my first autumn as a homeowner in Pennsylvania and raking the old fashioned way doesn't cut it. any of you have a leaf blower recommendations?

I have owned 2 crafstman gas and was unhappy with the overall performance. My wife bought me a mid grade Echo gas powered a 2 years ago from Home Depot and I have been completely satisfied with it.

Backpack blower? Really? Unless you are blowing for a living that is way overkill.

Craftsman doesn't make anything good powered by gasoline.

For gas, stay away from Homelite. I have one, and hate it. 25% of the quality of my Echo trimmer.

But unless the space is large, I'd buy electric. Cheaper to buy, no fuel to buy and store, no oil.

I've got an Echo mid grade...probably ~$200 and its worked great for 3 years

After replacing various brands from HD every couple of years for a while, this year I bought the base model Stihl (think it was around 150 - 175.) WOW what a completely different machine. Cannot comment on longevity yet, but qualitywise so far it is worlds different.

Stihl

Bought a backpack blower last year-husqvarna- and it came broken-I took that as a sign and we got a stihl and no problems.

Don't know if they still make them, but I have a Paramount electric, 1 hp that I've had for over 25 years and it's still going strong.

Echo.

Stihl or echo hand held mid level

Homelite sucks. They are cheaper, but you get what you pay for. Proud Homelite owner here: lawnmower (decent), weedeater (sucks), leaf blower (suck? blows??)

> > Backpack blower? Really? Unless you are blowing for a living that is way overkill. <<

Strongly disagree. I lugged a Sears one around for years and it got heavier, it seemed, with every use. Admittedly the Echos are lighter than the one I had and I probably used it a lot every time I mowed, but the backpack convenience and stronger output is well worth the extra money. Plus, if he decides to stop mowing (like I have) the backpack will hold more value than the handheld. I also believe the backpacks are better built but I don't have anything to back that up with.

I wouldn't even buy a gas handheld. If the job is small enough for a handheld, get a cordless electric one.

just mow the leaves for mulch...

Stihl BG155 or better. Period.

Stihl br420 or redmax ebz7500 http://www.redmax.com/products/blowers/ebz7500/

I am looking to get a new blower as well. Currently I have a Ryobi battery powered one but it drains the battery pretty fast.

I am looking at gas blowers, but also interested in blower/vacs. Anyone have any experience with them?

I own a landscape company and we run stihl & redmax backpack blowers 50+ hrs/wk. Great equipment

Here's a stihl homeowner model hand held
http://www.stihlusa.com/products/blowers-and-shredder-vacs/homeowner-blowers/bg55/

as my Mom always says: "you get what you paid for"

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just mow the leaves for mulch...

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I do this now.