After a full cleanup using the Backpack Blower, some thoughts

Hey all,

Well, I did my first cleanup of my yard and just wanted to bullet point my thoughts.  My full review will come out in January as this thing deserves a full review.

Pro:

+1 Surprisingly powerful, pushed debris, sticks, acorns, nuts away like a broom.

+1 Actually good on power.  18 minutes with the 5ah battery and I finished with power left on a 7.5ah battery which I was at 30 minutes.  This was with using Turbo for 10-30 second bursts now and then.  Maybe a minute on Turbo.

+1 Turbo on this is a real kicker.  Excellent burst.  I can get away with short 10-30 second bursts to move things a normal blower wouldn't.

+1 Quieter than my hand-held 530, pitch is more pleasant, even on Turbo.

+1 Adjustable tubing length.  You can shorten it about 8 inches with a twist.

+1 Removable tubing.  Simple to twist off so the thing is easier to store.

+1 Triggering is very comfortable, more so than my Makita gas backpack blower. BUT, my Makita has the "cruise control" lever.

+1 Not heavy, doesn't feel nearly as bulky to use as my gas backpack blower.  Feels lighter than a book bag on my back.

+1 Easy to adjust the straps, didn't have to fight the things to make it comfortable.  I only adjusted the arm straps.  I didn't even use the wrap around nor the check click strap, just let them dangle.

Con:

-1 Strapping.  Enough straps?  I know everything these days is about safety, but holy moly.  I'm going to cut off the bottom straps and the chest click strap.  It's a light backpack blower, I only need the two arm straps to put on like a backpack and take off like a backpack.

-1 The speed lever.  It's easy to bump it with your thumb and knock the speed down without realizing it.

-1 Lack of a "Cruise control" lever.  This needs to happen.  When you use a blower like this, you need to be able to set it and forget it.  Just blow.

General:

All backpack blowers suffer from the ability to maneuver tight places, this is no different.  There will always be a need for a hand held blower to get those tight places.

All backpack blowers are bulky to store, this is no different.  But, the easy tube removal helps.

My most dominate thought:

How can a motor that small, mounted in that tube, produce that much power.  It's funny to look at because most of this thing is just for the battery and mount.  The motor built into the tube is small.  It's rather remarkable.

So if this was a rating between 1 and 5 for a review?  I would have to give it a 5 based on +'s and -'s.  If you look at the negatives, they aren't really that big of a deal.  My biggest complaint is the straps.