8 Best Backpack Leaf Blowers For Yard Cleanup Projects

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There are several types of leaf blowers you can choose from, but them all, backpack leaf blowers are arguably the most sought after, especially by people who own large yards or areas of land with trees and fallen leaves all over the place to clean up.

You don’t want to hold a handheld leaf blower for a long time because you’ll wear yourself out. On the other hand, with a backpack leaf blower, you can simply wear it on your back like a normal backpack, and carry it with you along the road, amid the trees in your yard or across the lawn. It’s almost effortless to maneuver.

Having the whole blower on a backpack means all the weight of the machine is spread over your shoulders and back instead of just your hand.

Backpack leaf blowers come in different shapes and sizes, all built by different manufacturers. That’s why we took the time to help you sought out the best from the rest out there.

The following is a comparison table showing 8 of the best backpack leaf blowers you can use for your yard cleanup projects.

Backpack Leaf Blowers Comparison Table

Our Top Picks

We consider the following picks of backpack leaf blowers as the best you’ll find out there, because they’ve met all the criteria and conditions we look for when it comes to build quality, performance and ergonomics. They have all the features you need to really blow out all the leaves, dirt and debris in your yard efficiently and conveniently.

1. Echo PB-9010T Gas Backpack Leaf Blower

Specifications

Price: Check Amazon

Air Volume: 1110 CFM, Air Speed: 220 MPH, Type: Gas-Powered, Engine: 2 stroke 79.9 cc, Weight: 26.7 lbs

Of the different models of backpack leaf blowers produced by Echo, the PB-9010T from their X Series of power tools and equipment is one of the most powerful ones you’ll find today.

If you’re a professional landscaper who needs ones of these equipment on a daily basis to move heaps of both wet and dry leaves on the job, then this is one of the best options to go for.

Whether there’re sticks and other heavier debris in your leaves pile, it will sweep them all off. If you’re using it around your garden, you have to be careful around small plants, as it can even sweep them off or knock them over.

It comes equipped with a 79.9 CC 2 stroke engine with a blower fan that produces 1110 CFM of air at a speed of 220 MPH. With those numbers, if that’s not a very powerful leaf blower, I don’t know what is.

The throttle is tube-mounted which is easier to access, allowing the operator convenience during operation. It also has variable-speed control, allowing the user to vary the speed according to the size or number of leaves to be blown.

Another feature that makes it more comfortable to use the Echo PB-9010T X Series backpack leaf blower is that the pad on the backpack is vented, thus allowing air to circulate around the user, producing a cooling effect during in weather conditions.

The fuel tank it comes with is see-through, which makes it very easy to tell when the fuel is running low and so as to top it up.

Because it has a 2-stroke engine and all, the main drawback of the PB-9010T is that it is quite noisy, producing up to 80 decibels of noise.

Apart from that, it’s a very powerful you can use to tackle many yard cleaning projects throughout the year, whether you’re an avid homeowner or a professional landscaper.

2. Husqvarna 360BT Gas Backpack Leaf Blower

Specifications:

Price: Check Amazon

Air Volume: 890 CFM, Air Speed: 232 MPH, Type: Gas-Powered, Engine: 2 stroke 65.6 cc, Weight: 23.2 lbs.

The Husqvarna 360BT gas backpack leaf blower is the newer model of the already successful and widely used Husqvarna 350BT.

Just like the 350BT, the Husqvarna 360BT comes equipped with a highly powerful and fuel-efficient X-Torq engine which makes it ideal for commercial applications.

The 3.81 horsepower X-Torq engine is designed to reduce fuel consumption by up to 20 percent and also reduce exhaust emissions by up to 60 percent, which makes it far better than most other engines especially for the environment.

Producing up to 631 cfm volume of air at a speed of 231 mph, the Husqvarna 360BT produces enough blowing force to clear heavy layered debris, fallen leaves and even gravel.

In terms of ergonomics, the 360BT features an offset handle which makes it easier to control the air nozzle by preventing the arm from being pulled downwards from the blow force of the air coming through the nozzle.

