Toro Ultra Blower Vac 51609

Noise

Fairly quiet, but you'll still need ear protection. Electric blowers practically whisper compared to gas blowers, and the Toro 51609 is no exception.

Its predecessor, the now-discontinued Toro 51599 (identical except for some new hose attachments and a cord hook) is judged one of the quietest electric blowers at "neighbor distance" -- 50 feet -- in a leading test.

It's fairly quiet at ear level, too -- although still loud enough that you'll need to wear hearing protection, experts say.

Owners largely agree in about 400 reviews at three retail websites. "Although not extremely noisy you will want to wear hearing protection," says one at HomeDepot.com. An Amazon.com customer likes that the Toro 51609 is "relatively quiet ... moves stuff without making the head-splitting howl that most blowers make."

Ease of use

Lightweight and easy to control. At just 7.5 pounds, the Toro 51609 is a pound or two under even the lightest gas leaf blowers. Plenty of owners say they picked it for just that reason.

"Very light weight," says one woman at HomeDepot.com. "I can easily use one hand or pick up something with the opposite hand while blowing or vacuuming."

It handles nicely, too: The preceding (and nearly identical) Toro 51599 earned the highest possible score for ease of use in a leading test.

Like that model, the Toro 51609's variable-speed trigger lets users accomplish delicate tasks, like puffing leaves out of flowerbeds without disturbing the mulch or vacuuming porch rugs without sucking them off of the porch. A quick-release latch lets you convert the Toro from blower to vacuum without tools. And the Toro 51609 adds a cord-storage hook.

Yes, you'll still have to deal with the extension cord -- reeling it out and in, dragging it from place to place without tripping over it -- but that's true for all corded blowers.

As one HomeDepot.com owner says, "Hauling a long cord around is a pain but beats mixing gas and yanking on a recoil starter."

A couple of usability complaints pop up in several reviews. Some owners say the vacuum bag ripped, and others say the Toro 51609's handle vibrates so much that it numbs their hands. But most owners like the way the Toro handles.

Effectiveness

Blows leaves almost as well as a gas blower. This Toro leaf blower almost blows leaves and embedded yard debris as well as the excellent gas-powered Stihl BG 55 in one top test.

The Toro is judged "very good" at both tasks, and excellent at vacuuming. No other electric leaf blower works better.

While many electric blowers -- including the cheaper Toro Super Blower Vac 51602 (*Est. $55) -- make do with a plastic impeller blade, the Toro 51609's is metal. Experts and owners say this gives it the guts to really pulverize the leaves you vacuum (Toro says the 51609 chews 16 bags' worth of leaves down to a single bag).

"The metal impeller has ground leaves literally to dust and withstood everything, including unintended small stones mixed in with the debris," writes one Toro 51609 owner at HomeDepot.com. Another says, "I have three very large live oak trees on my property that drop lots of leaves, acorns and small sticks. The vacuum handled everything that I threw at it."

The only difference between the old Toro 51599 and the new Toro 51609 (besides the added cord-storage hook) is the two blower-tube inserts you get now: a Power Insert to corral leaves into rows or piles and a Concentrator to blast stubborn leaves and debris out of cracks and edging. It works, because owners are almost unanimously pleased with the Toro 51609.

Bottom line

The electric Toro Ultra Blower Vac 51609 blows leaves nearly as well as the Best Reviewed gas handheld blower, the Stihl BG 55 -- for less than half the price, with no gas fumes or mess. You'll only be able to travel as far as a 150-foot extension cord, though. If you need greater mobility, experts recommend a gas blower like the Stihl BG 55 -- or you could check out the pricey-but-convenient cordless electric Stihl BGA 85 (*Est. $500 to $650 with battery and charger).