The one thing that you wonder why you didn't buy sooner?

WinterDeere · Oct 24, 2023

two_bit_score said:
Im thinking the same way. Ive been looking at getting a new mower and possibly a vac collector, mainly for leaves. I bought the Stihl 700 backpack blower and love that thing but I know something like you have or the billy goat my BIL has would be more powerful. One thing I like about some of the vacs is the ability to use the hose by hand and suck up the leaves along curbs and in bushes, as well as discharge. So, I'm still studying. Also I like the new Stand On mowers and they can't acomadate any attachments like that.

I did the backpack thing one season, thinking I could get away with one tool for everything, but it didn't work for me. Too bulky to get in and around gardens, up against the house, etc. But too wimpy to blow leaves across our large yard, which can get pretty deep with them. My solution was the hand held + walk behind duo, described previously.

As to comparison between backpack and walk-behind, there's really no comparison! Most backpack blowers are 800-900 CFM, whereas walk-behinds are 2000 - 3000 CFM, literally 3x higher.

Careful with kids and pets if you get a walk behind. My son thought it would be fun to run in front of it while I was blowing leaves one day, and it blew his feet out from under him when he jumped toward the leaf pile. I also accidentally blew a dog clean off its feet, when it ran in front of me while blowing. Now they stay indoors when I'm using the machine near the house.

ArlyA · Oct 24, 2023

WinterDeere said:
I did the backpack thing one season, thinking I could get away with one tool for everything, but it didn't work for me. Too bulky to get in and around gardens, up against the house, etc. But too wimpy to blow leaves across our large yard, which can get pretty deep with them. My solution was the hand held + walk behind duo, described previously.

As to comparison between backpack and walk-behind, there's really no comparison! Most backpack blowers are 800-900 CFM, whereas walk-behinds are 2000 - 3000 CFM, literally 3x higher.

Careful with kids and pets if you get a walk behind. My son thought it would be fun to run in front of it while I was blowing leaves one day, and it blew his feet out from under him when he jumped toward the leaf pile. I also accidentally blew a dog clean off its feet, when it ran in front of me while blowing. Now they stay indoors when I'm using the machine near the house.

Ya but we sure couldn't get down trails we do with a wheeled machine. When you need to blow left and right, how do you do that with that?

tradosaurus · Oct 24, 2023

WinterDeere said:
I did the backpack thing one season, thinking I could get away with one tool for everything, but it didn't work for me. Too bulky to get in and around gardens, up against the house, etc. But too wimpy to blow leaves across our large yard, which can get pretty deep with them. My solution was the hand held + walk behind duo, described previously.

As to comparison between backpack and walk-behind, there's really no comparison! Most backpack blowers are 800-900 CFM, whereas walk-behinds are 2000 - 3000 CFM, literally 3x higher.

Careful with kids and pets if you get a walk behind. My son thought it would be fun to run in front of it while I was blowing leaves one day, and it blew his feet out from under him when he jumped toward the leaf pile. I also accidentally blew a dog clean off its feet, when it ran in front of me while blowing. Now they stay indoors when I'm using the machine near the house.

Sounds like the walk behind blower would be great for large yards. But I can get places with the backpack blower that I couldn't get with a push behind. I only need to get the leaves away from the house so I can use the zero turn with mulching kit.

Also if had double the CFM of my backpack blower I would be blowing mulch from bushes near the house or pea gravel from the walk path.

I have a quite a bit leaves to blow around my house but stay on top of it from the time they start dropping until the trees are bare. Then I mulch the leaves with the mower.
If I wait too long it's much harder to blow the leaves away from the house and from certain areas and much harder to mulch.

kenmbz · Oct 24, 2023

ArlyA said:
Ya but we sure couldn't get down trails we do with a wheeled machine. When you need to blow left and right, how do you do that with that?

They have a directional chute , front or side, but only one side.
I walk forward to push and then backwards to keep same direction

Works great for long lanes and strips of land.

Hand held gas or battery for around the house area.

I also have a lawn sweeper for some areas to get some mulching piles for later use

ArlyA · Oct 24, 2023

tradosaurus said:
Sounds like the walk behind blower would be great for large yards. But I can get places with the backpack blower that I couldn't get with a push behind. I only need to get the leaves away from the house so I can use the zero turn with mulching kit.

Also if had double the CFM of my backpack blower I would be blowing mulch from bushes near the house or pea gravel from the walk path.

I have a quite a bit leaves to blow around my house but stay on top of it from the time they start dropping until the trees are bare. Then I mulch the leaves with the mower.
If I wait too long it's much harder to blow the leaves away from the house and from certain areas and much harder to mulch.

Our 800 magnum is throwing some gravel. More cfm = more gravel?

tradosaurus · Oct 24, 2023

ArlyA said:
Our 800 magnum is throwing some gravel. More cfm = more gravel?

I stand back with the back pack blower and elevate the nozzle until only leaves are blowing and not the gravel. Hard to do that with a push blower.

WinterDeere · Oct 24, 2023

ArlyA said:
Ya but we sure couldn't get down trails we do with a wheeled machine. When you need to blow left and right, how do you do that with that?

Good point. What works best for one guy, is surely not best for everyone! It's good to have choices, and even better to have these discussions, for the benefit of others just now debating their options for a new purchase.

The walk-behind has a chute that can be toggled from side outlet to front outlet, and I use that for clearing the 150 ft long x 10 ft wide aisles in my wood processing area. It could work for trails but the backpack is almost surely more optimal for walking long trails, than any walk-behind.

tradosaurus said:
...if had double the CFM of my backpack blower I would be blowing mulch from bushes near the house or pea gravel from the walk path.

I blow my driveway off after each mowing, usually using the walk behind. There are three large mulched gardens bordering the parking area by our garage, and another pair straddling the end of the driveway out at the street. I have to throttle the thing down just shy of idle when I get to those areas. It gets the job done, but it wouldn't be as good of a "this is my only blower" tool.

If you go with a walk behind, you're definitely going to want to pair it with a handheld for garden work. The advantage of the backpack is that it can do almost everything, albeit a lot less quickly than the walk-behind.