You love a neat driveway and lawn. Are you tired raking up soggy leaves every day? Well, there’s a new generation of cordless leaf blower that’s going to make your life a whole lot easier.
The old-fashioned backpack-wielding tube that council gardeners used is no longer required. The latest blowers are lighter, smaller, and easier to use thanks to advances in cordless motor technology. They can remove dirt, leaves, and other debris from the ground. They can also clear large areas with enough battery life. They’re quieter than the old petrol or mains-powered models, too, have a lower environmental impact and – to be honest – they’re just fun to use.
Before we share our picks of the best leaf blowers, be sure to check out our guide on how to choose the right model for you.
READ NEXT – Trim your garden with the best cordless lawn trimmers
Here’s a quick overview of the best cordless leaf blowers
How to choose a cordless leaf blower
There isn’t actually that much to your average cordless leaf blower; just a big motor and fan attached to a tube, through which you can blast air at fallen leaves and other bits of lightweight garden debris. Although there are safety settings and speed settings, all of them work the same. Simply point your blower at the leaves and pile them up. Then, dispose of them at your pace, preferably before it gets too windy.
The exceptions are the dual-purpose leaf blowers/garden vacuums that – as you can probably guess – suck in the leaves and debris after clearing. These leaf blowers take the leaves and place them in the fan. Then they chop them into fine mulch that can be used to make bags. The mulch can be placed in your compost pile, or into your garden waste bin. The space taken up by the chomped leaves is only a fraction. However, most cordless leaf-blowers are not vacuums. There are exceptions.
What are the most important things to look out for?
Look for an ergonomic design which is easy to hold. While you can use many models single-handedly, convertible blower/vacuums require two-handed operation.
Most cordless leaf blowers use an 18V motor and matching battery, but if you have a big garden or a tree that sheds a lot of heavy leaves – a horse chestnut, beech, sycamore or maple, for example – then you might want something with a bit more oomph. In this instance, a 36V motor or 40V motor is sufficient. The maximum blow speed is often indicated in kilometres per hour. The speed of lighter models is approximately 160 km/hour, while faster models can reach 250 km/hour. That extra bit of blasting power can be handy when you’re trying to separate drifts of heavy, rain-soaked leaves from a flower bed or tricky corner.
What about battery life, though?
The battery life is the last thing you need to consider. It takes a lot of effort to spin a fan at the right speed. A lot of cordless leaf blowers have a 4A-rated battery so that you can move around a medium-sized yard. However, some models might ship solo – in which case you need to buy a battery and charger separately – or in a lower-cost bundle with a 2A battery. The latter should deliver enough charge for 15 to 20 minutes of hard work, which might be sufficient for a smaller garden; but if not, budget for a bigger battery or prepare for a recharge halfway through.
More manufacturers are standardizing around a single battery system. This means you can share your batteries with multiple tools and a charger. This is something to consider if you purchase a mower, hedge trimmer, or cordless strimmer for your garden. Some manufacturers have even joined a battery alliance, such as Bosch’s Power For All system. This means that 18V Bosch batteries can also be used with Gardena, Flymo and Husqvarna tools.
READ NEXT and find the best cordless lawnmowers right now
The best cordless leaf blowers on the market in 2022
1. Bosch AdvancedLeafBlower 36V-750: Best cordless blower overall
Price: From £145, tool only (£270, 2A battery and charger; £306, 4A battery and charger) | Tooled-up
Bosch’s cordless blower is mightier than the specs might suggest. At its maximum power setting, even the heaviest, wettest leaves couldn’t hold against its tempest. Tricky leaves that were caught in low-lying groundcover plants were blasted and piled against a wall. Yet with its easy under-thumb power dial on the handle, you can notch it back to tackle lighter leaves or shape what you’ve collected into a manageable pile. It’s a fantastically easy tool to work with.
It’s a little noisier at its maximum settings than some leaf blowers, measuring just under 90dB for noise, and it’s also a little heavier – although the well-balanced design and ergonomic handle mean you can still comfortably use it single-handed. It works with Bosch’s 36V Power For All batteries rather than the more common 18V variety, and the 4A battery we tested it with lasted for around 25 minutes of tough garden clearance before sputtering out. If you’re not too bothered about vacuuming and mulching, this is the best cordless leaf blower to buy.
Key specs – Type: Blower; Batteries:1 x 36V power supply for all, 2A and 4A; Dimensions:81 x 25x21cm Weight: 2.8kg; Blow speed 100-200km/h; Collection capacity: n/a; Warranty:1 year
2. Worx WG583E – Best cordless vacuum/blower combination
Price: From £143, tool only (£300, 2 x 2A batteries and charger) | Amazon Order Now
The Worx WG583E is a vacuum/blower. With the slimmer of its two nozzles attached to the fan out-take, it will blast away at leaves with the best of them; but remove that nozzle and attach the wider, two-part wheeled pipe to the intake, and you’re equipped to suck them in and chew them up.
