly no replacement for such a large vac, but it does mean that areas that I normally lived with in terms of mess tend to be a bit cleaner. In fact, I do believe I may convince my wife to sit my truck someday soon. Noise level does not require hearing protection though I certainly am not going to tell someone to absolutely avoid their ear plugs.

Construction makes this one Tuff Sucker in terms of power and, so far, body as a whole. No cracks after being dropped a couple times, though I don’t anticipate the front reservoir/nozzle area to endure too many drops without some sort of crack showing up soon. It’s not a true jobsite tool but would be good for small remodel jobs where you want to impress the client with your cleanliness. Don’t expect a warranty – mine came with no information on any form of warranty. I can only assume that a manufacturer’s defect would be taken care of if presented immediately upon purchase. Apart from that Ryobi offers to refer me to a licensed service provider. Great. Well, here’s hoping this is one tough Tuff Sucker in that regard.


Recommended: Yes