Explore the 5 best leaf blowers and vacuums for 2023!
Does your lawn or patio get covered in leaves? A leaf blower is a quick and easy way to clear them… and it isn’t just useful for the autumn
Leaf blowers and leaf vacuums can be used all year round to clear cuttings and other debris from your paths and steps, making them a great investment. However, they really come into their own in the autumn months when piles of leaves settle on your garden. While these can rot down and act as mulch on beds, they aren’t so useful on your lawn. If left, they can damage grass, lead to fungal problems and attract pests.
Meanwhile on your hard surfaces like patios and decking, they can be a slip hazard. While you can use a rake or broom to clear them, it’s much easier (and better on your back!) to use a leaf blower.
What to look for in a leaf blower
The first step is knowing what you’ll be using a leaf blower for, and for how long. If it’s mainly for moving smaller amounts of leaves, a lightweight leaf blower with a shorter battery life is ideal. If you’ve got more to shift, and will be using it for longer periods, a corded or petrol leaf blower is probably better. Other features to look out for are leaf blowers that are easy to start and comfortable to use, with low vibration. Some leaf blowers double as leaf vacuums, simply by flicking a switch, which is ideal if you want to collect up leaves rather than simply blow them away.
Remember: you should always wear protective glasses and ear defenders when using your leaf blower. Here are 5 of the best leaf blowers on the market.
Best overall leaf blower
Worx LEAFJET WG543E – £131.99
T3 calls it ‘a brilliant lightweight master blaster for all leaf-blowing tasks’, and it’s also a Which? Best buy. Lightweight at just 1.7kg and with ‘excellent performance’, it’s incredibly easy to use. The LEAFJET has a top airspeed of 130mph, but T3 reckon the standard mode is easily powerful enough for most leaf clearing jobs. Fully charged, you’ll have up to 15 minutes of battery power.
Best budget leaf blower
Vonhaus G-series Cordless leaf blower – £57.99
BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine rate the Vonhaus G-series leaf blower as 4.5 out of 5. And at £57.99, it’s a great budget option if you don’t want to spend a lot of money. Lightweight (1.7kg) and compact for storing in your shed or garage, their expert testers say it’s very powerful, easily shifting both wet and dry leaves on paving, gravel and shrub beds. The battery life is 12 minutes, long enough to clear smaller gardens or patios. However, they point out a downside is the handle vibrates a lot which could get uncomfortable. Despite this, it wins the BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine Best Buy for best budget cordless blower.
Best corded leaf blower
Flymo Power Vac 3000 corded leaf blower & vac – £79
The Evening Standard rates the Flymo Power Vac 3000 as best for a high-powered corded leaf blower. With a top air speed of 192mph, it’s powerful enough for clearing any leaves or debris in your garden. A 10-meter cable means you can reach all areas and with no battery life to consider, you can use it for as long as you want. Meanwhile an extra-wide shoulder strap makes it comfortable to carry. Their testers said, “after several back-to-back leaf-clearing sessions, we hadn’t succumbed to a single twinge or ache”.
Best for small gardens
Bosch ALB18 Li – £109.57
If you’ve got less space to clear, you can get by on a shorter battery life. The Bosch ALB18 Li gives you 12 minutes ‘blowing’ time, and is rated the best leaf blower for small gardens by Expert Reviews. It has a long nozzle for those hard to reach areas and is ‘enough to clear a small garden of all but the most stubborn wet leaves’. The battery takes around three and a half hours to charge, and the blower is quiet to use and easy to store.
Best petrol leaf blower
Husqvarna 525BX leaf blower – £399
The Telegraph gives the Husqvarna 525BX leaf blower 9 out of 10, calling it “extremely powerful” with capacity to “shift wet leaves, which defeat many electric blowers”. At £399 it’s expensive, but could be worth the investment if you have a large garden with lots to clear. The blower also has a low vibration system and intuitive controls, including cruise control, putting you in full control while you clear debris in your garden. The fact it’s a petrol option is something to bear in mind though: it’s heavier, louder and you have to use petrol which is less eco-friendly.
Looking for a new leaf blower?
All the prices are correct at the time of publishing, but do search for the best deal before you buy. We’d love to know what you look for in a leaf blower – size, price, ease of use or something else? And are there any leaf blowers you’d recommend that we’ve not included? Let us know in the comments.
