Leaf Blowers Reviews

The reviews below are assigned ratings by ConsumerSearch. These ratings are based on credibility in testing, evaluating and identifying the best Leaf Blowers. See our ratings criteria

For recommendations of best Leaf Blowers, see our Fast Answers page, which summarizes what these reviews say. A longer summary and analysis appears in our Full Story report for Leaf Blowers. Our Where to Buy page contains information on retailers and Leaf Blowers prices.

Where to Buy

Fast Answers

Full Story

All Reviews

Leaf Blowers Reviews Reviewed
Review Ratings	Citation	CS Credibility Rating	Leaf Blowers Ratings Comments on Reviews
1. Consumer Reports >> Details/Subscribe	Power Blowers: More punch for plug-ins Editors of Consumer Reports Sept. 2007		This is Consumer Reports' first major update in ratings of leaf blowers since 2003, comparing the performance of 23 electric and gas leaf blowers. Noise levels are rated both at 50 feet and at the user's ears, but the actual decibel levels aren't given, making it harder to compare closely competing blowers. Despite these flaws, the review offers the best objective comparison tests, rating both electric and gas leaf blowers for performance in sweeping, loosening and vacuuming debris, along with ratings for handling and noise.
2. Money Magazine >> Details/Subscribe	Powerful. Quiet. Best leaf blowers Charles Passy Oct. 2006		This review compares five leaf blowers based on one user's tests in his own yard. The author tests power by directing the blowers toward a stack of bricks. Noise levels are evaluated by neighbors' reactions. The highest rating goes to a gas backpack blower, the Stihl BR 500. The Husqvarna 356BT "Quiet Blower" is also powerful and more comfortable to use, but only "if you don't live too close to your neighbors." The John Deere BH25LE hand-held gas blower is less powerful and also bothers neighbors. Of the two electric leaf blowers tested here, the Black & Decker BV4000 Leaf Hog gets a slightly higher rating than the Toro Ultra Blower Vac.

Leaf Blowers Reviews above this line are significantly better than reviews below.

Review Ratings	Citation	CS Credibility Rating	Leaf Blowers Ratings Comments on Reviews

3. Consumers Digest >> Details/Subscribe	Yard Smarts Neil Soderstrom and Ken Textor Sept. / Oct. 2006		This article focuses on improvements, noting that some new gas leaf blowers are now quieter than electric leaf blowers. Many leaf blowers are also lighter this year, making backpack leaf blowers more usable for homeowners, especially since they eliminate the gyroscopic effect that can make a handheld blower/vac hard to hold. The review identifies the best buys in three price ranges, covering all the basic types except cordless leaf vacs. Descriptions are brief, but they do indicate actual testing. Decibel ratings are also specified. It's not clear how many other leaf blowers are tested but not featured here.
4. National Home Gardening Club >> Details/Subscribe	Member Tested Leaf Blowers Editors and members of NHGC As of Aug. 2007		At this membership organization, gardeners test one product at a time in their own yards, rating each on ease of use and comparison with similar products, as well as evaluating one or two other relevant factors. If at least 67% of testers recommend a product, it gets a "member tested and recommended" seal, and the ratings are published in the magazine. While users rate the Echo PB-200 blower higher for ease of use, the Husqvarna 356BT backpack blower gets a higher rating compared with similar products. Users say that both leaf blowers start easily and have plenty of power.
5. Amazon.com	Leaf Blowers Contributors to Amazon.com As of Aug. 2007		User reviews and ratings here often give useful details about small annoyances, reliability, long-term durability and customer service. Some leaf blowers that get top ratings in comparison tests get lower average ratings here, based on owners' problems with breakdowns and parts durability. Some brands definitely fare better than others.
6. HomeDepot.com	Leaf Blowers Contributors to HomeDepot.com As of Aug. 2007		In addition to publishing owners' ratings of leaf blowers, Home Depot also publishes more detailed reviews from users. Not all the models carried here get reviews, but quite a few have accumulated six or more. The highest praise goes to Echo backpack blowers; quite a few owners say they gave up on cheaper handheld leaf blowers and find the backpack models more comfortable and well worth the higher price. Several electric leaf blowers get reasonably good ratings here, but some quality problems are noted.
7. Sears.com	Blowers Contributors to Sears.com As of Aug. 2007		Sears publishes both ratings and reviews written by owners. Most leaf blowers sold here -- mainly Craftsman, but also Toro, Black & Decker and Weed Eater -- have accumulated a useful number of reviews. Overall, the picture is a bit dismal. Only two leaf blowers get above-average ratings from owners, the Black & Decker BV2500 and the Craftsman 30cc backpack blower.
8. Lowes.com	Blowers Contributors to Lowes.com As of Aug. 2007		Though Lowes doesn't publish any detailed reviews, the site does collect owners' ratings of the gas and electric leaf blowers it carries, and while some models lack ratings so far, others have accumulated dozens. In addition to an overall average rating, each leaf blower gets ratings for value, features, quality, design, and ease of use. Most leaf blowers get average ratings here, but one gas model by Poulan Pro has received unusually low ratings two years in a row.