Although it weighs 23.2 lbs, the Husqvarna 360BT features a well-designed, comfortable and load-reducing harness with wide shoulder straps and a hip belt which makes it very easy to carry around.

Featured also is an air purge system that removes air from the carburetor and fuel system so the engine can start up easily even in cold conditions.

Related: The Best Loppers for Pruning Tree Branches

3. Ego Power+ LB6000 Battery-Powered Backpack Leaf Blower

Specifications

Price: Check Amazon

Air Volume: 600 CFM, Air Speed: 145 MPH, Type: Battery-Powered, Weight: 12.5 lbs.

Gas engine powered blowers weigh up to 20 lbs. and above, but the Ego Power+ LB6000 weighs just 12.5 lbs. That’s because it’s battery-powered. It doesn’t have a heavy gas-powered engine for you to contend with.

You get to wear this thing on you and work with it without even feeling the weight, because it’s lightweight, it’s got a good harness, and most importantly, it gets the job done.

Apart from being lightweight, it’s also very quiet. There’s no gas engine here, it’s all battery operated. So, it can be used in residential areas without being noisy and annoying people.

Producing up to 600 CFM of air at a speed of 145 MPH, the Ego Power+ LB6000 is built with enough capacity to blow off both wet and dry leaves of the ground. It’s very good for residential areas with trees. You can also use it for gathering the grass into a pile after mowing your lawn.

Although the air volume maxes out at 600 CFM, it can be adjusted from 260 to 600 CFM, allowing you to vary the speed and volume of the air to match the application.

The Ego Power+ comes equipped with a highly-efficient brushless motor that not only gets the job done, but is also more efficient than brushed motors. 

It also features an adjustable air tube/nozzle so it can be handled easily no matter the height of the user. The harness is also very comfortable and easy to wear.

Related: 6 Best Telescopic Hedge Trimmers to Maintain Tall Overgrown Hedges

4. Craftsman CMXGAAMR51BP Gas-Powered Backpack Leaf Blower

Specifications

Price: Check Amazon

Air Volume: 600 CFM, Air Speed: 220 MPH, Type: Gas-Powered, Engine: 2 stroke 51 cc, Weight: 23.7 lbs.

The most important thing any backpack leaf blower should be able to do very well is for it to move grasses and other debris efficiently, and that is what this Craftsman CMXGAAMR51BP does very well.

I will assure you that it’s very powerful and will get those leafs flying in no time. The 51cc 2-cycle gas engine produces enough power to get any pile of leaves you have lying around in the yard.

Unfortunately, just like many other 2-cycle engines, this one is also very loud, so you need to make sure to wear ear protection any time you’re operating it. Apart from being loud every other thing is as cool as you can get.

One more impressive thing I noticed is that the backpack is very ergonomic. It’s very comfortable and heat up your back even after using it for a long time. There’s an anti-vibration system that reduces the vibration from the engine, ensuring you can use it without getting all your body jiggly.

The handle is also very easy to control and you can control and vary the air flow and speed right from the throttle.

One more important thing. Startup is very easy. Just make sure to use the appropriate fuel-oil mixture, and follow the instructions from the manual, and it will start up every time.

Related: 12 Expert Lawn Mowing Tips Every Homeowner Should Know

5. Makita EB5300TH Gas-Powered Backpack Leaf Blower

Specifications

Price: Check Amazon

Air Volume: 516 CFM, Air Speed: 184 MPH, Type: Gas-Powered, Engine: 4 stroke 52.5cc, Weight: 19.7 lbs.

The problem with most 2 stroke engines found in most backpack leaf blower is that they use mixed fuel for operation. And improper mixture of this fuel usually results in failure of these engines.

That is why you usually hear complains like, “after using it twice, I tried the third time and it could not startup anymore”. Well, the truth is the engine has failed, and the most likely reason is improper fuel and oil mixture.

To resolve that problem, Makita introduced their MM4 4 stroke engine which uses gas only, not a mixture of fuel and oil.

