Had to pick one of these up for the future mother in laws garden. She lives near quite a few trees and the garden is full.
I raked a week ago and it's twice as full now. So time for the big guns as such.
Ryobi 3000w blower/Hoover/mulcher
Updated
Well I've gone over the lawn and border as far as the cord allowed.
The cord itself is pretty long so I was happily surprised. The weight of the blower fully assemble and with an empty bag is nice and light. Once a full bag of mulched leaves is hanging from the bottom you will need to use the shoulder strap for extra help.
The mulching blades (metal not plastic) do a fantastic job of breaking down the leaves and other bits you suck in. The two speeds it has are nice too. At full whack it's a little noisy but nothing too bad.
The blowing part of the machine is good and powerful however getting a good angle when your bag is full is pretty tricky so always blow before you suck.
Emptying your bag at the end is easy too, just slide it off and slip it into a plastic bag or your composter and unzip it. The opening is big enough to get everything out with a little shake and easily turns inside out to get all the little bits from the corners and fine dust out.
It was worth the purchase and will come in handy to keep the leaves at bay.
Forgot to add these two purchases.
A pair of Sanguine 4.5" beard scissors and a Kent tash comb. So I can keep my face hair in some sort of check.