We did our research for gutter guards on the internet and found that AsktheBuilder.com had a review of gutter guards. To make the long and short of it, he chose MasterShield for his home. We've got oaks and maples, a real problem in the spring. I remembered that my neighbor, who's an architect, put guards on his house a few seasons ago and when I asked him about what he had picked, it just happened to be the same thing as AsktheBuilder. He chose it cause it cause it had this fine microfilter made of stainless steel and liked its engineering from the rest. I figured he knew what he was talking about, and had MasterShield installed. Like that other person says, well worth the investment.

Following is a repost. Have experience with Leafguard, Gutterhelmet, and gutterguard. Have found them to all work well. What your friend says is true, but a clogged gutter will run over a LOT more. I have not found overrun to be an issue with any of them. My preference is Gutterguard, but it is the most expensive! Has the largest profile to the gutter and can move the most water with the fewest downspouts. The covers are about 10' long segments which can be replaced individually if needed. Gutterhelmet does a fine job but must be fitted under the second row of shingles. A plus for it is it can fit on current gutters, thus not as expensive. It also has a bit of a different look, which we did find to be a problem. Leafguard does fine but due to the smaller profile gutter, it requires more downspouts. Without enough downspouts, it can overflow during extremely heavy rain. Valleys can be a bit problematic with any of them, but a diverter can be added to help in that area. Currently I have Leafguard on the front of our house, and Gutterguard on the back. The front, done some time ago, has short runs. When we did an addition and reroofed the back we decided to go with Gutterguard as there were some 70' runs where I only wanted a downspout at each end. First installed the helmet about 9 years ago, never have cleaned a gutter since. Have also tried just about all the other ones that clip on and don't work, and were a waste of time and money. Paul

I had some gutter guards (expanded sheet metal grates) at one time. The "helicopter" seeds used to get snagged in the mesh so I removed them and went without any guards.

I, like most of you have tried several gutter covers. My house has several large trees near it, some are the sweet gum trees that have these prickly balls about 1" in diameter. They will clog your downspout or gutter quickly, it only takes 2 or 3 of them to completely stop the water flow. I have tried some of the reverse flow models but maple tree "helicopters" pretty much eliminated them and I would have had to lower my gutters to make them work properly. I have also tried wire mesh etc. and all have some drawbacks. I installed Leaf-Relief guards on my house myself. They are relatively easy to install. They are very well made, come in 10' lengths instead 3'or 4' and I think they will be the best thing I have tried so far. The lip on the front seems to be a trap for debris but if you watch the cover work, the lip acts as a guide to prevent the water from going over the gutter during a heavy rain. My only issue so far is that my 2-story house has a lower roof over my garage. The builder ran downspouts from the upper roof to the lower roof and the upper roof drains directly onto the lower roof. During a heavy rain the water runs over the top of the Leaf-Relief guards. They can't absorb that much water quickly enough. I e-mailed alcoa and they said that the upper gutters should drain directly into the lower gutters not onto the roof. This is really not that big of an issue, there has to be a substantial rain to overflow this and it is only in an area of about 1 foot. Considering the cost ($3 ft.), I think this will work as well as anything else. There is going to be some maintenance with any of the gutter covers and these will probably be a minimum of effort to maintain. They do still work even if there are leaves on them and they stay relatively clean on their own but will certainly need to be brushed off occasionally, that's better than what I've been dealing with for the last 15 years or so. I hope this helps some of you, I have been dealing with this for a long time, it has gotten so bad for me that I lately have had to clean the gutters everytime rain was predicted in my area. Mike