The Makita EB5300TH is a commercial grade backpack blower which uses the MM4 4-stroke engine not only to eliminate engine failure due to bad fuel mixture but to produce a more powerful gas backpack blower for your needs.

Whether you’re a landscaper or you own acres of land with trees all over that shed leaves, the Makita EB5300TH backpack blower is a very good choice that will provide all the power you need on a daily basis.

The 75.6cc MM4 4-stroke engine produces airflow up to 516 cfm at wind speed of 184 miles per hour. With this, you can get all the leaves and debris cleared off your property in no time.

It’s equipped with heavy duty anti-vibration mounts which is located between the blower frame and the engine to minimize vibration produced during operation and increase the comfort of using the unit.

A padded back pad/harness with shoulder straps that are easily adjusted, provides maximum comfort when you carry it on your back.

Related: 8 Best Lawn Dethatchers for Proper Lawn Maintenance

6. Poulan Pro PR48BT Backpack Blower

Specifications

Price: Check Amazon

Air Flow: 475 CFM, Air Speed: 200 MPH, Type: Gas-Powered, Engine: 2 stroke 48 cc, Weight: 22 lbs.

The Poulan Pro PR48BT is a budget friendly backpack blower with just enough power to cater for all leaf clearing needs in your yard.

It comes equipped with a powerful 48cc 2-stroke engine which generates up to 475 cfm of airflow at speeds of 200 mph. This is surely not the most powerful of backpack blowers, but it has enough power to meet any home owner’s leaf or yard clearing needs.

The Poulan Pro comes slapped with a lot of useful features that makes using it very intuitive. For instance, it has the variable speed feature which helps you to adjust the speed of the air depending on the material you’re blowing.

You can reduce the speed for light materials such as dry leaf, and increase it to blow off denser or heavier materials such as sticky wet leaves and debris.

The cruise control feature is also very useful. It allows you to use the blower at a constant speed without engaging the throttle, allowing you to focus on directing the barrel of the blower and focusing on the leaves, dust or debris you’re blowing off.

The harness that comes with the Poulan Pro is also well made for user comfort with large padded adjustable shoulder straps which makes it easy for the user to work with it for long periods without getting weighed down by the weight of the blower.

If what you’re looking for is a powerful but budget friendly backpack blower for taking care of the leafs and debris on your yard, then you should seriously consider giving the Poulan Pro PR48BT a shot.

Note that, to get the best out of the Poulan Pro or any other 2 cycle engines for that matter, you have to use fuels that don’t contain ethanol in them.

And the best way to ensure you don’t use those type of fuel is to get the premixed fuel online or from your local hardware store.

Ethanol attracts water and can actually damage the engine of your blower. If you want to mix your own fuel, try to adhere to a 50 to 1 mix ratio, or refer to your user manual.

Using incorrect ratios of fuel mixtures or using ethanol based fuels can actually damage your engine and may cause the engine not to start.

So, if a manufacturer encourages you to buy premixed fuel for their blower, it’s most likely in your best interest.

7. Greenworks Pro – Best Electric Model

Specifications

Price: Check Amazon

Air Volume: 580 CFM, Air Speed: 145 MPH, Type: Battery-Powered, Voltage: 80V, Weight: 14.64 lbs.

With up to 580 cfm in volume of air and 145 miles per hour of air speed, the Greenworks pro offers another battery powered backpack leaf blower which you can use to make quick work of blowing away leaves both wet and dry from your property without the drawbacks that goes with a gas blower.

The blower uses a brushless motor in combination with the popular Greenworks 80 volts battery system which works together to maximize the runtime of the tool.

With the battery fully charged you can get 20 to 30 minutes of run time from the blower, which is just enough for any home owner to cover a lot of ground with the tool in action.

The Greenworks Pro backpack blower is equipped with nice features to make it easy and comfortable for the end user to control and use the tool.

It comes equipped with a variable speed control which you can use to vary the speed according to the size or type of leaves or debris you’re blowing with it. Wet leaves may require more mph, while dry leaves require less speed, and the variable speed control just comes very handy in such situations.

