Every Major Leaf Blower Brand Ranked Worst To Best

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There's nothing wrong with a rake for small yard cleanup jobs, but when you're working with an acre littered with trees, there's something really satisfying about revving up a leaf blower and bending nature to your will.

Leaf blowers are versatile tools, ranging from humble little leaf shovers to industrial backpacks that push a tree's worth of leaves in a matter of moments. These tools are made by dozens of manufacturers, including brand names trusted by professionals in various industries. However, not all leaf blowers are created equal. Several brands rebadge tools made by other companies, while others simply don't make a product that will stand the test of time.

A good leaf blower balances its power — measured in cubic feet per minute (CFM) and miles per hour (mph), which we explained in the introduction to our most powerful leaf blowers list — with a good warranty, reasonable price, and long list of features. Some of the more useful enhancements, like turbo modes and cruise control settings, are included on nearly every blower on this list. Others are unique to a certain brand or model. And, as always, it's important to balance what you're spending with the job at hand — a walk-behind commercial model for a 15-by-20-foot front yard in downtown Chicago is simply overkill.

This innovative brand originated in Illinois and has a unique connection to the leaf blower market: Echo invented the world's first backpack blower in 1975, and the first handheld blower three years later. Today, this multinational manufacturer of outdoor power equipment offers over a dozen different designs, from battery-powered handheld models to gas backpacks.

While Echo offers a good variety of products, they are a bit expensive — even their lowest priced leaf blower is over $100 without a battery. However, this is a company that markets its products toward professionals, and the brand's reliability and reputation are well known in the landscaping industry.

We like the Echo ES-250 Shred N Vac, a combination leaf blower, vacuum, and shredder. It may look a little bulky — even more so when the tool is configured for vacuum or shredder use — but the large blower pipe, elbow pipe, and carrier bag actually wrapped around the body and shoulder pretty comfortably during my own test use of the tool. It is a gas powered engine, so ear protection is non-negotiable, but the versatility of the tool makes it easy to recommend. It's

The Echo ES-250 Shred N Vac is available from The Home Depot for $250.

Black + Decker manufactures a little bit of everything. From kitchen accessories like cocktail makers and blenders, to cleaning helpers like robot vacuums, the Black + Decker label seems to appear everywhere around the home.

The garage is no exception — Black + Decker makes tools and outdoor power equipment of all stripes. While these tools often appear near the low end of SlashGear's rankings, they are designed for light DIY work, and were never meant for rugged professional use. And while Black + Decker is often considered a value brand, one that's more focused on budget pricing than performance or durability, the company's outdoor power equipment is built to last — while it is just one example, the B+D string trimmer your author purchased 12 years ago is still going strong, with only a battery and string replacement needed to keep it in top condition.

Speaking of value, Black + Decker sells a highly rated VACPACK three-in-one leaf blower, vacuum, and mulcher for under $100. This versatile corded tool features a zipperless bag that slings around the user and a 400 CFM blower that can produce air speeds up to 250 mph.

The Black + Decker 3 in 1 VACPACK can be ordered from Amazon for around $90. I have used this tool on wet leaves in Colorado's fall season, and can attest that it's great as a blower, and good as a mulcher and vacuum as well.

Toro is probably best known for making outdoor power equipment for baseball field management, agriculture, and golf courses. However, the brand also makes tools for smaller scale work, producing equipment for homeowners and small landscape businesses. The brand makes a mean snow blower as well, popping up twice in SlashGear's ranking of the best snow blowers available at Home Depot.

The Toro PowerJet F700 strikes a great balance between power and price. With a CFM of 725 and air speeds of up to 140 mph, the PowerJet is a cannon capable of clearing large areas quickly, while still having the power to move heavier debris. It is a corded leaf blower, which one should take into account if appropriate extension cords and power sources aren't available.

One easily overlooked feature is the little pommel handle on the front of the regular grip. While using this tool at a friend's ranch, your author found that extra handle helpful in controlling the tool on higher settings. The small hook under the handle, designed to keep an extension cord in place, is another useful design touch. This is a powerful leaf blower, especially for the price, and it's a good representation of the quality, thoughtful design, and value in Toro's diverse product lineup.

The Toro PowerJet F700 is sold for $80 at The Home Depot.

Worx is a brand that many folks overlook, possibly in part due to its design similarities to Home Depot's Ridgid tools. Worx fills a similar position to Ridgid in the marketplace, as well, leaning more toward the pro side of the "prosumer" label while still making affordable tools. However, as SlashGear mentioned in Worx's entry on our ranking of circular saw brands, a lower price and relatively newer brand doesn't necessarily mean a bad product. While the company makes a wide variety of corded, backpack, battery powered, and modular leaf blowers, its corded Turbine 800 is easily one of the easiest to recommend.

Especially useful for those with large backyards that accumulate lots of leaves, the Worx Turbine 800 boasts up to 800 CFM at up to 135 mph. That power can be throttled down, and it can be a little tough to handle at first. But once you become accustomed to the force this tool can produce, it's a blast to use for clearing big swaths of land quickly, and has a small price tag to boot.

The Worx Turbine 800 Leaf Blower can be purchased online from Walmart for $90.

Even before battery powered tools evolved to become as powerful as their gas engine driven counterparts, a significant sales pitch for them was noise reduction. As these battery powered tools have surpassed those engine driven dinosaurs, operating noise has continued to be a factor in their marketing. Ryobi embraced this with its Whisper lineup of tools and outdoor power equipment, even making a leaf blower that runs at just 57 decibels (dB). For comparison, 60 dB is the noise level of normal conversation, while thunder averages around 120 dB.

Ryobi's 40V Brushless Whisper Series Blower isn't lacking in power either. With a two battery runtime of two hours, the tool can produce up to 730 CFM at up to 190 mph — enough to handle most common lawn waste. Included speed tips allow the user to choose between higher CFM or MPH, allowing for customization between overall power and range.

The Ryobi 40V Brushless Whisper Series Blower is available at The Home Depot as a bare tool for $229.