Husqvarna makes a nice backpack blower. Their Model 125BT is a nice small one.

I had the Stihl 420 Magnum and is a great blower. I upgraded to the BR600 and what a difference, MUCH quieter also. I have not used the Redmax but hear it's a nice blower, however after using the Stihl I can say this thing is very smooth and rather quiet being a 4-cycle design..still uses 50:1 though.

I would highly....HIGHLY recommend you find a Stihl dealer near you and try it out. Believe me, I have been doin' the leaf thing for many years and noone wants to spend a great deal of time fighting a pile of leaves...get the largest blower you can afford and DONT go by MPH, go for the CFM because that's what moves the leaves. The difference between the 420 and the 600 is very noticeable and made my job much easier..gets them out from under the ivy much easier also.

The BR600 may be slightly heavier but weigh your options carefully...no pun intended. The only thing I don't like about the 600..is it torques my body to the right under the force of the blast, not much but a little bit....but I like the power.

gmcman, Mph and cfm are both important blower specs. One without the other would yield a worthless blower. A good combination of both volume and speed is what makes a blower work good. A million CFM moving at 1 mph would not be effective nor would a blower capable of 350 mph that only moved 0.5 cfm. Your point is well taken though because some companies only point out the speed of their blower like it's the only important thing. Generally, like has already been said, the most blower you can afford (and handle) is what a person needs.

I bought a leafblower when I got into my hosue and i am ** pretty ** happy with it but I would agree it would suck to do my entire lawn with it.

I've decided to change my approach and just mow the leaves into the lawn instead. It's much easier IMO (and good for the grass!)

The only thing I really leafblow is the garage, the walkways, the driveway, and the porch. So I don' tneed a super-powerful blower for those applications.

parafly,

i think they're talking about blowing leaves off the driveway, walkway, roof, garage, porch. I don't know who'd actually blow leaves off the lawn though. Like you, I just mow over leaves after I've blown all the leaves onto the lawn. No bagging at all. I just don't see the point in bagging leaves when you can just mow over leaves. Just much easier work. Growing up, my dad would make me rake leaves. When I heard about mulching mower, I begged dad to buy one so we got one and life has been more pleasant since then! :)

"I don't know who'd actually blow leaves off the lawn though."

In my neighborhood, that's everybody but me.

Hi,

I have a Redmax EZB 8001 backpack blower for about three seasons now. Works good and is powerful. I am not a pro garden person and am only 5ft 2in in height.

I find that it is a bit heavy but that only is aparent after 30-40 mins of blowing. I also think that the extra power means that you will be able to finish sooner and hence be less tired in the end.

The blower is noisy though. So you need eye goggles, and ear protectors. I also usually wear a hat.

Best, Mike.

I've got the Echo BP that HD sells. I can't believe I went as long as I did without one. Starts easy, not heavy, and moderate sound.

Wait until your neighbor is gone for the day and blow all the leaves into his yard.