Leaf Blowers Reviews above this line are significantly better than reviews below.

Review Ratings	Citation	CS Credibility Rating	Leaf Blowers Ratings Comments on Reviews

9. Landscape Management >> Details/Subscribe	From the Shop: 2-cycle vs. 4-cycle Harry Smith Feb. 2006		This article is aimed at professional landscapers and briefly reviews the hybrid engines developed by Stihl and Shindaiwa, which "blend the best of 2- and 4-cycle technology." As with 2-cycle engines, the fuel is an oil/gas mix, eliminating the need to check or change engine oil as a separate task. However, the valves and cam gear are four-stroke, with "bearable '4-cycle sound,' lower emissions and very good lower rpm torque." The author's students report that the engines are "gutsy" and hard to stall, but sound as if they're running at a lower rpm -- i.e. quieter than a comparable 2-cycle engine. No leaf blowers are actually rated.
10. The Wall Street Journal	Leaf Blowers: Quiet Please Sara Schaefer Munoz Sept. 16, 2005		This article recommends three powerful gas leaf blowers, mostly on the basis of their lower noise levels. Now that several communities have imposed 65-decibel limits on leaf blowers, exact decibel levels are becoming more important. The noise levels on the recommended blowers have not only been certified by the American National Standards Institute, but they’ve been tested and confirmed by the reviewer (with a decibel meter), as well. The Husqvarna 356BTx uses an enclosed engine to lower the sound to 64 decibels, and the Stihl BR-500 is only slightly louder at 65 dB. The John Deere BH25LE is even louder at 68 dB, but the sound is lower-pitched and less annoying than most, and its 4-cycle engine minimizes emissions.
11. Engadget.com >> Details/Subscribe	Untitled Marc Perton Sept. 23, 2005		This brief review highlights two relatively quiet leaf blowers, the Echo PB-460LN Quiet 1 and the Husqvarna 356BTx, both of which are backpack blowers suitable for large lawns or professional landscapers. Both run at about 65 decibels or slightly less -- extremely quiet compared with the 90-decibel average for most leaf blowers of this type.
12. Consumer Guide.com	Blower/Vacs Editors of ConsumerGuide.com As of Aug. 2007		This site is tedious to browse, with gas, corded electric and cordless leaf blowers mixed together in no apparent order. However, the content is improving. Consumer Guide has added more "expert reviews" of leaf blowers since last year, and the most recent reviews do include evidence of some actual testing. There's no objective testing or head-to-head comparison of models here, however.
13. Find Product Review.com >> Details/Subscribe	Blowers Editors of FindProductReview.com As of Aug. 2007		Review-aggregating sites usually rank lower in our lists, but this site is useful because it makes the leaf-blower ratings from ConsumerGuide.com easy to browse and sort. You can sort the list by overall rating or by date published. You still have to click on the specific leaf blower to read comments, clicking again to read the entire review. We didn't find any reviews here other than those from ConsumerGuide.com, but other sources may be added in the future, which will make the site even more useful.
14. About.com	Top 4 Leaf Blowers, Vacuums, Mulching Lawn Mowers, Wood Chippers David Beaulieu Not Dated		The About.com landscaping guide reviews two electric leaf blower-vacs. He recommends the Black & Decker BV2500 leaf blower for small to medium-size yards, when equipped with the optional trashcan adapter. The vacuum system still clogs if you try to collect wet leaves, but the push-button conversion from blowing to vacuuming is handy. He also likes the more powerful Black & Decker BV4000, but notes that the cord retainer doesn't work with thick, heavy-duty extension cords. For larger yards, this review recommends gas-powered leaf blowers, but none are tested or recommended.
15. Epinions	Power Blowers Contributors to Epinions As of Aug. 2007		Most of the owner-rated leaf blowers here have either been discontinued, or they have just one or two reviews, but it's still easy to skim the list. Only four models get high average ratings here from six or more owners, and the reviews also highlight some leaf blowers to avoid.
16. Kansas City Star >> Details/Subscribe	Greener Substitute to Lawns Takes Root Paul Wenske Aug. 14, 2006		This is the most recent article we found on the growing trend to optimize lawn size, with more people discovering that larger and larger lawns cost more, contribute to air and water pollution as well as global warming, but don't make their owners happier. The article notes that 30 million acres of lawn cost more than $11 billion a year to maintain. No leaf blowers are rated, however.
17. The New York Times >> Details/Subscribe	The Silence of the Leaves Editors of The New York Times Feb. 26, 2006		This editorial sums up the current state of the leaf-blower noise controversy, noting that banning leaf blowers makes life difficult for landscape crews. The author praises the Los Angeles area program that offered professional landscapers the chance to exchange older gas leaf blowers for new 4-stroke engines that are not only quieter, but pollute the air only a fifth as much. No individual leaf blowers are rated.
18. Consumer Reports >> Details/Subscribe	Power blowers: Plug-ins prevail Editors of Consumer Reports Sept. 2006		This 2006 Consumer Reports review of 37 leaf blowers (based on tests done in 2003) is still useful because it covers eleven models left out of the current report. Top-rated electric leaf blowers actually outperform handheld gas leaf blowers overall. The top-rated backpack gas leaf blowers don't vacuum or mulch, but they do outperform electric blowers in sweeping debris.
19. Popular Mechanics >> Details/Subscribe	Cleanup Crew Joe Provey Sept. 2004		This article is more of a buyer's guide than a comparison test, and most of the specific leaf blowers recommended here have been superceded by newer, quieter models. The author advises against trying to use the vacuuming feature found on some leaf blowers, because of frequent clogging and the weight of collected leaves. He recommends electric leaf blowers for small yards, handheld gas-powered leaf blowers for yards up to a half-acre in size, and backpack gas leaf blowers or wheeled leaf blowers for larger yards.
20. Lifetime Magazine >> Details/Subscribe	Leaf Blowers Editors of Lifetime Magazine Oct. 2004		In this very short article, three nursery and gardening experts test three different leaf blowers, giving a one-sentence evaluation of each. The Toro Super Blower Vac is "a delight" according to Judy Fender, who adds that it is quiet. The Stihl BG55 is light, and its two handles help with operation. The Homelite Vac Attack II "was powerful enough to blow the leaves and debris off the patio and directed them where I wanted," says Cheryl Cone.
21. Horticulture >> Details/Subscribe	Power Play Karen Weir-Jimerson Sept./Oct. 2004		This gardening expert, who has a yard of nearly 3 acres with lots of trees, does use a leaf blower for some jobs, but doesn't compare or recommend specific models in this article -- aside from choosing one that minimizes noise. For taking care of leaves that fall on a lawn, she recommends using a mulching lawn mower instead of a leaf blower.

