The cordless FLYMO EasiBlowVac cleared my lawn in 10 minutes – and its leaf mulching function is a brilliant time-saver

A cordless leaf blower-vac with a mulching function? That’s exactly what the Flymo EasiBlowVac is – and why I was so excited to try it out.

I’m all ears when it comes to new contenders for the best leaf blowers on the market, but what really grabs my attention is when a machine can multi-task: blow leaves, vacuum them up, and mulch them. When I tested the cordless Flymo EasiBlowVac (currently £199.99 at Amazon), it excelled at all three – and made ultra-light work of clearing the fallen leaves in my garden.

Below, you’ll find my notes on the FLYMO EasiBlowVac’s setup, design and performance.

Specifications

• Blow speed: 250km/h
• Collector volume: 30L
• Weight: 3.6kg
• Noise level: 82dB(A)
• Vibration: 1.2 m/s²
• Battery voltage: 18V
• Battery capacity: 4.0 Ah

In a nutshell

The FLYMO EasiBlowVac is ideal for small to medium gardens thanks to its cordless design and relatively large (30L) collection bag. Leaves are mulched before they reach the bag, which gives you even more room when working, and the zipper design makes emptying really straightforward. I also thought the blowing power was brilliant, even without the PowerBoost setting enabled.

Vacuuming is most successful at close range, and the mulching function breaks down most large leaves with ease. The only downside is the limited battery life (up to 36 minutes), which makes this model less suitable for larger jobs and gardens.

Setup

It was relatively easy to put the Flymo EasiBlowVac together, with very few tools required (I only had to use a screwdriver once) and minimal instructions.

The main shaft comes in two parts, and to start with, I had to fix the upper part of the shaft to the orange unit with the handle and controls. It was simply a case of unscrewing the nail from the unit, pushing in the shaft, and then screwing the nail back in again to hold the two parts together. It did take quite a lot of effort to push the shaft fully into the orange unit, though – I had to stand up and use the ground as a support to push it all the way in.

The same applied to the second part of the shaft – pushing that onto the upper shaft took a lot of elbow grease, but it was satisfying to hear each of the little clicks when it was finally in place. I then had to slide on the wheel component, which, again, clicked to let me know it was fixed.

The instructions were actually so minimal that I had to use the box for reference at points – especially when it came to attaching the collection bag to the main unit. Once I’d figured out the correct angle, I pushed the plastic connecting part of the bag into place. Then, I attached the collection bag loop to the plastic loop on the shaft of the blower-vac to hold the bag up.

After that, it was simply a case of clipping the fabric shoulder strap onto the handle part of the blower-vac, right above the control panel.

Before setting it all up, though, I put the battery on charge. It’s the 18V Alliance battery that’s compatible across a range of garden tools and brands, from Bosch to Husqvarna, so it’s a handy one to own – and it comes with a charger as part of the 4.0 kit. It's the one that fits the Bosch VISIMOW 18V-100 Robot Lawn Mower, too.

A green light indicator shows the battery is charging. To release the battery from the charger or the EasiBlowVac, you press the red button on the end of the battery. Getting the battery out of the blower-vac is quite tricky, though – but I find that to be a problem with the 18V battery in general, across a range of tools.

Design and power

Operating the FLYMO EasiBlowVac was so straightforward. Whether the blower-vac blows or vacuums leaves depends on the grey lever on the side of the tool. The arrow symbols speak for themselves, but the machine blows in the downward position and vacuums when switched upwards. It’s super easy – no swapping out any parts, just a simple switch.

What I love about the FLYMO EasiBlowVac is that it’s trigger-free – you don’t need to keep your finger on a button or lever to keep the machine running.

Once you’ve chosen your setting, you simply press the on/off button on the control panel at the top of the orange unit to turn the blower-vac on. It’ll start you off at the lowest setting, but for more power, you simply press the button with two upward-facing arrows above the on/off switch. That one gives you two different power levels, with an accompanying green light next to the button to show you which one you’re using.

If you want more power, you can press another button above that, which features two upward-facing arrows with a plus sign. It enables the PowerBoost mode, which gives the machine extra speed for intense bursts on stubborn debris.

There’s also a battery section which indicates (via a green light) how much life is left in the battery. Since it’s on the handle, it’s easy to check while working.

