Greenworks 40V (185 MPH / 340 CFM) Cordless Brushless Leaf Blower/Vacuum with Bag, Battery-Powered, Ergonomic Design for Efficient Leaf & Grass Clipping Cleanup, Battery and Charger not included

To be honest, I did not buy this as a Vac. Most Vacs without a metal impeller are useless for leaves or debris. For that, I've purchased the Worx electric corded unit because I know from experience that cordless Vacs are simply useless. It requires too much torque. You will be greatly frustrated by them.And, in my experience, most cordless Blowers are useless, too - for the same reason: torque. I've tried several, and, most recently, the Black & Decker version. Just not powerful enough. They do not run very long, and do not have enough wind-force to be effective.This GreenWorks unit went on sale around Christmas and 40V is the size of battery that has been the real secret in other cordless tools I've tried. Of course, I could not really test this one much until Spring 2014 came and grass cutting started in all its glory. And I'm happy to report: This unit is the real deal!I live in an older house near Washington, DC that has several large oak trees, and those trees are constantly dropping small limbs and twigs and acorn nuts throughout the season. I would not use this for clearing a yard of leaves as none of the cordless Blowers have enough run-time to do that type of job. My main purpose for buying this was to have a quicker tidy-upper without having to drag out my big gas-powered Echo Backpack Blower. It will blow things around extremely well, but it's a pain for smaller jobs. I just wanted something to blow debris off my walk-around porch, driveway, and sidewalks. Mostly after mowing. Leaves that are dry are no real problem. Moist grass, bits of gravel, and twigs don't budge with cheaper, less-powerful Blowers.My corner lot is large for the neighborhood. I have 200-ft of driveway, 250-ft of sidewalk and entry walkways, and 80-ft of covered walk-around porch to clean off. One 40V Battery in this unit, set on Full Blast, will clean it ALL -- plus blow off a small patio near my shed. It does not blow anything across the yard like the Echo does, but it cleans everything off nicely!First, you must understand there are several settings on this unit. There are two Power Levels for the Battery to add a punch of torque, and a rolling thumb-wheel offering 5 Blower-force Levels. Setting the Blower-force to the top level of 5, then clicking the highest-level for the Battery will eat up most batteries on other devices. This is the first one that gave me about 25 minutes of run-time, and did not slow down or miss a beat the entire time. That's nearly 600 linear feet of cleaning capacity on HIGH! Unheard of.Mind you, you can't dilly-dally on such a venture. But I did not have to run around the property, either. On the first level of Battery use, it will do the same cleaning -- just not as strongly, nor as quick -- and I have about 1/3rd battery juice left, afterwards. I would say a real test is created by my squirrels. They love to sit on my half-round porch rugs and eat acorns and my flower bulbs! The debris they leave gets into the nooks and crannies in those rugs. Setting 1 on the Battery Level will not completely clean these out. Setting 2 (the highest), WILL. In fact, setting 2 does nearly as good a job on the joints in the sidewalk -- blowing out debris pretty neatly.My advice is to look for Lithium-Ion devices whenever buying battery-powered hand tools because you can charge them and the charge does not dissipate while they are sitting and waiting for your next foray into the Land of Chores. 40V for yard tools (weed whackers, trimmers for bushes, blowers, etc.) is the MINIMUM you should buy. Electric Corded models are the next-best (but I hate wrangling those cords, and always cut them), and the Gas-Powered units are the best -- if you don't mind the mess and weight. You really can't keep the gas-powered units in an apartment or house, however -- so Lithium Ion is ideal for less mess, and easy storage.I really like the GreenWorks line, so far. I carefully evaluated what was on sale, which ones came with a battery, and bought most as so-called Used items from Amazon Warehouse Deals -- because you get some great prices and value. Most of those simply have damaged packaging or are customer returns. Good luck! This is one of the best cordless Blowers on the market.

