Updated on Sep. 06, 2024
The Husqvarna is one of the best backpack leaf blowers for homeowners and has surprising power. I tested it in my backyard for a month and loved it.
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I have tested and extensively used dozens of backpack leaf blowers and have never been more impressed than with the versatility of the Husqvarna 150BT Backpack Leaf Blower. I used to own a landscaping company, and having a reliable backpack blower is a must year-round, not just during autumn. Landscapers can only make money by doing a good job making lawns pristine while moving as quickly as possible. A nice mow, blow, and go is the treasured lingo of many landscapers.
Without a backpack blower, you will leave grass clippings all over the place or get stuck sweeping or using a handheld blower–both of which will make your customers unhappy. Drive around town this weekend and tell me what you see hanging off the back of landscaping trucks. You are guaranteed to see at least two backpack blowers on each trailer. Without them, landscapers couldn’t move the pace required to operate a profitable business.
Backpack blowers get a lot of flack from folks who can’t handle the noise. Yes–backpack blowers are loud and quite unpleasant. Those who operate backpack blowers are strongly recommended to wear ear protection. However, the tradeoff for momentary unpleasantness is majorly outweighed by the speed at which the job is done.
For example, two neighbors blow grass trimmings after mowing their lawns. One has a weaker, handheld cordless leaf blower that makes a sharp, high-pitched whirring noise that isn’t all that loud. The other is a backpack blower with a thunderous roar. The weaker blower lasts about 15 minutes, whereas the backpack blower finishes the job in three. I’ll take the louder noise for a shorter period, but that’s just me.
The Husqvarna 150BT is a gas-powered backpack leaf blower with the features and affordability of a residential blower but with the power of the best commercial leaf blowers on the market. The 150BT is a staple in landscaping because of its affordability and reliability. Let’s take a look at some of the specifications.
Starting with the engine make-up, this blower is a 2-cycle, 51-cc or 2.16 HP X-Torq engine that pushes out 765 CFMs of air. For those looking for a reference point, the strongest and most expensive electric blower I’ve ever used is about 765 CFMs of air. CFM stands for cubic feet per minute and measures the volume of air that is leaving the blower. High CFM generally means more force, whereas MPH (miles per hour) refers specifically to the power of the stream. High CFMs and high MPH are the best indicators of raw power.
Fortunately, the Husqvarna 150BT backpack blower has both, with upwards of 270 MPH of air speed coming out of the blower nozzle. At 270 MPH, wet leaves and grass do not stand a chance against this blower. The combination of high CFMs and high MPH makes this blower a lethal weapon for debris of all types.
VIA MERCHANT
An ultra-powerful backpack leaf blower, perfect for homeowners
Many of the features on the Husqvarna 150BT were designed to make both residential and commercial use easy. For example, the X-Torq engine on this blower can reduce emissions drastically, which is excellent for commercial landscapers who share air with the fumes all day. It also has a more fuel-efficient engine that can increase run-time by nearly 20%. The longer run-time helps landscapers and residential users use less fuel and move from job to job quickly while taking fewer costly breaks.
The Husqvarna 150BT also comes with a super comfortable design. Padded straps, a hip belt and a load management system that shifts the weight around on you using suspension are all perks. On the handle, the 150BT has a cruise control system that lets you “set it and forget it” when you have settled on the right speed for the job. The features designed around comfort are all about making the job more enjoyable when compared to other blowers.
Lastly, at just under 22 pounds, the Husqvarna 150BT backpack blower is super lightweight, making the job less taxing. The last thing you want is a massive tortoise shell of a leaf blower weighing you down for eight plus hours daily. Using a backpack leaf blower as a landscaper is a bit like hiking. Hikers walk miles per day with a backpack full of equipment. Landscapers also walk many miles daily with a backpack blower and cannot afford unnecessary weight additions on the tool itself.
The Husqvarna 150BT got the classic whole-lawn testing gauntlet from me. Over one month, I used this backpack blower in every situation I could think of on my lawn. I started with the timeless mow, blow and go challenge, approaching my lawn like a typical landscaper would coming to do their weekly mow. After leaving grass clippings along my driveway and the street, I busted out the Husqvarna to get them back into the lawn. It made light work of the grass clippings. Next up was the debris challenge. I have a tree on my lawn that always drops little branches and fragments of tree bark. I took the 150BT to the base of the tree and got to work–making sure to go after the big, dead branch fragments. Surprisingly, it scooted them along the driveway and right into the grass–not bad!
Lastly, I took this blower through the most important challenge: leaf cleanup. Using this on dry leaves was unfair. The blower eviscerated the dry leaves and pushed them across the tall fescue of my backyard with extreme ease.
I used this blower exclusively in my backyard week after week. Each week, I was more impressed by how easily it started up and how quickly I could clean up my yard in a classic mow, blow and go style.
Cons
The Husqvarna backpack blower uses a mixture of regular gasoline and two-stroke oil. To mix, simply include 2.5 ounces of two-stroke oil for each gallon of gas.
Both are equally important to a blower’s performance. High CFM means that the blower can push out air; however, it is meaningless without a high speed, measured by MPH.
With the nearly 2,000 other reviews that I found for this blower, the folks who purchased it in the past had a lot to say. Many folks who left reviews had owned the blower for over five years, which should tell you something about the reliability and longevity of the blower right away. Others speak about the surprising comfort of the blower and how they enjoy walking around their lawn with the blower. A few other reviews talk about how easily the blower starts–generally within 1 to 2 pulls of the starter cord. And, of course, the most important piece that just about every reviewer states, is the blower’s power and ability to get the job done quickly.
Husqvarna and Stihl both make amazing backpack leaf blowers. The Husqvarna 150BT and the Stihl BR 600 are two of the most popular backpack blowers in the space. The BR 600 is similar to the Husqvarna 150 BT in many ways – starting with power. At 677 CFMs, the Stihl BR 600 has nearly as much power as the Husqvarna 150BT but falls short of the Husqvarna’s whopping 765 CFMs.
Both blowers have built-in comfort features–adjustable support harnesses, cruise control and more. The BR 600 takes the cake when it comes to additional features, with a one-touch adjustable blower tube that can change the width of the nozzle without the need for attachments. Changing the nozzle width transforms this blower into a highly versatile lawn tool.
Lastly, the price comparison isn’t particularly close. The Husqvarna 150 BT comes at about $250 cheaper than the Stihl BR 600. The Husqvarna backpack blower has more power for less money.
After testing and experiencing the Husqvarna 150BT, I am convinced it is one of the highest-value leaf blowers. Its comfortable operator experience and affordable price tag make it a top backpack blower. Husqvarna is known for unrivaled power and making high-quality lawn tools built to last, and they certainly knocked it out of the park with the 150BT backpack blower.
VIA MERCHANT
A gas-powered backpack leaf blower with an ergonomic design
The Husqvarna 150BT backpack blower is available at Lowe’s and on Amazon for around $300. Husqvarna also carries it in its online store, or you can find out more by visiting a local Husqvarna dealer.
The $300 price tag on the Husqvarna 150BT is best-in-class for the quality and power combination a backpack leaf blower offers.
