leaf blower with vacuum

5 Best Leaf Blowers With Vacuums

In this article you can find everything you need to know about buying leaf blowers, including what they are for, what to look for, and why you should definitely consider leaf blowers with vacuums as opposed to alternatives.

We also provide a breakdown of 5 of our top leaf blowers with vacuum options, which we’ve hand picked based on their reviews, features and price. Keep reading to find out more.

As it’s a rather long article, feel free to quickly navigate to the section suited to your question:

  1. About Leaf Blowers
  2. What To Look For In A Leaf Blower
  3. Why Buy A Leaf Blower With A Vacuum?
  4. Our Top 5 Leaf Blowers With Vacuums
  5. Leaf Blower Buying Guide
  6. Other Frequently Asked Questions

About Leaf Blowers

A leaf blower is a tool that you can use to blow leaves or grass cuttings from your garden. It’s a device that propels air out of the long tube like a nozzle to move any small debris or collect them into a pile (which is easy to vacuum up! But we’ll get on to that). They have a few different power source options, some are electric or some as gas, with the latter allowing for cordless movement.

They come in two typical forms, handheld units or backpack mounted, in our top 5 we feature both as it’s personal preference. The backpack option is more suitable if you have a large garden and need prolonged use, but is often a bit more costly than the handheld alternative.

Why a leaf blower? Clearing a garden full of leaves or grass cuttings can be a fairly large task using a simple rake, believe me, a task that will take hours with a rake will take minutes with the proper leaf blowing equipment.

What To Look For In A Leaf Blower & Vacuum

When you’re looking into buying a leaf blower for the first time there are quite a few things that you should look at and consider, we’ve broken down each of the elements for you and described what you need to consider for each.

  • RPM: The RPM stands for Rotations Per Minute, and it’s the number of rotations made by the engine in a single minute, the higher the RPM the better the air flow.
  • Air Speed: The air speed again is another power indicator, the higher the air speed the more force it will produce.
  • Suction Volume: In the vacuum models you’ll want to be looking at the suction volume. This dictates how powerful the suction aspect of the vacuum is, 600+ is ideal!
  • Functionality: A lot of the options on the market have various different functionalities, the obvious one being blowing, but vacuums and mulching are also an option which can make getting rid of the leaves and crushing them into compost an easy process.
  • Capacity of bag The vacuum bag capacity is also something you should think about. It’s displayed in Litres and obviously the higher the capacity the less trips to the garden waste bin.
  • Carry Type We touched on this a little earlier in the post, but there are two ways of carrying a leaf blower. You can have a handheld one or you can have it with a backpack, handheld will be fine if you have a medium size garden, but if you have a large one, you might want a backpack model for ease and comfort, although they are slightly more expensive.
  • Power Source This is again preference, you can get three versions, petrol, electric and battery powered. The electric ones are wired, it’s the best of both really, petrol is for cordless but they are often heavier duty and more expensive, and battery although cordless are generally not as powerful.
  • Accessories: Not all leaf blowers are equal! Literally. Some of them come with additional accessories such as different tubes for different jobs, make sure you check what you get with them before buying one.
  • Shredding / Mulching ratios: A lot of leaf blowers offer the functionality of shredding (mulching) the leaves once they have picked them up, which makes for easy composting or disposing and allows you to use the bag to maximum capacity. A 16:1 mulching ratio means that you can get 16 bags worth of free leaves mulched down to just one.

Why Buy A Leaf Blower With A Vacuum?

If you’re blowing leaves or anything loose in your garden into a pile then you are going to need to manually pick it up and bag it. This kind of defeats the purpose of a leaf blower, which is to save time, you’re doing half a job if it doesn’t contain a vacuum.

The vacuum is an integral part, you can blow the leaves into a pile and easily vacuum them up far quicker than it would be to do it yourself. The price difference between leaf blowers that don’t have a bag and those that do is pretty minimal, so you should definitely consider getting one with advanced functionality.


Our Top 5 Leaf Blowers With Vacuums

In this section we have looked into several different leaf blowers with vacuums and picked out five which in our opinion are the best buys. Our choices are based on their functionality, reviews, and ultimately price.


