The Best Leaf Blower

After two months of testing battery-powered, plug-in as well as two-stroke gas blowers on a ten-acre orchard, we found the Toro – 51621 proved itself the best leaf blower. We picked the plug-in Toro for its great balance of impressive power that comes in a quiet and maneuverable package. If you’re working with a big driveway or a shortage of outlets, we also liked the convenience of the cordless Dewalt – DCBL720P1.

How we selected finalists to test

We looked at top-rated blowers from publications like Consumer Reports, Popular Mechanics, and GardeningProductsReview.com. We looked primarily at brands that are well-reviewed and easy to find and purchase. (Sorry, Stihl; a one-brand authorized dealer network might be a good place to buy tools for a landscaping company, but we like our internet comparison shopping.)

This lineup includes blowers with customer reviews that indicate more than just satisfactory performance and models regarded as quiet and efficient. We picked two models with vacuum and bagging options, both well-regarded for their capabilities there.

Gasoline-powered blowers have taken a real beating in the press this year, especially after a number of towns in New York and New Jersey decided to ban them during the summer months when they’re mostly used to clean up grass clippings, not to collect leaves. There is even a lobby organization dedicated to eliminating gas-powered landscaping tools, especially blowers.

Hand-held gas blowers didn’t make this review since, aside from those noise and pollution complaints, they’re both expensive and require more maintenance than many homeowners will want to deal with.

We did include a bigger backpack-style gas-powered blower to see what the extra power can do (and how much noise it really makes), and we also had a giant 9 HP walk-behind blower on hand for comparison.