Lifestyle

The trick-or-treaters aren’t the only scary things coming to your house this month. Have you had a look out the window and seen the leaves and other matter that’s piling up outside and making your garden look horrific? 

Don’t despair though, because it does give you the opportunity to crank up one of our favourite garden gadgets, the leaf blower. Leaf blowers also have a number of other really useful applications ranging from unclogging gutters, clearing out dusty garages or sheds and even blow drying the car after it's been washed.

Nozzle design will influence the efficiency of the machine and you’re looking for a nose that harnesses the air speed and air volume that the machine produces, to initially lift the debris you’re targeting (whether it’s wet or dry) and then direct it exactly where you want it, whether that’s a compost heap or an unseen corner of the garden.

You also need good ergonomics with a tool that has a good balance in hand, especially once its petrol tank is full or its battery is docked, so that it creates a good working angle with the ground and doesn’t feel like you’re constantly fighting it, especially when you’re using the traditional sweeping motion associated with clearing a lawn full of leaf litter.

With these criteria in mind, we waited for the winds to blow before heading out to test a range of popular machines on the one windfall that no one wants.

Best leaf blowers at a glance

Best lightweight blower vacuum: Hyundai Leaf Blower Vacuum
Best leaf blower for overall power: Ryobi 36V Max Power Cordless Whisper Blower
Best petrol blower vacuum: Cobra BV26C Petrol Blower Vac
Best leaf blower for small lawns: VonHaus 3-in-1 blower vacuum
Best leaf blower for long battery life: Bosch ALB 36 LI
Best leaf blower for larger lawns: Stihl BG 56 C-E
Best ergonomic leaf blower: WORX LEAFJET WG543E Leaf Blower

Hyundai Leaf Blower Vacuum

  • Hyundai Leaf Blower Vacuum, £59.99 from Hyundai – buy here

Pros: Lightweight, good airspeed, efficient vacuum

Cons: Build quality, below-par blower and mulcher

Blower vacuums are becoming much more popular now as a means to making a total garden clearance much easier, rather than just ending up with lots of big piles of debris dotted around.

However, rather than stopping work to change out the blower nozzle and replace it with vacuuming tubes, the Hyundai allows you to switch from one mode to the other with just a lever pull.

In its blower mode, the electric Hyundai has good controllable airspeed, ranging from 62-170mph, so you can go turbo on any rotten apples that don’t want to budge, before turning down the power for more delicate areas like flower beds and wood chip paths.

However, the nozzle doesn’t offer great direction or targeting and it’s hard to get the airflow under larger piles of wet (or even damp) material.

Overall, it’s lightweight and comfortable to use in vacuum mode where its wheels allow for easy rolling over longer grass, but we found the mulcher wasn’t quite as efficient as others we’ve tested, but the large 45l collection bag does mean you can pick up a significant load before emptying, making this a good option for small gardens.

Power: Electric (12m cable), Weight: 3.3kg, Air Speed: 273km/h

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Ryobi 36V Max Power Cordless Whisper Blower

  • Ryobi 36V Max Power Cordless Whisper Blower, £158.99 from Ryobi – buy here

Pros: Powerful, responsive, good ergonomics, quiet in operation

Cons: Gets heavy if you have a large plot and are using for over an hour

If you’re after a blower that packs a real punch then the new Ryobi tool combines some impressive air speed figures with a nicely tapered nozzle, which means there’s plenty of precision there when you need it for driveways and paths, but you can also sweep the machine back and forth across a lawn carpeted with leaves and achieve good clearance in no time at all.

The variable airspeed is responsive, but there is also an easy access turbo button to lock in maximum airflow when you’re working, for example, around trees with maximum leaf litter, fruit etc. and want permanent power from the machine.   

The ergonomics of the machine are excellent with a comfortable handle and once the battery is fitted behind the handle and above the fan the overall machine balance is good, considering the machine has quite a long blowing tube compared to body size.

Despite the ergonomics, the whole unit can begin to feel quite heavy if you’re using it for a prolonged period of time however you won’t have to worry about the battery as we found that a 5Ah Ryobi battery (which needs to be bought separately) was still going after almost 80 minutes of usage at varied speeds. 

Power: 36V, Battery Weight: 5.76kg, Air Speed: 306km/h

Cobra BV26C Petrol Blower Vac

  • Cobra BV26C Petrol Blower Vac, £155.99 from Cobra – buy here

Pros: Reliable starter for a petrol model, powerful blower and vacuum, good mulching capability

Cons: Some handle vibration detected, noisy

This is a petrol machine that strikes a good balance between housing a motor powerful enough to produce good airspeed (and sucking power) without being too heavy or unwieldy to make it uncomfortable for the operator.  