Also included is the cruise control feature which you can engage to keep the blower running at a particular speed while you work with it.

Finally, an included turbo button comes in handy when you need more power to clear off stubborn leaves and debris off your property.

With the Greenworks Pro, you have a blower which you can start up any time you want just with the press of a button. No pull starts and smelly gas mixtures that comes with gas engines.

8. Schroder SR-6400L Gas-Powered Backpack Leaf Blower

Specifications

Price: Check Amazon

Air Volume: 600 CFM, Air Speed: 220 MPH, Type: Gas-powered, Engine: 2 stroke 63.3cc, Weight: 19.5 lbs

The Schroder SR-6400L is one of the most powerful backpack leaf blowers you can use for your projects, with its 3.7 hp engine delivering air at a rate of 920 CFM and at speeds of 230 MPH.

Air at that volume and speed will move any types of leaves in your yard, whether they’re wet or dry.

Although the engine is a noisy 2 stroke 63.3cc engine, it’s got or the power you need to get the job done.

The harness is well designed and easy to adjust to fit anybody, and the whole thing weighs just 19.5 lbs, which makes it one of the lightest backpack leaf blowers I’ve ever seen.

What We Considered To Compile This List

There are so many models of backpack leaf blowers you can choose from, all coming from different manufacturers. You can’t just pick anyone and go home with it. You’ll likely end up with something not suitable for your project.

Instead, you need to first, learn the basic mechanics of the machine. How it works, the important features it comes with, the type of performance you can expect from it, and then the type of projects you want to carry out with it.

Put all this together, and you’ll be able to choose just the right backpack leaf blower for the projects you have in hand. So, let’s take a closer look at some of these features you should be looking for.

First, you need to know certain term used for describing the specifications of these backpack leaf blowers. They include CFM, MPH, and CC.

So, here are the terms or specs and what they mean.

What is CFM?

CFM is an acronym for cubic feet per minute. The CFM of any type of leaf blower simply means the volume of air that comes out of the nozzle of that blower in one minute when you turn it on.

So, if a backpack leaf blower has a cfm of 250, it simply means it produces 250 cubic feet of air per minute when you turn it on.

The CFM is probably the single most important specification you want to check out for, because it affects how much leaf the blower can move.

You need more air volume to move more leaves. Small air volume moves small amount of leaves. Large air volume moves large amounts of leaves.

So, the more the CFM, the more power that machine has.

What is MPH?

Another important spec you’ll find on all leaf blowers is the MPH. It simply stands for how fast the air is coming out of the blower nozzle.

Now matter how much air volume your backpack leaf blower is pushing out per minute, if it’s not moving it out fast enough, it will still do almost no good.

You want it to blow out a large volume of air, at a very high speed as well. That combination produces a very large wind force that moves any pile of leaves in its part.

To determine the power of a leaf blower, you have to multiply both the CFM times the MPH. That will tell you how powerful the air is, that comes out of the nozzle of any leaf blower. The more the resulting value of that multiplication is, the more powerful the blower is, and the more leaves it will be able to blow or move around.

What is CC?

CC is usually associated with gas leaf blowers and it stands for Cubic Centimeter. The CC of an engine stands for the volume inside the engine block that the piston sweeps through.

Put simply, it can also stand for the size of the engine. A higher cc will definitely result in a larger, heavier, but more powerful engine. Larger CC also means less noise produced.

Now, with those terms out of the way, let’s talk about the features you should look for when choosing a backpack leaf blower.

Power

Like I just mentioned above, you can quickly tell how powerful a leaf blower is by simply multiplying the Air Volume times the Air Speed (CFM x MPH).

The higher the resulting value is, the more power the air from the blower has to move leaves, dirt and debris around. The lower the value is, the less power it has to move leaves, dirt and debris around.

So, if you’re really looking for a powerful backpack leaf blower to tackle some really difficult cleanup projects around your yard or for some commercial project, look for one that has a high value of CFM and MPH.

