the echo unit is very good

I can second the Echo brand. My dad and I both have their hand-held blowers (his has the additional vacuum option). Mine is is about 13 years old and his is at least 15 years old, and they both run like new with zero fiddling. And unlike cheaper brands, if they ever do break they can be repaired.

If you really need the vacuum function, I'm not sure which other premium brands have that added feature. But there are plenty of high-end brands that make great equipment. I have a Red Max string trimmer that has completely impressed me so far - their engines are just fantastic. There's Shindaiwa, Tanaka, Stihl, Husqvarna, and Robin/Makita (same machines). In fact, the Robin is a light 4-stroke machine and, based on my friend's Robin 4-stroke trimmer, should be a winner. I'm sure I left some out.

I'm just guessing that the Sears blower you asked about is powered by the Briggs and Stratton 4-cycle. That engine has not earned raves here, although personally I don't know anything about it. FWIW, I think on blowers especially the vast majority of noise at full throttle comes from the impeller and air movement rather than the engine. So I'm not sure that 4-cycles gain you anything other than fuel economy. My Red Max trimmer is a 2-cycle without even a catalytic converter (like many other newer 2-cycles) and it's still well within my sensitive ears' noise tolerance.

The new small, lightweight 4-cycles seem to be good, but with the lean-running 2-cycles with synthetic oil, smoking and fouling is reduced. Fuel economy is not usually an issue for residential use, as a 2-gal can of mix will usually serve your 2-cycle equipment for a year. I'm interested in one of these units too. My blower now is a 13-yr old Ryobi trimmer with the 'Quick-Link' (or whatever they call it) interchangable heads. This thing has been great and the blower head really works, but I'd like to have the vacuum/bag deal for getting leaves out of juniper beds, etc. This would be for very intermittent use, so I don't need a top model.
BTW, the next time you have to tighten up the jug on the Ryobi, clean everything up with brake cleaner to get all oil off the bolts and threads, then use the appropriate Loc-Tite. I don't think it will come loose again. I have the same 31cc engine on mine, and realized that those bolts could be a trouble spot, but have never found them to be loose. Maybe they used a thread-locking compound on mine but didn't on yours.

I have about 1/2 acre of lawn on hilly terrain. It is surrounded by trees. I have a RedMax 8001 backpack blower. It is two-stroke (you need to mix oil into the fuel). This will be my third season with the blower and so far so good. Lots of power. I bought it from a lawn mower shop because it was not available from Home Depot / Lowes. Many commercial Landscape / lawn mowing services use this one in my area.

Best, Mike.

I have an Echo ES-210 Shred-N-Vac that I like pretty well. As a blower it is effective, as it is in vac mode. The only thing I can think of as a complaint in vac mode is that it will occasionally get things stuck in the impeller. In my case it is almost always sweetgum tree balls that will jam it. Other than that, (which might happen with other brands as well) I would highly recommend it.

Thanks guys I appreciate your comments. I really want something well made and don't mind the price if it will hold up. QR

If you have a Stihl dealer nearby, at least go check them out.

I've used Stihl products commercially as well as residentially with few regrets. Look at the BG line of blowers at the Stihl dealer. I have a BG 65D blower thats light starts easilly and fairlly quiet with lots of power.
But like many here have said the Echo line is also good.
Neal

I would check out the stihl sh 55 and sh 85 d. Go to stihlusa.com for a local dealer. I have the sh 85 d and it is set up for what you are looking for. It works great shreds till the bag is full. 2 stroke strong power band. A strap for shoulder and rubber handle grips. Commercial equipment lasts years. Good luck

ths sthil bg 85 is very diff to start but has the most power by far than any other hand blower. i havnt used it as a vac. every one i know who has them say they can be diff to start

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I have first-hand knowledge of that. My good friend got one and we both had problems starting it on more than one occasion. I am usually pretty good at coaxing even cranky 2-cycles to start, but this one took forever. We literally could have swept the debris off his sidewalks and street by the time we got it started. I advised him to take it back under warrenty, but I don't think he ever did.

unfort this is true. on the comm. message board i hang on . every comm user who posted about the bg85 said the same thing. i sprang for one of those fancy $$$ e-fire plugs hoping it would help-it dosnt. far and away the strongest once started

Thanks guys for all the advice------it was what I needed to make a decision. I ordered an Echo ES-230 which is a commercial version of the harry homeowner model. It makes slightly more cfms and has more fuel capacity than the HH model( another sticking point of my Ryobi-it was always running out of gas).
Thanks again,will give a report soon.
BTW, the Snapper I rebuilt in winter runs great now!
QR