Flymo PowerVac 3000 3-in-1 Electric Garden Blower Vac, 3000 W

Product Description
Flymo is a well known brand when it comes to gardening tools, and this product is one of their best. The PowerVac 3000 makes the whole process of tidying up your garden an absolute breeze, if you pardon the pun! It’s a powerful blower that will easily move leaves into a pile which is manageable, you can then vacuum the debris into it’s large 45L bag which as you’re doing it mulches the leaves to a ratio of 16:1.

It’s suitable for small to medium sized gardens with a cable that spans 10m, you can switch between the blower and vacuum functions with a handy quick change button. A very simple and easy product to use.

Main Features
We’ve pulled out some of the interesting features and selling points of this Flymo blower for you below:

  • Power: 3000W
  • 10m Cable length, so there shouldn’t be a need for an extension lead
  • 86.11 m/s air speed
  • Suction capacity 168 l/s
  • 16:1 mulching ratio, meaning you could fit 16 bags of loose leaves into 1 shredded bag
  • 45L Bag allowing for a large amount of leafs making it suitable for medium gardens
  • The weight is quite minimal too, 5.2kg, meaning it won’t be labour intensive to lug around

Why We’ve Chosen It
We’ve chosen this addition to our best five leaf blowers with vacuums because of a few reasons. One of the main ones is that Flymo is a well known and trusted brand, it’s also relatively cheap in comparison to some of the competition. On top of that, it offers 3 different functionalities, the blowing, vacuum and mulching as well as being lightweight.

Read The Reviews
If you’re interested in buying this Flymo leaf blower then you should read all the reviews, both positive and negative to get all the information you should need before purchasing. You can easily read all the reviews by clicking the below button:

Read Reviews


BLACK+DECKER BEBLV260-GB 2600W 40 Litre Blower Vac Leaf

Product Description
Black+Decker are a very well known and trusted brand in heavy duty DIY tools, they are offering this great blower vac product for a decent price point. This blower is 2600W so not quite as powerful as the above, however it offers 315 km/h blowing speed which means it can tackle even the toughest of debris.

This blower offers a 3 in 1 functionality with a mulcher, vacuum and a blower – the mulcher or shredder reduces the volume for 12:1, meaning 12 bags of loose leaves can be mulched into a single one, which makes disposal a lot easier.

It’s easy to change between the modes, the design is compact and it’s light in weight easily moved around the garden and carried on your shoulder. It’s very easy to use and empty making cleaning the garden easy.

Main Features
You will find some of the main features and selling points for the Black+Decker leaf blower below:

  • It’s powered with a 2600W motor
  • The 3 in 1 functionality makes it a great choice for blowing, vacuuming and mulching
  • The blowing speed is 315 km/h
  • There’s a 40L bag which is large enough for most gardens – especially with the shredding function
  • The design is fantastic and you can quickly flick between modes & the releasing the bag is simple
  • The shredder reduces to a volume of 12:1

Why We’ve Chosen It
We’ve chosen it for very similar reasons to the Flymo above in all honesty, Black+Decker are an extremely well known and reliable tool brand, meaning you can rest assured that it’s going to be a good product before you even buy it.

It also offers the same 3 in 1 functionality, shreds to a volume of 12:1 and has a significant blowing speed, despite having a slightly lower watt motor than some of the other models we’ve featured here.

Read The Reviews
There are some great reviews for this blower with mostly positive feedback, however you should always try and read both positive and negative reviews to get the full picture of the product and make an advised decision. You can click the below button to find out more:

Read Reviews


Terratek Leaf blower Garden Vacuum and Shredder, 35L Leaf Collection Bag, 3000W 10m Cable Lightweight Design, Leaf Vacuum, 10:1 Shredding Ratio

Product Description
This Terratek model is perhaps a less known brand than the Flymo or Black+Decker, which is reflected in the pricing, however it deserves to make the list on its own merits. It offers a power of 3000W and is great at cleaning lawns, patios, driveways & more.

It offers a fantastic bag for vacuuming at 35L which is used to collect the leaves. It also offers 3 in 1 functionality like the others, and mulches to a 10:1 ratio, which is a bit less than a few of the others in the list, but again, reflected in the price.

The max air speed of 167mp/h will ensure that your garden is clean and tidy in no time at all!

Main Features
We’ve provided a bit of a breakdown of some of the main features and selling points of this model for you to make your decision easier.