Noise

Leaf blowers are very noisy when they’re running, with some even producing as much noise as chainsaws. So, if you live in a residential area, you might want to consider the type you choose.

Gas powered units are very noisy. Battery powered ones on the other hand are not as powerful as the most powerful gas-powered units, but they’re more quiet during use.

If you have to go for a gas-powered unit, you can always check the decibel ratings, so you know how much noise it produces.

Gas powered units with 2 stroke engines also produce more noise that ones with 4 stroke engines.

Weight

Backpack weed blowers are usually easier to carry and handle due to the fact that it comes with a harness which allows you to carry the blower on your back, with the weight distributed across your back and shoulders.

That however, does not mean you shouldn’t care about the weight. Even though your back and shoulder bears it, you’ll going to get tired easily if the weight is too much for your back and shoulders.

So, while paying attention to power and noise, also try consider and compare the weights of different blowers to make sure you get the one that’ll be easier for you to work with, especially if you’re working for several hours.

Engine Emissions

This is where you have to choose between a gas powered backpack leaf blower and a battery powered backpack blower.

With a battery powered unit like the Ego Power+ LB6000 listed above, you don’t have to deal with fumes or emissions from a gas engine.

Gas powered units however produce lots of fumes, although some manufacturers like Husqvarna has found ways to minimize the emissions from these engines.

But, if you really want to go green and forget about gas emissions entirely, then you should just go for a battery-powered unit.

Run Time and Fuel Consumption

Let’s face it, buying a gas powered leaf blower means you have to continually buy gas to keep it running. Whereas, you don’t need to spend any money for gas when you get a battery powered model.

So, in the long run, you incur more overhead cost when running a gas powered unit, which you don’t with a battery powered unit.

Run time is another issue you have to face. With a gas powered leaf blower, you don’t worry about run time. As long as there’s gas in the fuel tank, you’re good to go.

With battery powered backpack leaf blowers, the batteries will run out, and you have to wait for it to recharge.

Variable Speed

Some backpack leaf blowers come with a variable speed speed trigger. That means, the more force you apply to the trigger, the higher the speed and volume of the air that comes out through the nozzle. That means you can reduce it or increase it around certain areas using your discretion.

For instance, going full throttle around delicate plants can damage the plants. If your blower has a variable speed, you can go gently around delicate plants in your garden, making sure you don’t cause them any harm.

Maintenance

Gas powered leaf blower usually require more maintenance. If it has a 2 stroke engine, you have to mix up the fuel and oil you’ll pour inside the gas tank correctly in the right proportion, else it the engine will build up more carbon, produce more smoke and eventually, the engine will become difficult to start.

You can buy premixed fuel for your gas powered backpack blowers, but they don’t come cheap.

Battery powered units however require none of that additional maintenance. All you need to do is charge the battery, plug it in, and get blowing.

Type of Application

Depending on the size of your yard or what you want to use it for, you might have to choose between a consumer grade backpack leaf blower and a commercial grade backpack blower.

Talking about consumer grade and commercial grade. I would say any backpack leaf blower producing less than 600 cfm of air can be called consumer grade.

While those that produce above 600 cfm of air can be used fairly comfortably for commercial jobs without any problems.

Also, battery powered are okay for small homes, lawns and yards. But if you’re dealing with a very large yard or area of land, maybe a whole street or park, you can’t go with a battery-powered unit. The battery will run down, and you’ll have to wait several minutes or even an hour to recharge it.

With a gas powered unit, you can cover as much ground as you want, as long as you have enough gas to go.

Ergonomics – Strap Design / Balance

Some backpack leaf blowers come with better harness than others. The type or condition of the harness that comes with your backpack blower will determine how comfortable you are wearing it on your back and working with it.

A good harness should have wide shoulder straps which helps distribute the weight across your shoulders.

A thin shoulder strap concentrates the weight on tiny parts of your shoulder which can cause pain and discomfort in that area.

Some shoulder straps are even ventilated to dissipate any heat or sweat buildup on your back as you work with it. So, you might want to check for this when making your choice.