The new Ryobi cordless shop vac leads the charge for the latest generation of Ryobi cordless vacuums. Having just wrapped up our best dust extractor article, it’s nice to move into the simpler world of shop vacs. The promise of the Ryobi P770 is to cut the cord without a loss of performance. That sounds great on paper, but can it deliver?
That’s exactly what I intend to find out.
Check out our article on the latest Ryobi vacuum reviews and products.
Key Features
Tag Along
Two 8″ wheels keep the Ryobi P770 rolling across the floor easily. It tackles thresholds really well, too. The back wheel is a much smaller 360° design that allows the vacuum to swivel around. This 4-wheel design moves away from the corners to the center of each side and lets you pull it wherever you’re going with little fuss. Sure, you can get caught up on a table leg that you have to free the vacuum from, but it’s a pretty compliant unit.
Cord and Hose Management
Shockingly, there’s no cord wrap on the Ryobi cordless shop vac. If that’s a genuine surprise to you, well, read the description a little better. There’s what Ryobi calls their “no-mess hose storage dock” on the top. The space above the canister is pretty wide open to allow you to wrap the hose around it rather than assuming you’ll store it in the canister. THANK YOU!
Anyway, there are four elastic attachment points that you can use. The two points on the right are connected as are the left side points. If you pull one to lengthen it, its corresponding cord will shorten. You can run the hose through all four points if you really want to, but I find that just wrapping the hose and putting the nozzle in the closest one does the trick just fine.
Attachments
Ryobi includes two extension wands, a crevice tool, and a floor nozzle with the vacuum. These store on elastic straps behind the canister. It’s effective, but I don’t like how much they move around back there.
I’m also concerned about the use of elastic cords. They’re great for now and should last a couple of years at the very least. But sooner or later, they’ll begin to wear out and no longer be useful. At least it’s not an outdoor unit that will have them degrade faster in the sun.
Footprint
One of the really nice things about the Ryobi cordless shop vac design is its relatively small footprint. It’s roughly the length and width (~21″ x 15″) of a small dust extractor, but much shorter (~18-1/2″ to the top of the handle). It’s easy to tuck away in a corner of the shop or next to a workbench.
Performance
Suction
Without rotating brushes, it’s obvious the Ryobi cordless shop vac is designed for use on hard floors. 80 CFM gives it plenty of suction to pick up most debris from dust and dirt to sawdust and wood chips. I vacuumed out the office and the shop area to find that it works great on tile and concrete floors. It’s a good fit to clean off tools and workbenches as well.
The extensions and the crevice tool work well. However, the floor nozzle could stand to give you a little more leeway for collection. It’s in collecting wood shavings from an auger bit that I switched from the floor nozzle to the open extension. It feels like there’s enough power to give you a 3/4″ or maybe 1″ opening rather than the 1/2″ you get. On regular dirt and dust, it does just fine.
Runtime
With a 4.0 Ah battery pack, I ran the Ryobi cordless shop vac for 12 minutes, 30 seconds. Despite the attractiveness of this unit as a pull-behind vacuum for a house with tile or wood floors, the runtime isn’t there for it. On the other hand, when you’re cleaning up around the workbench, miter saw, and table saw at the end of a project, it’s right at home.
The Bottom Line
There really aren’t any major pitfalls for the Ryobi cordless shop vac. Just realize that you are limited in runtime with a cordless system, but there’s power to spare for cleaning up hard floors. A minor concern down the road will be how well the elastic straps hold up. Looking ahead to Gen 2, I’d like to see this unit go hybrid. It would be worth an extra $20 or $30 to get the combination of cordless convenience for quick cleanups and no runtime concern when it’s time to clean larger spaces.
For $99, it’s more expensive than your corded options in the same size range. As promised, though, 80 CFM is in the wheelhouse of corded models in the 3 HP range. On our end, the pickup is easily good enough to replace our corded unit. If you’re already on the Ryobi One+ battery platform, I like the Ryobi P770 as a primary shop vac when it comes time to replace your current corded model.
Ryobi Cordless Shop Vac Features
- Multi-size no-tip wheel design and 360° mobility for balance rolling over obstacles like cords and thresholds
- Cordless convenience with corded performance with 80 CFM
- Convenient onboard accessory storage and no-mess hose storage dock
- Multiple carrying handles for easy transportation
- Removable top for simple emptying
- Compact design for space-saving storage
- Crevice tool, floor nozzle, and extension ends included
Ryobi Cordless Shop Vac Specifications
- Model: Ryobi P770
- Air Flow: 80 CFM
- Weight: 15 lbs
- Warranty: 3 years
- Price: $119
