Leaf Blowers
Quick Answer
Leaf blowers are sold on air speed and bought on air volume, and the two are routinely confused. MPH describes how fast the air leaves the nozzle; CFM describes how much air there is. Moving a wet leaf mat across a lawn is a volume problem.
Clearing leaves off turf matters more than it looks: a leaf layer left on grass through autumn blocks light from a lawn that is still growing, and matted leaves hold moisture against the crowns through winter.
Which Type Do You Need?
- A small yard, patios and paths → handheld blowers
- Heavy leaf fall or long sessions → backpack blowers
- You want to collect and shred, not just move → blower-vac-mulchers
- Noise or fuel is a constraint → battery — check your local restrictions first
Our Top Picks
Reviews in progress
The Types, Briefly
Handheld Blowers
Lightest and cheapest. Fine for paths, patios and modest leaf fall.
Backpack Blowers
Weight moves to your back, so higher output stops being tiring.
Blower-Vac Mulchers
Collect and shred in one pass, at the cost of weight and a slower job.
Battery vs Gas
The comparison that decides most purchases, on run time rather than output.
How to Choose a Leaf Blower
Read CFM first. Cubic feet per minute is the volume of air the machine moves, and volume is what lifts a damp leaf mat and pushes a pile across a lawn. MPH — air speed — matters for dislodging debris stuck to a hard surface, which is a smaller part of the job than the marketing suggests. A high-MPH, low-CFM blower feels aggressive on concrete and disappoints on grass. Where both figures are published, treat CFM as the capability and MPH as the finish.
| Specification | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| CFM (air volume) | The number that determines whether the machine can move a real pile rather than skitter individual leaves. |
| MPH (air speed) | Useful for lifting debris off hard surfaces and unsticking wet leaves. Secondary to CFM on turf. |
| Weight and carry type | Handheld weight is felt within minutes. Backpack designs let you carry far more output for far longer. |
| Variable speed and cruise control | Full power is rarely wanted near beds and gravel. A lockable throttle prevents hand fatigue over a long session. |
| Noise rating | Many jurisdictions restrict blower noise or hours of use, and some restrict petrol blowers specifically. Check before buying. |
| Battery platform | Blowers draw hard and drain packs quickly, so amp-hours and a matching platform matter more here than on lighter tools. |
Swipe the table sideways to see every column.
What to ignore
- — Combined 'CFM and MPH' marketing figures — the two peaks are usually measured with different nozzles and cannot both be achieved at once
- — Nozzle accessory counts, most of which stay in the box
- — Turbo buttons, which are variable speed with a different label
Common mistakes
- — Buying on MPH and finding the machine cannot move a wet pile
- — Choosing handheld for a heavily treed lot, where the weight becomes the limiting factor before the battery does
- — Blowing leaves off the lawn and leaving them on beds and drains, which simply relocates the problem
- — Assuming a battery blower runs like a battery trimmer — blowers are among the most power-hungry tools on any platform
Shop by Battery Platform
If you already own cordless tools, staying inside that battery system is usually worth more than any single feature on a competing tool — you skip a second charger and share packs across everything you own.