Our experts say that a handheld leaf blower will work well for most people, especially if you’ve got a modest yard with only a few leafy trees. Battery handheld blowers now make up the lion’s share of models that CR tests, and they’re a particularly good choice because they are lighter weight and quieter than gas handhelds, and most are every bit as powerful.
“When it comes to battery handheld models, the technology has improved year after year,” says Dave Trezza, who oversees leaf blower testing for Consumer Reports. “Manufacturers have put emphasis on increasing the run times of batteries and on decreasing noise, particularly when more people started working from home,” he says.
However, CR doesn’t test every leaf blower on the market. That’s why we’ve developed brand-level ratings for battery handheld leaf blowers, which can provide an indication of how models from a given brand might perform.
These brand ratings are based on a statistical model that incorporates CR’s Overall Scores for battery handheld leaf blowers, plus availability and price. These ratings reflect performance, ease of use, predicted reliability, and owner satisfaction scores.
