Makita’s New Backpack Blower Has More Kick Than I Expected

4 min readI’ve always considered backpack leaf blowers to be the heavy artillery of fall cleanup. My process has always been to mow my lawn weekly during the fall, if for no other reason than to grind up all the oak and maple leaves that tumble down like falling snow. Afterward, I fire up and throw on my trusty RedMax and become a leaf shepherd, corralling all of those minced bits into tight, manageable piles. To that end, I think I’ll always be of the mind that—for my purposes—nothing beats a gas-powered leaf blower when it comes to performance and individual task longevity.But like every other solution in the world of tools, cordless backpack leaf blowers continue to evolve to a point of comparative favorability to gas. I recently tested Makita’s GBU04 Backpack Leaf Blower and, with the exception of a few quirks, found myself pleasantly surprised by its performance. For starters, it feels relatively light and maneuverable on your back while producing a serious blast of air.Makita rates the GBU04 output at 675 cubic feet per minute (cfm) with airspeed at a top end of 215. Numbers like that land the machine squarely in the camp of serious yard cleanup. More important to me, though, is how that power actually shows up.ProsPowerful 675-CFM airflowLight and comfortableExcellent variable-speed controlConsUses its batteries sequentiallyKey SpecsWeight19.4 lb w/two 8Ah batteriesBatteryTwo 40V max XGTRuntimeApproximately 40 minutes on variable throttleAir speed215 MPHAir volume675 CFMLoads of Power When You Ask For ItMy first impression of the GBU04 is that it shows up with very little drama. By that I mean assembly is as simple as its operation. Lock in the dual 40-volt XGT 8.0 Ah batteries, strap it on, pull the trigger, and the blower responds immediately. On full throttle, I felt enough kick that it made me clamp down on both handle and trigger for a firmer grip. Almost felt like it was going to get away from me for a second. That power is obviously useful when leaves are accumulating into shin-deep piles or when you’re dealing with heavier material that a smaller blower–like a handheld model–might wrestle with. The GBU04 doesn’t feel like a cordless machine that needs a bunch of excuses for being cordless. The power is real.Winston ZhouThe blower is ergonomically correct, with simple controls at your fingertips.I equally liked the idea that the level of air output could be dropped at the touch of a button. The GBU04 has two speed modes with a variable-speed trigger, so you can really back off when full power is unnecessary. I’ve historically blown the mulch right out of my flower and shrub beds while trying to dial down the airflow on my gas machine. It’s nice to have a quick button accessible to tame my rather heavy hand.That speed button also lets you be a little more conscious about battery use. If I’m clearing a relatively light layer of leaves or clippings–or blowing the sawdust out of my garage–there’s no reason to run the machine full tilt the entire time. I can save those big blasts for the places that really need them.The Two-Battery Setup Comes With a CatchThe GBU04 carries two 40-volt XGT batteries. How it employs them is worth noting in that the machine uses each singularly to extend runtime as opposed to combining their output. Both battery slots are active. The machine simply switches to the second when the first is depleted. Essentially having your spare battery already mounted on the machine is a nice arrangement, but it raises an issue of continued performance over a long session in the yard.Winston ZhouWe found the blower to be light, comfortable, and easy to pull on and remove.Some owners have reported that the machine’s blowing power starts to wane as the active battery’s charge drops. I didn’t specifically measure output against battery charge during my testing, so I’m not going to try to figure out a percentage related to that drop. It’s something I would consider if you have a larger yard and might be apt to blowing on maximum output for longer periods, however.I also read in one review that the user was concerned that this type of recurring total drawdown will inherently shorten the life of the batteries, a claim that I dug in on for clarification. Makita’s XGT battery system electronically protects its packs against over-discharge, along with overload and overheating. So “depleted” in this case doesn’t mean the lithium-ion packs are being completely run flat. These particular batteries are doing exactly what they’re designed for.Who Needs This Blower?The GBU04–while being a highly capable, lightweight machine–wouldn’t really meet my particular needs given the type of property I maintain. At three acres, it’s just too broad with too many mature deciduous trees. However, it does seem well-suited for someone with just enough yard to justify wearing a blower rather than just carrying one in their hand.For a small driveway with a few trees, this is probably more machine than you need. Throw a larger yard and serious leaf drop into the equation, though, and the GBU04 starts to make a lot of sense. It’s comfortable for a backpack blower, easy to attune when you’re working around those delicate areas, and able to move a decent pile of leaves toward the curb for town pickup if that’s how you roll. Factor in the ease of use for your own peace of mind and the quieter operation for that of your neighbors, and I doubt you’ll feel an ounce of buyer’s remorse when all is said and done.Other Leaf Blowers We RecommendPaul Russell Smith is a former NYC ironworker turned screenwriter (Grace Point) and home renovation specialist. He lives in a crooked old farmhouse in Stockton, NJ, where he’s just as likely to be clearing a clogged pipe as rewriting a third act. When he’s not working, he enjoys hiking, pedestrian beer, and cooking over a live fire. His self-proclaimed spirit animal is the English Bulldog.Colin Aylesworth attended Binghamton University and is a Deputy Editor with the Gear team at Popular Mechanics and Runner’s World, where he has been since 2022. Prior to joining Hearst Magazines, he worked for 11 years at U.S. News and World Report on the autos team. His personal pursuits fit in well with the work he does for PM and RW. Aylesworth was on his college’s club rowing team and has maintained a routine running habit through most of his adult life as a means of getting exercise and spending time outdoors. Running creates a hearty appetite, which brings us to Popular Mechanics. That publication's expertise in the area of grilling is relatable to Aylesworth, who is an adherent to charcoal grilling. In fact, he’s been primarily using the same Weber charcoal kettle he bought on Craigslist in 2012. Aylesworth also has experience in the lawn mower industry. Not only has he been mowing his and neighbor’s lawns during adolescence, one of his more recent endeavors is a side gig of repairing and restoring gas lawn mowers given up by their previous owners. Since joining PM, he has gotten more involved with the publication’s mower testing efforts and especially enjoys testing out new electric and zero turn mowers.