The best cordless leaf blower is a fantastic garden tool to help you clear unsightly debris from your outside spaces. While as the name might suggest, such blowers are great for shifting leaves, they offer many other uses around your home and garden.
Leaf blowers can help you to clear paths and cars of snow, can help gather hedge trimmings and grass cuttings - saving you a boring raking job - and can give the floor of your garage, greenhouse, or garden shed a thorough dusting. Petrol-powered leaf blowers are arguably more effective and can run for longer, but they are generally very noisy and smelly - not something you need to worry about if you go down the cordless route.
Best cordless leaf blowers at a glance:
• Best overall cordless leaf blower: Einhell Power X-Change 18V Cordless Leaf Blower - View on Amazon UK
• Best slimline cordless leaf blower: Ryobi OBL1820S ONE+ Cordless Blower - View on Amazon UK
• Best heavy-duty cordless leaf blower: Bosch Home and Garden Cordless AdvancedLeafBlower - View on Amazon UK
While there are compromises to be made with runtime, going for a convenient cordless option gives you the freedom to enjoy full manoeuvrability of your leaf blower, meaning you don't have to fuss about getting an extension cable out for power, or worry about the cord getting caught in your bushes. We've rounded up our pick of the best so you can get to work cleaning your garden as quickly as possible.
Best cordless leaf blower
Best overall cordless leaf blower
Einhell/AmazonEinhell's popular leaf blower is ideal for anyone who has bought into the brand's Power X-Change system as its battery is compatible with all Einhell's garden tools. This is lightweight at less than two kilograms but offers a blowing speed of up to 210 km/h. That speed can be adjusted via the electronic speed control. This blower boasts soft grip areas on the handle, making it more comfortable to hold and control.
Customer review: "Perfect for my small garden and very easy to use: lightweight yet effective. Battery charges quickly and gives me more than enough time to blow the driveway and patio of my semi detached house."
Pros
- Compatible with Einhell's Power X-Change system
- Electronic speed control
Cons
- Only one nozzle supplied
Best slimline cordless leaf blower
Ryobi/AmazonRyobi's cordless leaf blower is another option that's sold battery-free, part of the brand's 18V ONE+ range, so if you already have one of its power pack set-ups, you're good to go. Despite its lightweight design, this blower's high-speed nozzle can offer speeds of up to 245km/h. Ryobi recommends this option for hard surface sweeping, so for clearing debris from the likes of paths, driveways, decks, and patios.
Customer review: "Excellent for moving leaves and general tidy-up. Has saved a lot of time this autumn. Very powerful and batteries seem to last for a couple of uses before needing recharged. Lightweight and easy to store and was a great price. Recommended item!"
Pros
- Airflow of 245km/h
- Only 1.6 kilograms
Cons
- Battery sold separately
Best cordless leaf blower for battery life
BHY/AmazonThe BHY 320 cordless leaf blower offers six different speed settings, making it a good option if you want to carry out different tasks. The top speed might be the ideal choice for moving leaves, while lower speeds could help with clearing cobwebs and making short work of cleaning up dusty messes. This comes complete with a 5.0Ah battery and charger which can offer up to 25 minutes runtime on the highest speed setting and as much as three hours on lower settings.
Customer review: "This blower is well worth the money. It is powerful and the battery life is good. Very easy to assemble. It is surprisingly quiet, no need for hearing protection. A good product."
Pros
- Good battery life
- Two section nozzle
Cons
- Up to three hours charge time
Best heavy-duty cordless leaf blower
Bosch/AmazonFor anyone who has a large garden, the Bosch AdvancedLeafBlower might be the choice to opt for. Bosch promises this powerful blower will shift stubborn leaves and grass cuttings even if you're working on uneven surfaces. There's a variable speed dial to control the airflow. If used at lower speeds, with one of Bosch's 36V batteries, you could see up to 75 minutes of runtime.
Customer review: "Does a fantastic job, light with three speeds, saves so much time. No more raking through flowerbeds, just blow the leaves out."
