BLACK+DECKER 40V Cordless Leaf Blower Leaf Vacuum Combo Kit, 120 mph Air Speed, 6-Speed Dial, Built-in Scraper, with Collection Bag, Battery and Charger Included (LSWV36)

I now have three pieces in the Black+Decker "Max" Li-ion series - the string trimmer, the hedge trimmer, and this blower/vac. I love 'em. And the synergy across the set is excellent. It's super convenient to have two (or more) batteries. Keep one on the charger while you're using the other. It takes only a moment to swap them and "bingo" you're back to work with a fresh battery. Li-ion is totally the way to go for household use. It keeps it's charge and it's always ready to go.This blower is a dream. It is so light and convenient to use. Not quite strong enough to blow (or suck) big leaves off the grass or out of the bushes, but an absolute dream on concrete. Perfect for a quick clean up on the driveway or sidewalk. Ideal for cleaning up after using the string trimmer to edge the lawn. Just grab it and go. I like it a lot!Initially I was unimpressed with the vacuum on this tool, but the more I use it, the more it like it. Like the blower, it works best on concrete. Around the pool, it's better for me to vacuum up leaves and debris rather than blow them around. It's very easy to switch between blower and vacuum, no more than 30 seconds once you get the hang of it. Nicely designed.

After a search in our local Lowe's, Home Depot, Ace, etc....I was looking for a leaf blower/vacuum that is MOSTLY made in America. All I'm looking for is a quality product. Cost isn't my thing, although this was on the more expensive side. The unit is small, compact and after charging the battery to full, as indicated on the charging LED, started to shut off after about 20 minutes of use. I purchased to clean my up my Mesquite, and Bougainvillea leaves in my Arizona yard. Two of the lightest leaves known to man kind.First: The Blower function, worked well for these two types of leaves, I would think leaves that are any heavier would be a real PITA. My first thought when turning it on was 'most people fart a stronger wind than this!' My first battery operated yard tool and maybe it's my lack of experience and my expectations were too high. None the less, after blowing my mesquite leaves into a neat area of the yard, I added the Vacuum attachment.Second: The vacuum attachment actually worked pretty well with the light weight leaves I was using it for. This unit is easy to use and very light weight. After vacuuming up the leaves for about 5 minutes, the unit shut down, my first thought is that the bag was getting full and maybe there's an override mechanism built in. I took off the battery, put it back on the charger for 20 minutes, emptied the only half full bag and then re-attached the battery. It fired right up and then after only a few more minutes it shut down again.My apologies to any of my neighbors who may have heard me cuss this unit with a 'wtf' and 'pos'.If I lived in a condo and my patio had a layer of dust, this might do the job, but if you have anything larger than a 10x10 area to clean, try another product,My search goes on. :/

We have a small bricked courtyard that seems to collect more than it's fair share of leaves. We bought this for the light weight and that it is cordless.Out of the box, the assembly was easy and straightforward, and my thinking was that it's design was well thought out and well engineered. And I was correct.It worked very well in vacuuming our courtyard. Only minor issue, offset by two benefits, is the narrow vacuum tube. While some larger leafs got stuck, it was easy to press them into the tube for mulching due to the units light weight. The benefits of the narrow tube are increased suction, and the ability to get into smaller areas.Extremely satisfied with this product.

This product has worked quite well for quick clean up after mowing and edging the yard. I have found the blower to be more useful than the vacuum. The 40 volt (or 36 volt, this is the same unit and battery apparently, just a marketing rebadge) battery is more than sufficient for my yard. I would estimate it gives you about 20-25 minutes of "on" time, so if you turn it off and on as you walk between areas it will last pretty well. I do intend to get another battery, possibly buying another tool in the same system (since the batteries are a majority of the tool cost anyway). It is definitely way more efficient to blow the grass clippings off the sidewalk than sweeping is, cutting down my total yard care time.I just got it mid-summer so I have not had it for a fall leaf season. I don’t see it having the oomph to get through a yard’s worth of fall leaf clean up. I would say this on battery duration and raw vacuum power. The blower function could assist in clearing out mulched beds and getting leaves into a pile, but the vacuum is not powerful enough for bulk pickup. My neighbors have a very large tree that drops leaves about the size of an adult hand (it’s a cottonwood I believe), the vacuum struggles to effectively suck many of these leaves up. Instead I use the vacuum for some minor cleanup around the pool and smaller leaves. During the summer my large dog seems to shed enough hair on a weekly basis that it seems he should be completely bald. He hangs out on the covered back porch a lot creating clumps of hair that clusters around everything. The vacuum works fantastic on this type cleanup, making quick work of ‘sweeping’ the back porch.My one design complaint for this product relates to the blower ‘mode.’ If you look at the product photos for this setup the intake for the fan is on the left side of the unit. This intake actually pops off and is where the vacuum tubing connects. In all the product pictures the users are enjoying nice cool fall weather while cleaning leaves so they are wearing jeans. I am in Texas where right now, in August, mid 90’s are considered a ‘cold front’ I do my yard work all summer in gym shorts or similar. I also happen to be right-handed. The intake is perfectly positioned to suck your loose shorts up against it, blocking airflow and requiring you to tug the unit away. The grate over the intake prevents anything from happening, but it is an annoyance requiring you to hold the blower out to the side or front of your body and to be careful when swinging it back and forth. I don’t think there is a way to fix this as on the opposite side of the unit the motor body sticks out 4”-5.” My suggestion is that perhaps the removable cover could be a 90 degree directional port pointing forward or backward or a swivel that lets the user decide.Overall I am very happy with the usability of this product, its light weight, and does what I need. For quick yard cleanup work the lack of a cord is very convenient. If you live amongst a large number of trees and need to regularly pick up leaves you would likely be better off with a corded model.