The blower nozzle produced a targeted flow of air that was easy to direct so we had no difficulty separating wet leaves from the lawn and dry leaves into our desired corner of the garden.

It’s also suited to broad sweeps of the lawn or patio and hard-to-reach areas, like cobwebbed corners of the shed.

This was combined with a responsive throttle, which meant you can go from an all-out air assault to a gentler jet in less than a second, so you won’t decapitate your favourite flowers while on leaf duty.

When you’re ready to vacuum, the Cobra switches modes in under five minutes as you replace the nozzle and add tubing and a collection bag that all connect without any faff. 

In operation, the vacuum performed efficiently without any of the collected debris getting past the mulcher, so that we were left with a bag of finely shredded clippings that could be returned to the garden. 

Power: 26cc, Petrol Weight: 5kg Air Speed: 280km/h

VonHaus 3 in 1 blower vacuum

  • VonHaus 3 in 1 blower vacuum, £54.99 from VonHaus – buy here

Pros: Great price, lightweight

Cons: Build quality, underpowered, small collection bag

Another 3-in-1, with blowing, vacuuming and mulching capabilities with good ergonomics.  The airflow isn’t variable but the slight curvature of the main chute ensures that the blast of air, or suction, from the motor, hits the ground at a good working angle, so in either mode, you won’t have to keep retracing your steps to pick up leaves and other debris missed on the first pass.

Having said that, this isn’t a particularly powerful machine, so if you’ve got a big garden clearance in mind then the 10m cord and 3000W motor will be pretty restrictive.

However, if you have a driveway or small lawn area to take care of then the VonHaus is definitely fit for purpose as the wheels roll well and the vacuum mode works well with both wet and dry debris.

The mulching capabilities of the machine are good and compacted everything it collected so that we had plenty of working time before having to empty the 35l bag.

The zip on the bag makes it easy to get rid of the contents, especially if you give the motor a quick blast which will do the dirty work for you.   

However, the machine doesn’t feel like it could take too much of a battering, though, so be careful where you store it when not in use. 

Power: 3000W, Electric Weight: 3.5kg, Air Speed: 260km/h

Bosch ALB 36 LI

  • Bosch ALB 36 LI, £198 from Amazon – buy here

Pros: Good performance, excellent battery life, good in the wet

Cons: Expensive, occasionally beaten by bigger debris

This battery blower from Bosch (try saying that after a pint) coped particularly well with a carpet of wet leaves thanks to its narrow profile and curved end which made the most of the variable air speeds.

With the battery in place (sitting just underneath the handle) the machine was very well-balanced with good weight distribution and we had no problem working with the Bosch for as long as the battery lasted.

And, boy, does it last. Working at different power outputs, we managed to eke out almost half an hour of working time with the 2Ah lithium-ion battery, which should be plenty for a small to medium-sized garden.

The machine did struggle with some of the larger items that had fallen, like rotten apples and getting material out from between decking boards but it excelled at clearing paths, with the targeted airflow from the nozzle making short work of skimming the unwanted material off the top without blowing away most of the path itself.   

Power: 36V, Battery Weight: 2.4kg Air Speed: 250km/h

Stihl BG 56 C-E

  • Stihl BG 56 C-E, £309 from Just Lawn Mowers – buy here

Pros: A real all-rounder, plenty of power and usability, lightweight

Cons: Noisy and quite thirsty in terms of petrol consumption

With solid build quality and sound ergonomics, the nozzle is big enough for open-lawn leaf blowing but focused enough to clean out a gutter or to get in the nooks and crannies of a stone wall. Stihl’s simplified starting system meant that we never had to spend frosty mornings tugging frantically at the starting rope and just one long pull got the machine purring.

In operation, the angle of the nozzle means that the machine feels like a natural extension of your arm and makes the sweeping motion very easy, so a lawn full of leaves can easily be directed into one corner without having to retrace your steps and pick up lots of stragglers.

The variable control and good power mean that the machine is well suited to working on both wet and dry days and we also liked the fact that the design means you can put it down and it will stand on its own two feet, keeping it (and the petrol tank upright) so there’s less chance of the engine stalling.

One of the major advantages of this model is that it’s very lightweight for a petrol-powered blower, so you can work for hours on end without feeling like your arm’s about to fall off.

A comfortable handle minimises the vibration from the motor and only adds to the machine’s ease of use.

Power: 1.0 kW, Petrol Weight: 4.2kg, Air Speed: 255km/h

WORX LEAFJET WG543E Leaf Blower

  • WORX LEAFJET WG543E Leaf Blower, £99.99 from Amazon – buy here

Pros: Lightweight, targeted airflow, very easy to use

Cons: Slightly underpowered

This looks different to most of the other tools in this lineup and that’s because it’s designed to optimise the air volume the tool produces, making it particularly suited to breaking up and lifting heavier materials that have been dumped on your turf, like heaps of wet leaves or piles of dirt.

