Ryobi AIRgrip accessories outperform its laser level

 

Five years ago, lasers levels were high-dollar items used mostly by professional builders. But today, you'll find laser levels practically everywhere at very affordable prices. So what makes Ryobi's AIRgrip MultiTask-it different from a run-of-the-mill laser level? For one, the battery-powered vacuum base sticks to almost anything without marring. (Most laser levels mount with sticky adhesive and/or steel pins that poke holes in your walls. The AIRgrip acts like a powered suction cup.) More importantly, the interchangeable accessories that mount to that vacuum base make this system way more valuable than a simple laser level.

 

 

 

I chose an interior wall with a painted "orange-peel" texture for my laser-level test, and the vacuum base wouldn't grip until I used it with the included rough-surface adapter. (I also used the adapter on a painted block wall and varnished wood surfaces. It worked fine in both cases.) On the orange-peel surface, I had trouble seeing the laser line beyond 10' but it carried farther on smoother surfaces. Like most levels that rely on a small bubble vial for accuracy, a little error reading the bubble multiplies by the time you get out 30'. Still, for short distances this unit will fill the bill.

The rest of the accessories that mount on the AIRgrip base proved more valuable to me than the laser. For instance, I installed a handrail, and found the Helping Hand attachment (a spring-loaded arm that spared my wife from holding the other end of the rail) a slick way to work with long workpieces, as shown in  photo A. On smooth surfaces, its weight limit is five pounds. And the Multi-mag Tray puts a tool-and hardware-holding tray just about anywhere, as shown in  photo B. Same with the light attachment with its three LEDs that cut the darkness under the sink while I worked there. Even the base by itself is handy: It sports tape-measure slots and magnetic sides to hold a tape in place, as shown in  photo C (again sparing my wife the trouble). 

Tested by Randy Zimmerman

Ryobi AIRgrip MultiTask-it
Performance: 4 stars     
Model: EM0001
$50, exclusively at The Home Depot
800/525-2579
www.ryobitools.com