  • 10 Metre power cable
  • 35L bag which is more than suitable for medium sized gardens
  • 3-in-1 functionality of blowing, vacuuming and shredding
  • 167mp/h air speed – meaning you can clean your garden quickly
  • Weights just 3kg and has a comfortable shoulder support meaning it’s easy to walk around with
  • It also has a wheel attachment, meaning if you do get tired of carrying it around you can just wheel it!

Why We’ve Chosen It
This is a budget option for a leaf blower with a vacuum that still comes with a 3-in-1 functionality like the others. It’s also extremely lightweight and offers a shoulder strap & wheels should you need a lighter option than some of the others.

The bag is more than suitable and it has a decent length power cable so you shouldn’t need an extension lead. It’s got majority of the functionality of some of the more expensive models and is much cheaper which gives a good alternative in our list.

Read The Reviews
If you’re sitting there thinking, it seems a little too cheap, well we thought the same, however after reading the reviews you can see the quality of product that it is. Before making any purchase, be sure to read all the reviews both positive and negative so you get a full idea. You can read them by clicking the button below:

Read Reviews


Handy THEV 3000 Electric Leaf Blower/Vacuum

Product Description
This again is a lesser known brand than some of the others in the list but it’s another budget option if you’re looking for a cheap leaf blower with great functionality. Handy have several model variations, it’s a 3000W motor just like some of the more expensive models in the list as well, so you can rest assured it’s a powerful option.

Just like the other budget option from Terratek it offers a support wheel for easy use should it get too heavy, as it weighs about 4.9kg. Just like the other models it has 3-in-1 functionality meaning it can blow, vacuum and shred all within a few button clicks.

It offers a 45L bag as well, which is larger than most, and with a mulching ratio of 10:1 you’ll rarely need to bin the waste!

Main Features
We’ve detailed some of the main features and selling points of this Handy leaf blower model so you can make a more informed decision:

  • 45L capacity bag
  • 3 in 1 functionality just like some of the other more expensive models
  • It’s fairly lightweight at 4.9kg, but if it’s providing too much to carry around it has a wheel to push it
  • It offers a shredding ratio of 10:1, meaning 10 loose leaves bags can be shredded down to a single one
  • The 3000W motor is similar to some of the more expensive models
  • Easy to use lever to quickly switch between blowing and vacuuming

Why We’ve Chosen It
We’ve chosen this model because it offers a very similar amount of power and functionality of some of the more expensive models. Like the other choices in our list it also offers the ability to blow, vacuum and shred in one device.

If you’re worried about the weight of the leaf blower and having to carry it around then it makes this choice a great option as just like the Terratek option it also has the ability to wheel around. It also offers a respectable 10:1 shredding ratio.

It’s a great budget pick.

Read The Reviews
As the brand isn’t as well known you’ll want to make sure that you read all the reviews, both positive and negative. We’ve read through them and that’s another reason that it’s made the list, you can find all of them by clicking the button below:

Read Reviews


McCulloch GB 355 BP Backpack Leaf Blower: Leaf Blower/Garden Vacuum with 1500 W Engine Power, Variable Speed, with Backpack

Product Description
McCulloch is a well known brand and the only backpack leaf blower model to make the list, which speaks for itself really! This model is primarily for comfort, a backpack makes it easier to carry around for a longer period of time making it suitable for large and extra large size gardens.

It’s got a powerful two stroke engine and several user friendly features. It’s got an adjustable speed so you can stay in control, a built in anti vibration system and the engine weight is distributed over the whole back pack making it comfortable.

Being a backpack based model this is the only petrol one we have on the list, and it has the performance and power to get any job done quickly. It’s incredibly powerful and will ensure that your garden is clean of any leaves or grass clippings.

Main Features
We’ve detailed some of the main features of the McCulloch backpack leaf blower for you & some of its main selling points for you below:

  • It has a tank capacity of 2.2L
  • The weight is a bit more than a standard electric leaf blower at 9.16kg, but with it being distributed over a backpack it makes it easy to carry
  • Adjustable trigger grip
  • Variable speed
  • 355 kph air speed, higher than any of the other models
  • Adjustable shoulder straps for comfort

Why We’ve Chosen It
This is the only backpack model to make the list, it’s heavier duty and the rest and we wanted to offer a bit of diversity for those with extremely large gardens. It’s one of the higher rated backpack models we could find and it offers some great features with a vacuum and variable speeds.

It boasts an impressive air speed making it great for even the toughest debris. It’s a great bit of kit!