This volume is controllable via the nozzle, which is extendable. 

Once that job is done the LEAFJET then uses its respectable air speed to direct the debris where you want it to go and there’s something about the design of the nozzle that really focuses the air and makes it very easy to stay on top of every leaf and twig in your blowing pile. This is helped by a dual switch that means you can control whether you want to make the stream of air wider or faster.

The other thing we enjoyed working with this tool was the ergonomics and that once the battery is in place at the base of the handle it counterbalances the tool’s nozzle perfectly.

As with all WORX tools, the PowerShare battery platform is interchangeable so you can use it with any other WORX tools you have, or are thinking of purchasing in the future and we were pleased with the 18 minutes of run time that we got from the 4aH battery working at variable speeds. A great tool for medium-sized gardens, it's specially equipped for quick clean-ups of hard landscaping like driveways, patios and verandas.

Power: 20V, Battery Weight: 1.7kg, Air Speed: 207km/h

How much is a leaf blower?

Prices vary according to how you want your machine to be powered.

Corded electric machines are the cheapest, with prices ranging from as little as £45 to £80 for a 3-in-1 machine that blows, vacuums and mulches.   

Cordless machines tend to be more expensive at first because you’re initially paying for the tool, plus one or two batteries and a charger. However, it’s worth shelling out for a manufacturer with a battery platform which will power the blower for an extended period of time so you can make some serious inroads into your garden clearance. That usually means you’ll be paying a minimum of £150 for a kit that comprises a machine, one 2.5Ah battery and a charger. For a higher capacity or multiple battery kit, you will be looking at up to £300. 

Finally, you will pay the most for the convenience that comes with a petrol-powered machine, especially from one of the banner manufacturers used by many professional landscapers like Stihl or Husqvarna. These tools usually start at around £250, but you also have to factor in the fuel that they will use over seasons of use, although leaf blowers aren’t particularly thirsty machines.  

How to use a leaf blower

A lot of it depends on the shape of your nozzle.

If your blower is fitted with a flat nozzle, then it will really come into its own blowing loose leaves in a sweeping, side-to-side motion, as you shepherd unwanted material to the collection area or compost.

Then, it’s best to use short, sharp bursts of air and move around the edge of all the piles you have collected to turn them into one big pile, ready for collection or vacuuming. 

If you have a larger, rounder nozzle fitted then this will excel at loosening debris, dirt and wet material from where it has been laying in situ.

Once it’s loose then you can follow the same process for nozzles with a slimmer profile.

Which is the best leaf blower?

In our view, the best leaf blower is one that occupies a sweet spot of good ergonomics, performance and variability.

It’s a garden tool that is often used for extended periods of time and is entirely reliant on you to operate it, unlike a self-propelled lawnmower, for example, which is why the tool needs to naturally hang from the arm at a good working angle without stressing it.

Secondly, in terms of performance, there’s no point in having a powerful leaf blower if that isn’t encompassed in a design that is able to harness the power to produce the most volumised and targeted flow of air possible.

Finally, a tool needs good variability in operation so that it can adapt to the many different conditions of Autumn and Winter.

For this reason, we think that the WORX LEAFJET is a great option for small to medium-sized gardens, while the Stihl BG 56 C-E comes equipped with everything the larger landowner might need to ensure effortless garden clearances.

What are the alternative uses for a leaf blower?

If you’re just using your leaf blower for garden clearances, you’re missing a trick.

It can be used in place of a broom to make light work of sweeping tasks like clearing dusty garages and sheds, as well as clearing gutters and tight spaces that collect unwanted material, for example, in between decking boards.

Basically, wherever there’s loose material that needs to be dislodged, a powerful blower will probably complete the task that would take much longer to do manually.

You can even include it in your car washing routine to dry the car after washing and prevent any blemishes from appearing on the paintwork and ensure that the car is completely dry. However, you do need a powerful blower to take full advantage of this and are probably looking for machines that produce air speeds of 250km/h and over.

You also need to be careful that in drying your car the blower isn’t picking up any loose materials from the parking space, like shale and gravel, that can chip the paintwork.

You can also use the blower internally to help valet the vehicle, giving back seats and foot wells a sharp blast on full power to clean any loose debris before vacuuming. 

As previously mentioned, if you’re having trouble lighting your winter barbecue, any leaf blower (it doesn’t have to be powerful) can be used to blow sharp blasts of oxygen onto struggling coals to ensure that they light. 

Where to buy leaf blowers

There are plenty of retailers to choose from when you're shopping for leaf blowers, including:

  • Argos
  • Amazon
  • Currys
  • Wickes
  • Tool Station
  • The Range
  • Screw Fix

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