My favourite feature of the FLYMO EasiBlowVac is its mulching function. The metal mulching blade inside the machine breaks down vacuumed leaves into a fine mulch, so there’s no need for a shredder if you plan to reuse the collected leaves in the garden. It also saves space inside the collection bag, allowing you to collect more leaves before emptying it – and that means fewer interruptions while you’re trying to tidy up your garden.

The blade itself is made from what FLYMO describes as ‘premium’ metal, so there’s less chance of stones and other hard objects damaging the machine. The FLYMO EasiBlowVac is powered by a high-performance brushless motor, which FLYMO claims offers ‘high efficiency, durability, and reliability’.

The collection bag also has a smart design: it’s dual-lined and moisture-proof to keep you clean and dry when working, and features a strong zipper that allows you to easily open, empty and reseal the bag. The zipper teeth are on the larger side, too, to prevent the mulch from getting stuck when you empty the bag.

I also need to talk about that wheel I mentioned during setup. When I first unboxed the FLYMO EasiBlowVac, I was a little confused by the need for it at first – but actually, the wheel offers lots of support while working (the machine weighs 3.6kg, so although it isn't very heavy, it can take a toll after a longer tidying session), and allows you to glide the blower-vac along the floor to reduce strain.

It’s omni-directional (360 degrees) and height-adjustable, so you can tailor the wheel to your working needs. Personally, I kept it on the setting that’s closest to the end of the shaft for vacuuming, so I could position it as close to leaves and debris as possible. The shoulder strap adds to the comfort, taking some of the weight and strain away when using the tool.

The FLYMO EasiBlowVac’s impeller (the bladed rotor that churns up the leaves into a mulch) can be accessed easily when the blower-vac is off via a flap on the side of the orange unit. It’s right by the handle, and it’s opened by unscrewing a black stopper. That way, you can check and clear blockages yourself.

Performance

Once the battery was fully charged and inserted, the FLYMO EasiBlowVac was a breeze to use. First, I tested the blowing function, which proves to be really powerful – even at the lowest setting. It made light work of blowing leaves into the corners of my garden, where I could later vacuum them up (I did leave some for wildlife, though – it's one of the best ways to use fallen leaves in the garden!).

The PowerBoost mode was actually a little too powerful for smaller leaf piles in my garden, but for larger piles in bigger gardens, it would be ideal.

The vacuum function was the one I was especially excited to try, and it didn't disappoint. Granted, you need to work at very close range to the leaves for effective vacuuming – but that's exactly what the omni-directional wheel is for, allowing you to glide the blower-vac along the ground to precisely target leaves and debris.

I found that vacuuming worked better on paved areas like my garden path, where leaves loosened more readily than in between blades – although it was easy enough to aim for leaves on my lawn, too (it's pretty bumpy, but thanks to the wheel, it was easy enough to move the EasiBlowVac across the lawn). It only took me 10 minutes to vacuum up the fallen leaves on my lawn.

I did find the PowerBoost mode helpful for vacuuming leaves on the lawn, since they were a little hard to dislodge from the grass – and that meant that the battery drained a lot faster. The machine cut out a few times at the end because of that, so the battery life is probably the main gripe I had with the EasiBlowVac.

Larger leaves would sometimes get stuck on the end of the vacuum, so I'd have to manually remove those with my feet, but that was a small price to pay for what followed...

The mulching function! It proved to be brilliant, and my favourite thing about the FLYMO EasiBlowVac. When I unzipped the collection bag, it was filled with mulched-down leaves – the perfect ingredients for compost, leaf mould or leaf mulch. Some of the larger, tougher leaves hadn't quite broken down (thank you, loquat tree), but the majority were perfectly processed.

Emptying the collection back was fairly easy – I just had to unzip the bag and tip the contents out – but because the bag only opens at one end, I found I had to shake it around a lot and even use my hand to pull some of the leaf mulch out.

Should you buy the FLYMO EasiBlowVac?

If you're looking for a powerful cordless leaf blower that also vacuums and mulches leaves, the FLYMO EasiBlowVac is one I'd recommend. It's so easy to use, manoeuvre and empty, and the mulching function saves so much time and space during garden tidy-ups.

At £199, it won't break the bank, but it isn't the most affordable blower-vac on the market either. The Vonhaus leaf vacuum, for example, is just £44.00 – but it's also corded, which can be limiting and a little bit of a nuisance during use.

Overall, if you don't mind splurging a little on a powerful, easy-to-use 3-in-1 machine, I'd say the FLYMO EasiBlowVac is a brilliant one to have in the shed.