CRAFTSMAN 3-in-1 Leaf Blower, Leaf Vacuum and Mulcher, Up to 260 MPH, 12 Amp, Corded Electric (CMEBL7000)

We bought two of these because one of us was using a blower and the other was stuck using a rake. The blower is so much faster than raking. I always use hearing protection when operating equipment so I didn't notice if this was more or less noisy than the previous Toro blower we had. The vacuum worked well to suck leaves out of landscaping that had needles or holly leaves. I was worried about picking up small stones when sucking leaves with the vacuum, but so far no problem. I'm careful to not get too close to the gravel and rocks. One thing that others complained about was that the unit stopped working. When you switch between vacuum and blowing, it is a little difficult to twist the vacuum tube attachment to get it open and also to twist the tube on FAR ENOUGH until it clicks so that the safety switches are engaged. I'm guessing that those that had trouble with the unit stopping working just didn't turn the attachment far enough. I have to use two hands to twist it enough. I also was surprised that the smallest tube didn't seem to increase the blowing power at all. I ended up not using it.I attached some tongue and groove flooring to the garage wall and hang the blowers with the built-in hangers in the groove.

Blower worked great two times. Very powerful. Made the mistake of using vacuum attachment within 5 minutes motor made a horrible noise with a really small stick sucked up. It never started again. Three uses in 4 months this is cheap plastic junk.

This thing sucks more than my first retail job and mulches nicely too. (in a good way)I was able to clean up my yard in just a few hours, in the wind, without fighting it at all.Blowing leaves was just not an option and spending $900 on a leaf vacuum was also not an option.This thing is like a Shop-Vac on steroids. It has amazing sucking power and can suck up leaves from 5-6 inches no problem, but if you get it down low (3-4 inches), it's practically a street sweeper at that point and you can pick up even ground up leaf bits, clean out cracks, etc. The only downside is the backpack is not the most comfortable and it ends up pulling on your left side armpit a fair bit. If you let the blower dangle from your right hand, using the front grip, it will help you reduce this strain, but your right arm gets tired quicker. The disassembly was a breeze and attaching the sucking attachment was simple. Putting it back together to be a blower.. not so much. The attachment has to go back in almost backwards to clip in first, then can be closed down. The instructions attached to the blower were made on windows 3.1 paint, and the images are all of 256 x 256 pixels; all while the craftsman logo is printed in 600dpi.. Luckily the user manual has much better instructions and eventually helped me figure this out. This sucks really well, so be careful around mulch as it will pull it up and cause a ruckus (possibly damaging the blades and engine) so be careful and if you do turn it off immediately so as not to break it.Overall, well designed, has lots of good hand holds for ergonomics and does a great job of blowing and mulching. All attachments were long enough for a taller man to use and everything including the bag and zipper, feel like it's quality built.My only suggestions to the mfg would be to improve the backpack by making it more comfortable (better straps / adjustments) and having the option to switch from left to right side to reduce singe side strain (zipper and everything else was incredible) and charge maybe $5-10 more. If not allowing for adjusting of sides, perhaps make the hose 5-10 inches longer to allow for a more comfortable center body position and I think this may even reduce the stress on the left side from pulling.

I used this unit only for the vacuum function, and can't comment on the blower. It has very good suction and the bag was quite easy to empty. For the price, I was thrilled. Unfortunately, after less than an hour of use, it died unexpectedly. I had shut it off to empty maybe the fifth bag I had collected, and the motor would not turn back on. There was no evidence that anything had was caught in the impeller (it spun easily when I checked it), and there had been no indication of strain on the motor or overheating. That said, the unit is light and easily maneuvered. It is fairly loud, and hearing protection is advisable. My only other comment is that the chute is fairly short. This unit may be a backache waiting to happen for susceptible individuals over perhaps 5' 8" tall. The main reason to purchase one of these blower/vacs, to my way of thinking, is for removing leaves from shrub beds (eg. foundation plantings). This is not the kind of tool that makes sense for removing leaves from a large lawn (it would be tedious), though it would work well for a tiny yard, especially in a more urban or dense suburban situation where there is no room for mulching and the shredding feature of the blower/vac will reduce the volume of discarded leaves. I purchased this blower/vac to replace a Black and Decker blower/vac that suffered a similar fate. I had only purchased it a year or so ago and this year it would not switch on. The Black and Decker unit was a bit more expensive and probably slightly better overall, but this Craftsman, given the price differential, may be a better value proposition (especially if you are not tall). FWIW, I subsequently purchased a Toro for $99 at a big box store (I needed it right away). The Toro is much heavier, seemed more solid, emptied easily, but it clogged repeatedly and will be going back to the store. Given my bad luck with the B&D and Craftsman units, I think my next move will be to buy another B&D blower/vac and purchase the 3-year warranty (which I would normally never do).