Greenworks 40V Brushless Cordless Blower/Vacuum

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.