Leaf Blowers Reviews above this line are significantly better than reviews below.

Review Ratings	Citation	CS Credibility Rating	Leaf Blowers Ratings Comments on Reviews

22. U.S. News & World Report >> Details/Subscribe	Absence of Leaves Alex Markets Oct. 10, 2004		This article recommends a range of tools for coping with the "200 million lawn bagfuls of leaves" that Americans rake up each year. Among these, the Toro Super Blower Vac is suggested for its "hurricane-strength motor" that both blows and vacuums. It's not clear that any additional leaf blowers were tested for comparison.
23. Northerntool.com	Leaf Blowers Contributors to NorthernTool.com As of Aug. 2007		This retailer is adding owner-written reviews that include whether or not the writer would recommend this model to a friend. Only a few leaf blowers have accumulated any reviews yet.
24. BackyardBoss.com >> Details/Subscribe	Reviews Contributors to BackyardBoss.com As of Aug. 2007		This is another site where owners post reviews of specific models. Handheld leaf blowers are listed separately from backpack blowers, which is convenient. Reviews are structured to include both pros and cons. The drawback is that very few leaf blowers have been reviewed so far.
25. GardenWeb.com	Tool Shed Contributors to GardenWeb.com As of Aug. 2007		There are several threads on this garden forum recommending specific leaf blowers. Some users are skeptical about the vacuum function, since clogging can be a problem, and so they suggest using models that just blow. Echo and Stihl gas leaf blowers are often recommended, and one user reports great satisfaction with the Husqvarna 125BT, a less expensive, lighter and more compact backpack blower compared with the Husqvarna 145BT.
26. Abby'sGuide.com	Craftsman Backpack Blower Contributors to AbbysGuide.com As of Aug. 2007		Several contributors to this forum thread confirm that the Craftsman-brand gas leaf blowers are made by MTD, with both pro and con comments about their quality. Leaf blowers are discussed elsewhere at this site too; it's a good place to ask about a specific model.
27. TractorByNet.com	Good leaf blower? Contributors to TractorByNet.com As of Aug. 2007		This is yet another forum that includes useful discussions of leaf blowers. This particular thread discusses the top-rated Echo and Stihl gas handheld leaf blowers, revealing some valuable details not found elsewhere.
28. Grounds Maintenance	Overblown? Becky Mollencamp July 2003		Even though this article is over four years old, it still has valuable information about how emission standards are affecting landscapers and homeowners. This landscaping trade magazine speaks mostly to professionals, but there are good statistics and information here about EPA and California emission levels.