Never Take A Knife To A Gun Fight

The last thing my leaves ever saw.

Leaves. In my yard. Everydamnwhere.

To make matters worse, rain was bearing down on my position from the West. Such a tempest was sure to whip the unruly fronds that littered my property into an unrecoverable mess. Thus, I made the fatal mistake of setting out with only my two bare hands and a rake that I’m pretty sure was manufactured sometime before I was born. As you can imagine, it took hours of arduous effort to bring that amorphous allergic amalgam under control. Even at that, the leaves were merely contained; they are corralled in the back corner of my yard into a mass of approximately 576 cubic feet (yes, I calculated it) and threatening a jailbreak at any moment.

After this traumatic episode, I equipped myself with the proper armament for this annual chore. One could do much worse than the Stihl SH 86 C-E Shredder Vacuum Blower. If you’ve never had the pleasure of wielding a Stihl power tool, let me tell you that Stihl is a purveyor of fine-tuned beastly contraptions.

Of course, they offer a full line of both handheld and backpack blowers, but I’d choose the SH 86 C-E for its ability to vacuum and destroy those airborne invaders that find residency on my lawn, roof, and driveway.

The Stihl SH 86 C-E boasts a 14 to 1 mulching ratio, perfect for significantly reducing the size of my leaf collection (repeat: 576 cubic feet). Throw in the fact that it easily converts to a handheld blower generating up to 190 mph of air velocity, and you’ve got yourself a very versatile wingman in the war on yard waste. Take it from me; you don’t want to go it alone.

Cost: $270

Also See: Leatherman Genuis Landscape Multi-Tool | Garlick Saw Company Lynx Rip Saw