Read The Reviews
If you’re interested in this model then you need to make sure that you read all the reviews both positive and negative, there are a lot of different variations of backpack models so you want to ensure that this is the right option for you. You can read the reviews by clicking the button:

Read Reviews


Leaf Blower Buying Guide

We’ve touched on a few elements of the leaf blower above, but we’ve also detailed below some of the popular follow up questions people often have around buying a leaf blower, so you can ensure that you get the right one to suit your needs.

Are Leaf Blowers Any Good
If you have a small garden then truthfully you probably don’t need a leaf blower, however if you have a rather large garden with a lot of trees overhanging then you may have already experienced the pain of the October month.

Relatively speaking leaf blowers are inexpensive, you can buy a decent one for well under £100 and it will save you a massive amount of time in your garden clean up. In our opinion it’s a more than worthwhile investment which will save you hours of time over the coming years.

What Are They Useful For?
Leaf blowers are versatile, you can use them for more than just blowing leaves. Here is a list of a few common uses for leaf blower:

  • Dried grass clippings
  • Leaves
  • Dirt
  • Rubbish

What Fuel Type Leaf Blower Should I Get?

It really depends on the purpose you are using it for, here we’ve broken down the common power types for leaf blowers and given you a bit of insight into which one might be the right option for your needs:

  • Electric: The halfway house. Electric is great, powerful and there’s more options to choose from in the market, generally making them the cheapest. The downside to electric is that they are corded, so you have to lug the cord around with you, which can be problematic if you have a large garden and require an extension lead.
  • Petrol: This is a powerful option, but is expensive in comparison to the electric counterpart and more expensive to run in general. They are more heavy duty models and will generally be more powerful than a standard electric model, you’ll often see council workers use these types of blowers. It’s also a cordless option which makes it much easier to use.
  • Battery: I’m not really a fan of this one personally, but it’s a cordless option if that’s important to you. The battery ones don’t tend to last as long on a charge & aren’t as powerful, but are easily moved. Typically on a single charge you get around 15-20 minutes so they aren’t suitable for larger gardens, which is one of the primary reasons you may want a leaf blower.

Tips For Using A Leaf Blower
Never used a leaf blower before? Here are some tips to get you started:

  • Start at the furthest corner part of the garden and work your way to the other end.
  • Don’t be too picky, your leaf blower will miss bits – it’s counterproductive to try and get it all.
  • Make a pile before you start to vacuum
  • That’s it, just dispose the mulch in a compost bin, you may have to go over the garden again to get any last remaining bits

What Is A Good CFM for a Leaf Blower?
CFM is the measurement of air that is moved through the blower in a minute.

Realistically to have a good leaf blower you want to ensure that it is between 350 and 600cfm, there are a few models that offer a much lower cfm around the 225, which isn’t recommended. We must stress though that cfm isn’ the only thing that matters so you shouldn’t be solely concerned with it

Top Leaf Blower Brands
There are a lot of well known brands that you can choose for your leaf blower and there’s several reputable options. Here’s a list of some of the top manufacturers:

  • Flymo
  • Garden Gear
  • BLACK+DECKER
  • Kingfisher
  • QGarden
  • Stihl
  • ParkerBrand
  • Charles Bentley
  • Draper
  • Makita
  • Kenley
  • Hecht
  • WORX

Other Frequently Asked Questions

What’s more important, CFM or MPH?
They are both important, the CFM determines the amount of air that can move through the blower, and it dictates the MPH. A higher CFM with a small diameter blower will mean a higher MPH, so if you want to maintain a high mph then you ensure the CFM is high and the diameter of the blower is low.

What are the main things to look at when buying a leaf blower?
We touched on it in the post, but as a quick overview the main features you want to look at are the RPM, Suction Volume, Functionality, Capacity of Bag, Carry Type, Power Source, Accessories & whether it shreds (mulches).

Do all leaf blowers vacuum?
No – not all leaf blowers are built equal! Some don’t come with a bag or any other accessories. You also want to find one that has a mulcher if possible – giving you a 3 in 1 functionality.

What is the best leaf blower with a vacuum?
Now that’s what this post is about. We’ve picked out the 5 best leaf blowers with a vacuum that we could find based on their functionality, reviews and pricing. Read the whole blog to find out more.

About Mat

A complete novice trying to navigate in the world of DIY. I bought my first home about 2 years ago & ever since I've been trying to research & learn how best to tackle common household problems.

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