2000W Electric Blower, 300km/h, 11 Cubic Metres a Minute, 1.8kg

A blower is the fastest way to clear a hard surface. Leaves off a driveway or a compound, grass clippings off a paved path, sawdust and shavings out of a workshop corner, dust off a vehicle before washing it, cuttings off a lawn after mowing. What takes twenty minutes with a broom takes two with air, and it does not raise the fine dust a broom does.

Being a mains tool, it has no fuel, no mixing, no pull cord and no maintenance beyond keeping the inlet clear. You plug it in and it runs at full power for as long as the job takes, which is the advantage over a cordless blower on a large compound. The motor runs at 13 500 revolutions a minute and pushes 11 cubic metres of air a minute at air speeds up to 300 kilometres an hour, which is enough to move wet leaves and packed grass, not just dry litter. A slide lock-on switch holds it running so your finger is not held down for half an hour. The tube detaches for storage, and at 1.8kg you can hold it out at arm's length and sweep along a wall or under a hedge without your shoulder complaining.