So I ordered this tool having read all the reviews, many of which declare the vacuum to be a failure... It's not. However, the first time out with this machine I blew through an entire 4.0ah battery trying to get through the learning curve. I'll spare you the agony and frustration and give you the scoop:1) Do not try to vacuum wet leaves. Even "merely damp" is questionable and not advised, if the majority of your leaves are "merely damp". Moisture of any kind will cause the leaves to cling to the sides of tube and soon start a clog that will force you to turn off the machine to clear. They usually will clog the big tube; however, they also do not mulch down very well and may eventually cause a blockage in the small outlet that expels into the bag. There is a trick to knowing which end is the problem, I'll explain that one further down ;)2) Do not try to vacuum up more than one layer of leaves in one swoop. You can get away with some "slightly damp" leaves if they are interspersed with dry leaves as long as you only suck up one layer at a time. But even if all the leaves are dry you should be careful to only skim along and suck them up in thin layers, even if you're tackling a deep pile. As long as you do that, no jams and you can continue truckin' right along.3) Leaves that are yellow or green (and therefore still have some sap/moisture in them) will not mulch down as finely as leaves that are brown and dried out; if they are still "juicy" enough they may build up in the outlet to the bag and eventually cause a clog.4) Speaking of the bag, be careful reaching into it--there is some kind of stiff cord with a wire end and the end is curved into a vicious little hook shape. No idea why it's there or designed that way, but it is possible to hurt yourself if you stick your hand blindly into the bag and start digging around vigorously. Know that it is there (take a look for yourself) and handle the bag (emptying, etc.) accordingly.5) When in vac mode, you are effectively holding the machine reversed and it's surprisingly easy to bump your speed dial. Remember to check that if it seems like you are suddenly losing a bit of power--you might have accidentally lowered the speed! And, you do NOT need to have it on full speed (sucking max battery power) to get the leaves to vacuum up. Once I figured out the above rules, I spent most of my time on about speed 4 (from 1-6), vacuuming only (not blowing) and got a good 40 minutes or so on a 4.0ah battery--about the same time I get using that same size battery in my mower.6) No matter how you try to arrange that bag, it's going to be uncomfortable (if not in the first 5 minutes...then absolutely giving you a backache by the time your battery runs out!). Be sure that uncomfortable arrangement includes keeping the bag in a position where it is not blocking the outlet from the blower--the mulched leaves need to be able to freely expel from the blower unit into the bag and it is possible to encourage a clog if you let the bag bind against that outlet chute as you move around.7) The bag is well constructed--I filled and emptied it many times over two days (with more leaves to go...*sigh*…) and saw no signs of tearing yet. I did discover that detaching the bag was very easy...when the machine had not yet been used. Once it gets even a tiny amount of dust or mud or--? on it from actual use, I had a heck of a time getting it back off--it no longer wanted to slide so nicely requiring a fair amount of yanking (while somehow also holding down the release button keeping it latched in tight). Argh.8) So...how can you tell if it's the big sucking tube that's clogged, or the outlet into the bag? Whelp. When you turn it on it should sound like, well, a vacuum. This includes that familiar echoing roar that a vacuum has. If that slight echoing noise flattens to a regular blower noise, you are getting a clog. When the leaves just stop getting sucked up, you are fully clogged inside the big tube. You aren't going to be able to shake it out...you need to turn of the power, tip the unit upside down so you can reach inside of the big tube, and then pull the mass clogging it back out. If instead you notice the sound flatten but leaves are actually seem to be blowing *away* from the mouth of the big tube, as if it has switched into blower-mode...that is a clog in the outlet into the bag. You'll need to turn off the power, detach the bag and dig out the blockage. Make sure you can clearly see through to the impeller inside--only pulling part of it out usually doesn't work. A stick comes in handy to help scoop it out. Oh, and if you hear a high-pitched buzzing noise on top of the normal vacuum noise...it's probably a twig or leaf stem that is caught up in the impeller...usually these work themselves out as you continue vacuuming, although it may take a few minutes.9) Using this as a blower? You'll get WAY more air if you leave out that extra smaller nozzle piece. I initially put it in thinking it would be needed (or at least helpful) to get into some narrow areas in my yard (like behind the air conditioner unit)....plus I knew my leaves were wet and thought it might give more leverage in moving the ones directly on the ground (we had a wind storm, which knocked a lot of leaves off trees...followed immediately by a rainstorm that then drenched them all. Of course!). But ultimately, the heavier and stronger airflow using the main blower tube and leaving the extension *out* was more effective. I am not experienced in using a blower, though, so YMMV.For reference, the leaves I am faced with are: maple (from a tree next to my house that is actually *bigger* than the house--!!), several plum trees, a chestnut tree and two box elder trees (some are mine, some are neighbors' & growing right on property line). Oh, and a small amount of apple tree leaves. I'm sure there are assorted others in lesser amounts, from other trees in the 'hood (every house on the block has at least one or two trees...all deciduous, naturally). Basically, I'm swimming in leaves, both front & back.FWIW, using my (Greenworks cordless, heh) mulching mower on the leaves on the lawn yielded a much finer mulching of those leaves. That was also faster than vacuuming them. But vacuuming is (I think?) a bit easier than trying to rake all those awkward spots--in the woodchip mulching (I have several areas of it), places where tree roots break through the soil and stick out and catch the rake tines, the sidewalks and driveways, places where the grass needs re-planting and is more clumps and bumps (so the leaves settle between them and the mower doesn't fully get them), etc. And the moderate piles formed of mulched/mangled leaves I emptied from the bag after vacuuming is less overwhelming than the huge piles I had (and then bagged) last year after raking. So...I think it's a win? But it can get pretty dirty. And it's still quite a bit of work. When I finally win a lottery...I'm hiring a yard service!! ;)