The conversion from blower to vacuum and back feels surprisingly easy and, where some cordless blowers can feel weedy, this one’s a beefy little beast, hurling out huge amounts of air on its highest power setting to send leaves flying across your lawn or driveway. It will switch to vacuum mode in seconds and quickly collect large amounts of leaves. It will then compact the leaves so that they barely fill the 35-litre bag. Big, damp leaves aren’t a problem, and the WG583E even tackled patches of moss thrown down by the local seagulls and conifer clippings from a hedge. And while it’s noisy, it’s far from terrible, with sound levels at around 72dB.
The problem is battery life. At full power you can practically watch as the indicator runs down, and you’ll be lucky to get more than 10 minutes of vacuuming from a pair of 2A batteries. Eco mode can double your life expectancy while still picking up or drying leaves. This cordless vacuum/blower is superior to the Karcher (below).
Key specs – Type:Vacuum and blower Batteries:2 x 20V Max. Dimensions:115 x 26x80cm Weight:2.9 to 3.0kg Blow speedMaximum speed of 209 km/h Collection capacity: 35l; Cable length: N/A; Warranty:1 year
3. Gardena PowerJet 18V P4A: Best cordless blower for smaller gardens
Price: £89, tool only | Amazon Order Now
The PowerJet 18V P4A sits in-between the Bosch AdvancedLeafBlower and the lightweight Worx blower below, delivering plenty of oomph for tackling hard-to-shift leaves from a soggy lawn or driveway, but in a blower that’s still very easy on the arms. It’s surprisingly quiet as well, with a noise output of just under 75dB at maximum power.
This model can also be used with Power For All batteries, but this time it is the lighter 18V version. Although the 2A battery it was tested did not provide much endurance, it was capable of throwing leaves around the lawn for 25 mins. The clear LED indicator and the detachablenozzle that you can use for stubborn leaves or piles to move away from your grass border or grass were a big hit with us. It’s also fairly simple to remove the main nozzle for storage. If you don’t have an existing Power For All kit then you’ll need to budget £60 to £90 extra for a battery and charger, but even then this blower is great value.
Key specs – Type: Blower; Batteries:1 x 18V Power for All, 2A and 4A; Dimensions:92 x 26x16cm Weight: 2.8kg; Blow speed 100km/h; Collection capacity: n/a; Warranty:3 Year
4. Worx WG543E – The best compact cordless blower
Price: £98, tool only (£180, 4A battery and charger) | Amazon Order Now
The WG543E is so light and compact that it’s hard to imagine it blowing the skin off a rice pudding; you can easily use it one-handed and, with the nozzle at its least extended, it’s under 80cm long. Air amplifier technology is used to drive air through tubes at higher speeds than expected, reaching speeds up to 209 km/h.
This gives the machine enough power to separate the leaves from a yard or driveway and scatter them around. In fact, it’s worth switching down to the lower power setting just to give you a better chance of shaping the leaves into some kind of pile. It’s also great for clearing debris off your decking, or even drying off the car post-wash. Noise levels aren’t a problem, either; we measured the output at around 69dB.
Worx sells a WG543E equipped a 4A PowerShare battery and charger. This battery is capable of providing enough power for 20 minutes of blasting, and slightly more if you set it to a lower setting. While other Worx PowerShare battery can be used, the 2A ones won’t last half as long. It might be small, but don’t underestimate it: this compact, convenient blower can get the job done in style.
Key specs – Type: Blower; Batteries:1 x 20V Max. 4A Dimensions:78 x 17.x12.cm Weight: 1.79kg; Blow speed 209km/h; Collection capacity: N/A; Warranty:1 year
5. Kärcher BLV 18-200: Best cordless combi vacuum/blower for ease of use
Price: £180, tool only | Amazon Order Now
Kärcher’s vacuum/blower doesn’t need any tricky configuration; just flick a switch and it shifts from blowing leaves away to sucking them into its wide tube. It’s a well-designed unit, weighing in at just 3.5kg, and has little wheels to help support it while you’re busy catching every last leaf. The 45-litre bag and built-in mulching mean you’ll probably run out of charge before you need to empty the machine. The unit can produce over 100dB when running at maximum speed. Make sure you have your ears protected.
The BLV 18-200 can’t match the most powerful blowers for leaf-blasting force, so you might struggle with soggy piles of debris or drifts of large wet leaves. You can activate the BLV 18-200 by pressing a button. The BLV 18-200 will go into boost mode. This should get the worst bits moving. This is one of the more expensive options here, especially as you have to pay extra for the battery and charger, which will set you back a further £110. However, it shares the same battery and charger system as Kärcher’s other cordless garden tools, so if you’ve already got those, this one’s a no-brainer.
Key specs – Type:Vacuum and blower Batteries: 1x 18v Max, 2.5A; Dimensions:124 x 38x17cm Weight: 3.5kg; Blow speedYou can travel upto 200 km/h Collection capacity: 45l; Warranty:1 year
Best cordless leaf blowers 2022 – Say goodbye to soggy leaves quickly & efficiently
