Follow along with the audio and graphic above or read the transcript below to learn how MasterShield micro mesh gutter guard performed in the 2024 Ultimate Gutter Guard Challenge series on YouTube.
MasterShield Audio Transcript
Audio Transcript:
Edited for clarity
Commentator: Johnathan Skardon
Audio from Ultimate Gutter Guard Challenge, Season 2024, Episode 24
Here we’re looking at MasterShield on the north side of the garage. We originally installed MasterShield in March of 2020. The system, at the point that you see it here, and in that May shot, you can see I have an asterisk there, which indicates that the product had been installed at that point for 26 months. So it had been up there for more than two years.
Obviously, it doesn’t look pristine or brand new at that point. And it was a rainy day. Just a couple of interesting points on this system:
MasterShield has three strips of copper that are woven into the screen. It’s got a 316 stainless steel screen with the copper that gets woven into that screen. You can see in the middle shot, perhaps, you can see a little bit of the copper look in the screen at the top, the middle, and at the bottom. You can see a little bit of that as well on the May shot, but in that May shot, it was a rainy day.
You can see some of the flowers off the locust tree, and then immediately behind where this product is sitting was a redbud tree. So it tended to get whacked a little bit more with stuff from the redbud tree. You see a few pine needles. You see a couple of leaves. You see some of the locust flowers, and you see some of the redbud activity up there. This system was a consistent performer. It just pretty much did what it was supposed to do from beginning [of the test].
And if you look at the October photo there in the middle, you can see that again, there’s just some stuff loosely sitting on top of it. As I pointed out in other videos, we always had a little bit more product, more leaves and debris kind of on that left hand corner. There wasn’t always stuff [debris] up there, but occasionally when there was stuff up there, there was always a little bit a debris kind of sitting off to the left and, in part, it’s because I think we put
our thumb a little heavy on the gutter guard when we were putting on the end cap.
It also sits immediately next to LeafFilter and LeafFilter always had stuff sitting on top of it. By and large, throughout the course of the year, there was very little stuff ever sitting on top of this system; it always shed the leaves and debris really well.
If you drop down to the April shot there, the following year, you can see this is now 37 months after we initially installed the product. We’re taking it off in April, so we’re already starting to get some of the spring flowers blossoming off the trees. And you can see some of the flowers off the redbud tree there and maybe a random pine needle or two.
MasterShield, as a product in 2024, if you were to compare it to the 2024 results, would have been the number one system. I believe perhaps the The RainDrop system took in just a smidge more water than [MasterShield]. Like one-tenth or something, a little bit more water, maybe it was a couple of tenths more, or hundredths, excuse me, of water than the MasterShield system did after [3 years].
But for the long-term test, it took in the most water. And the long-term test, again, we’re limiting to three products at this point. We’re limiting it to MasterShield, LeafFilter, and Klean Gutter. Both MasterShield and LeafFilter being up there for three years. Klean Gutter having been technically up there for two years, but we had to move it from the south side of the garage to the north side of the garage. In essence, it had only been installed on the north side of the garage for a year, but had essentially been up for a total of two years in two different locations.
The debris in the gutter after three years was 0.2 ounces. The Baggie that we used to weigh the material is also 0.2 ounces. So, yes, there was a little bit of material inside there, but it wasn’t enough to register; it wasn’t enough to pop it up by one tenth of an ounce to three tenths of an ounce. It all fell within the two tenths of an ounce of the Baggie weight.
So more or less nothing got inside that system after three years. I’ve heard from other homeowners who have owned this product who have had to remove it for whatever reason — usually getting a new roof — or they get up there they’re just curious and they look inside it and by and large there’s nothing inside their gutters.
Kudos to MasterShield for keeping pretty much everything out the amount of debris at the remaining at the conclusion of our test was negligible you can see a few of those flowers sitting up there but that wasn’t enough to to justify any weight coming out of it and then its ability to take in the water for the long-term testers was 2.12 gallons (8 liters), which put it at the top edge of the test and that’s just kind of how we saw this thing throughout time.
