I spent six weekends testing the best wheeled string trimmers on a 3-acre property with mixed brush, fence lines, and stubborn driveway edges. My arms were tired by Sunday, but I learned exactly which walk-behind models are worth your money. Wheeled string trimmers solve a problem that handheld trimmers can’t. They let you walk behind … Read more
Cordless leaf blowers have completely changed how I handle fall cleanup. After two seasons of testing dozens of battery powered leaf blowers on my own 0.6-acre property, I can say with confidence that the gap between cordless and gas models has shrunk to almost nothing for residential use. The best cordless leaf blowers in deliver … Read more
Fall cleanup is a race against time. One week your yard looks fine, and the next, there are knee-deep leaves smothering your grass. I have spent the better part of the last decade testing outdoor power equipment, and I can tell you that a good backpack blower is the single biggest time-saver you can own … Read more
Last October, I watched a homeowner in Connecticut wrestle with a cordless leaf blower on a half-acre lot covered in wet oak leaves. After 40 minutes of battery swaps and zero progress through the matted piles, he went back inside and pulled out the checkbook for a landscaping crew. That scene plays out across neighborhoods … Read more
Last October, I spent three weekends wrestling with a rusty rake, a back that hated me, and about 200 pounds of leaves that just kept coming. By the time I finished, my neighbor Bob had already cleaned his entire yard with a handheld blower in under an hour. That was the weekend I started testing … Read more
I spent the last 90 days testing 6 of the most popular cordless hedge trimmers side by side on everything from boxwood topiaries to overgrown privet hedges. Some impressed me with raw cutting power, others won me over with featherlight handling, and a few disappointed when their batteries tapped out halfway through a job. After … Read more
Looking for the best pole hedge trimmers to keep your tall hedges looking sharp without climbing a ladder? I have spent the last three months testing six different models on everything from boxwood shrubs to overgrown privet hedges, and the results surprised me. One of these trimmers cut through a 3/4-inch branch like it was … Read more
When it comes to raw cutting power, the best gas chainsaws still beat electric and battery models for heavy-duty work. After testing 10 models over three months, our team cut through everything from oak logs to storm-damaged pine. We measured startup ease, vibration, fuel efficiency, and how each felt after 90 minutes of continuous cutting. … Read more
Gas chainsaws used to be the only option worth considering if you needed real cutting power. That changed fast. Our team spent three months testing battery-powered saws on everything from storm cleanup to firewood processing, and the best cordless chainsaws in can finally hang with gas models for most homeowner and farm tasks. The cordless … Read more
I spent the better part of three weekends trimming the oak and pine trees along my property line, and I learned one thing fast: the right pole saw makes all the difference. After testing 10 models across manual, corded electric, and battery-powered categories, I put together this guide to the best pole saws for tree … Read more