Pros
- Brushless motor
- Well balanced design
Cons
- Not lightweight
Best lightweight cordless leaf blower
Vonhaus/AmazonIdeal for occasional use is VonHaus' cordless leaf blower. This affordable option will easily clear your drive or patio of dry leaves with its 12-minute runtime. This is lightweight and comfortable to use thanks to its ergonomic, soft grip handle. The nozzle is detachable, so once you've completed your chores, this can be stored away in a neat, space-saving way.
Customer review: "Lightweight and portability make this easy to use for my wife and myself. Easy to pop in cupboard when not in use. Recommended."
Pros
- Soft grip handle
- Removable nozzle
Cons
- Only 12-minute runtime
Best budget cordless leaf blower
Werktough/AmazonWerktough's cordless leaf blower is a pocket-friendly option that's suited to lighter garden tasks. It's lightweight and manoeuvrable meaning it may suit those with limited upper body strength. There is a 3.0Ah battery and charger included, but if you want to use this for a considerable amount of time you may want to consider purchasing a second battery.
Customer review: "Perfect tool. Lightweight and powerful. Takes leaves off of wet grass and is very easy to use. Very good value. I have a medium garden and it works extremely well."
Pros
- Extension nozzle supplied
- Quiet operation
Cons
- Only 180km/h airflow
Best cordless leaf blower for usability
bigzzia/AmazonFor anyone who considers that garden power tools can be a bit daunting, do note that this bigzzia cordless leaf blower is easily controlled by a single switch. The power options work on a toggle basis, and you can simply select between low and high. Low gives you enough power to shift dust and light debris, while high brings the force to move leaves and snow. This comes with two fast-charge batteries.
Customer review: "Very light and quite powerful. Surprisingly it works best without the front tapered funnel. Moved damp leaves. It is very light and easy to use. The battery lasted 20 minutes on full power while clearing my drive and still working after that."
Pros
- Two batteries included
- Single switch operation
Cons
- Limited battery life
How to choose a cordless leaf blower
Weight - How heavy your leaf blower is will make a difference to how easy you find manoeuvring it. If you don't have a lot of upper body strength you may want to consider more lightweight options that will be easier to handle.
Power - If you're only planning on moving dry leaves, any of these blowers should suffice. If you need a tool that can shift wet leaves and other debris like grass cuttings, go for a model that offers a high airflow.
Battery life - The compromise with cordless leaf blowers is that you can generally only use them for short periods as the portable batteries will soon wear down. As well as battery runtime, look at how long the recharge time is.
Size - Leaf blowers can be chunky bits of kit to find storage space for. Most of the cordless leaf blowers we've featured have removeable nozzles which make for more simple storage.
Are cordless leaf blowers powerful enough?
Cordless leaf blowers are not as powerful as petrol-fuelled versions and have less runtime. However, if you just want to clear garden debris from your patio, deck, paths, lawn, or driveway a cordless option should be more than capable of doing so.
What should I do with my fallen leaves?
The obvious option for most households is to put leaf debris into garden waste recycling, but if you are a savvy gardener you can turn those fallen leaves into a useful material - leaf mould.
How do I make leaf mould?
Making leaf mould is a very simple process. Once you've gathered your leaves, shred them as well as possible, then place them in a bag. Make air holes in the bag and add some water - this helps the breaking down process. Depending on the type of leaves you've got, you might need to leave them for up to two years before they become useable leaf mould.
What kind of leaves make the best leaf mould?
Native deciduous trees produce the best leaf mould, so if you have leaves from ash, oak, birch, or beech trees you can look forward to some good quality leaf mould. Evergreen leaves can take a lot longer to break down.
How do I use leaf mould?
You can dig leaf mould through your flower beds or vegetable patches, simply spread it as a kind of garden mulch, or use it as a rich potting mix for seeds.
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Amy-Mae Turner is a Commerce Content Writer for Modern Gardens, Yours, Take A Break Pets, and A Modern Kitchen. When she's not pottering in the garden or mucking around in the kitchen, she can be found having doggy cuddles with her two beloved cockapoochis.