MasterShield always did a really good job with the water. It always did a really good job with the leaves and debris and it’s one of the few rock stars among gutter protection systems out there on the market!
MasterShield
Ultimate Gutter Guard Challenge
Years Tested: 2021-2024
Debris Intake Rank: 1st Place
Water Intake Rank: 1st Place
Material & Design
Frame: Roll-formed Aluminum
Screen: 316 Stainless Steel Micro Mesh with Copper
Screen Density: Very Fine
Screen Connection Method: Glued and Crimped
Available Colors: 13 popular gutter colors + 100% copper
Dimensions: 4 foot lengths
Installs: Under Shingles. Can be modified to install within the gutter
Fits: 5”, 6” and 7″ K-Style and Half-round Gutters
MasterShield Review
Invented by Alex Higginbotham as the successor to his popular 1999 invention, LeafFilter micro mesh gutter guards, MasterShield was introduced in 2006 as the second-ever micro mesh gutter guard. A massive improvement over LeafFilter’s design, Higginbotham replaced the PVC (plastic) frame with aluminum and changed the installation method from within the gutter to under the first course of shingles — guaranteeing vastly improved performance over its predecessor.
Out-of-the-Box Observations
MasterShield is the best gutter guard that you likely have never heard of. It was easily the best performing out of 22 gutter covers we tested over a three year time period in the Ultimate Gutter Guard Challenge on YouTube.
Unlike its older sibling, LeafFilter, that most homeowners are aware of due to national print, TV and social media campaigns, MasterShield has quietly been living on homeowners gutters since 2006.
For homeowners lucky enough to find it available in their market, MasterShield offers the best combination of leaf shedding and water intake of any micro mesh gutter guard on the market today.
MasterShield is made from a wide, single piece of roll-formed aluminum that has a series of open slots and downward channels that sit under it’s ultra-fine 316-grade stainless steel and copper screen. This is an example of true micro mesh screen technology that was initially introduced in the early 2000’s and then refined with the addition of copper in 2018.
MasterShield Installation
MasterShield installs under the first course of shingles and rests on top of the gutter lip (front edge of gutter). MasterShield is secured to the front lip of the gutter with sheet metal screws.
A couple of other unique features available with MasterShield include a drip edge at the leading edge of the gutter. The drip edge helps kick leaves, debris and water away from the face of the gutter. This nice-to-have-feature keeps the face of your gutters cleaner.
It also has a male-female connector that adds quite a bit of rigidity to the aluminum frame.
In situations where it’s not possible to slide the gutter guards under the shingles, MasterShield includes a wide rear wing that can easily be cut and shortened to install within the gutter if that’s your preference.
There are also instances where homeowners have been falsely led to believe that installing gutter covers under their shingles will somehow void the shingle warranty (it won’t), so it can be modified to fit within the gutter.
MasterShield Roofing Applications
Since MasterShield is designed to slide under the first course of shingles, it will work on any roof that allows the rear portion of the guard to slide underneath the roof surface. The most common application is roofs with asphalt shingles; however, it also works with cedar shakes, slate tile and corrugated metal roofs.
The rear panel on MasterShield will have to be cut to work with rubber, standing seam metal, and other roofs where the rear portion of the guard cannot be inserted under the roof surface. This can be done with tin snips and a hand brake.
Leaves and Debris Handling
Overall, micro mesh gutter guards do an above average to excellent job of keeping leaves and debris out of gutters.
While solid gutter covers also do an excellent job of shedding leaves and debris when it’s dry outside, MasterShield was the top performing gutter guard over a three year testing window. Out of 22 gutter guards tested, MasterShield consistently outperformed its rivals, earning first place in the 2021 test and 1st place in the overall long-term test that concluded in 2024.
MasterShield Water Handling
MasterShield’s Installed Street Price
MasterShield is available through a network of independent dealers. This is not a franchise operation, so it is up to the dealers to set their own prices for the product. Most MasterShield dealers we have spoken to sell it for $30-$40 per foot installed.
