This Old House Reviews Team

Leaf blowers not only blow leaves out of your yard, but they can also clear your driveway or patio of unwanted dirt and debris. Before purchasing a leaf blower, consider how much weight you can carry, how large of an area you’ll be blowing, and what type of power source you want, all of which will affect the model you choose. Read our guide on the best leaf blowers below to learn about your different options.

 

Scoring Metrics

We scored these leaf blowers by looking at type, power, and speed. 

• Type: A portable, handheld leaf blower received full points, while a less portable backpack or wheeled option lost 0.5 points or 1 point, respectively.
• Power: A leaf blower received full points if its CFM and MPH ratings were within the normal range for its type and lost a quarter of a point for each 50 measurements it was outside of that range.
• Speed: A leaf blower received full points for having a variable speed lever as opposed to only two speed options.

 

Types of Leaf Blowers

Leaf blowers can be divided into handheld, backpack, and wheeled types, with handhelds having corded electric, cordless electric, and gas subcategories.

• Handheld: Handheld leaf blowers are lightweight and easy to maneuver. They aren’t as powerful as backpack and wheeled blowers, but they can blow loose leaves, dirt, and debris off of your yard, patio, or driveway.
  • Corded electric: Corded leaf blowers are relatively lightweight and weigh around eight pounds. Because they need to be plugged into an outlet, their reach is limited to how long their cord is.
  • Cordless electric: Cordless blowers look similar to corded ones, with the main difference being that they use a lithium-ion or nickel cadmium battery. Because of their battery, cordless electric blowers can weigh a few extra pounds and need to be recharged every 30 to 45 minutes.
  • Gas: Gas-powered blowers are more powerful than electric ones, which makes them better at removing denser piles of leaves or debris. However, their gas tank makes them weigh 10 pounds or more, and they have two-stroke engines, which require a mixture of oil and fuel that you can either mix yourself or buy pre-mixed.
• Backpack: Backpack leaf blowers are typically gas-powered and weigh between 15–25 pounds due to their large gas tanks. They come with shoulder straps, making it easy to carry them during use. This type of blower is loud, considering its proximity to your ears, and they’re powerful enough for larger yards that have a lot of leaves or debris.
• Wheeled: Wheeled blowers are gas-powered machines that weigh around 100 pounds. Their large size makes them best for those with several acres of land. As opposed to the gas handhelds that have a two-stroke engine, wheeled leaf blowers have a four-stroke engine, which means they don’t require a fuel mixture and just use gasoline to operate.

 

Buying Guide

In addition to the type of leaf blower, here are a few other features to look for before purchasing a product.

 

Nozzle

The nozzle on a leaf blower is either rounded or flat. A rounded nozzle is best at blowing loose leaves, while a flat nozzle loosens dirt or wet leaves. Some leaf blowers offer both nozzle types and allow you to switch, depending on the type of job you’re doing.

 

Speed control

Leaf blowers typically come with two speeds or a variable speed lever. If given the choice, a variable speed lever is preferred because it allows you to tailor the speed to the type of task you’re doing. For example, if you’re blowing the sidewalk near a flower bed, you’ll want to be able to turn the speed down so that you don’t uproot the plants.

 

Air intake

A leaf blower either sucks in air through the bottom of the machine or through the sides. Look for a model that takes in air from the bottom, because an air intake on the side of the blower could suck in your clothing during use.

 

Balance

You’ll want a balanced machine that evenly distributes its weight from the handle to the nozzle. A leaf blower that’s imbalanced will put more stress on your hands, wrists, and arms, making it uncomfortable to use.

 

Power

The power of electric leaf blowers is sometimes measured using voltage, with a common voltage being 20 or 40 volts. However, gas blowers aren’t measured using voltage, so we’ll discuss cubic feet per minute (CFM) and miles per hour (MPH), which are two measurements used by both electric and gas blowers.

CFM is a measurement of how much air passes through a leaf blower in a minute. The higher the CFM, the more area the leaf blower can clear. MPH measures how quickly the air passes through the nozzle and tells you how forcefully your leaf blower can clear an area. When looking at the power of a leaf blower, look at these two measurements in conjunction with each other.

To give you an idea of how much power to expect from a leaf blower, here’s a breakdown of the average measurements for each blower type:

 

	Electric Handheld	Gas Handheld	Gas Backpack	Gas Wheeled
CFM	349–605	358–460	360–907	1,090–8,500
MPH	95–250	145–195	145–251	153–200

 

FAQs

Are there any leaf blowers that are quiet?

Every leaf blower makes noise, but the quietest models are cordless or corded electric blowers. We recommend not using your leaf blower early in the morning or late at night to avoid disturbing your neighbors or family members.

 

How do I protect myself while using a leaf blower?

We recommend wearing ear muffs to protect your ears and goggles and dust masks to protect your face from any debris that gets kicked up during use.

 

What leaf blower is best for a yard covered in leaves?

If your yard is covered in leaves, consider purchasing a gas-powered blower, which is better at moving densely packed leaves than an electric counterpart. Unless you have several acres of land, a backpack blower should suffice.

 

 

The This Old House Reviews team provides overviews of select products that are top-selling on Amazon and/or popular in consumer searches. Our team evaluates the products based on industry research, consumer reviews, pricing data, hands-on testing in select cases, and other objective criteria unique to a given product line. Unless otherwise noted, these product reviews are intended to help inform buying decisions for DIY or other non-pro users only. Editor’s picks are made by members of the Reviews team, and do not imply an endorsement by the experts on This Old House or Ask This Old House.