Verdict

A lightweight, well-made leaf blower, but the Cobra BV6524V is quite weak with a super-irritating trigger.

Pros

• Light and quiet
• Solidly made

Cons

• No variable speed
• Annoying trigger
• Little power

What is the Cobra BV6524V?

The Cobra BV6524V is a lightweight, quiet, solidly built leaf blower with two set speeds. It doesn’t have much power – but the bigger problem it the trigger that keeps switching itself on.

Cobra BV6524V – Design and features

The Cobra BV6524V is super-light to handle, at just 1.7kg. The battery pack slides in easily and snaps into place. There’s a red on/off button on the top of the handle, and the blower automatically comes on at the Eco setting.

The Turbo button for higher speed sits to the right of the Eco button. Above them is a green three-light display showing you the power remaining in the battery (the same three green lights are replicated on the 24V 2Ah battery pack).

Eco mode is quieter, and blows for longer; Turbo is more powerful and uses up the battery faster. To fire up the Cobra BV6524V, you press a red trigger under the handle.

The trigger is hinged close to the centre of the main body of the machine, and because of its location, and the fact it runs the full length of the handle, once you’ve turned the machine on using the on/off button, it’s almost impossible to carry the Cobra BV 24V without it accidentally starting to blow. If you want to avoid doing this, you either have to remember to press the off button, or hold the machine awkwardly by gripping the handle with your forefinger and thumb only.

Related: Best leaf blowers and garden vacs

Cobra BV6524V – Performance

The Cobra BV6524V was so lightweight that it will be comfortable for practically anyone to hold. The device’s straight nozzle performed well, although you can’t blow leaves along the ground quite as easily as you can with a curved nozzle, plus getting stubborn, sticky debris to move required greater effort.

The Cobra BV6524V has only two speeds, which means that its range is limited to fast and medium fast. Unlike variable-speed blowers, it doesn’t allow you to blow super-softly – for moving sawdust gently across a workshop floor, for example.

In addition, for a two-speed machine its controls seem overly complicated. There’s a button to switch it on, a trigger to get it going, and then another button to bump up the speed. Variable controls, on a trigger or thumbwheel, are far simpler and easier to operate.

I found that the Cobra BV6524V wasn’t especially powerful. It took 14 minutes to clear damp leaves off 40 square metres of grass. It was fairly good at blowing damp leaves off gravel, but poor at getting them off concrete.

Also, around my drive there’s a four-inch kerb that I need to lift leaves over, and the Cobra BV6524V wasn’t strong enough to do this. For all that, however, it’s a solidly built, well-made machine. It’s also quiet, reaching only 80dB on the top setting, so shouldn’t annoy the neighbours.

The battery took two hours to charge, off which the Cobra managed 20 minutes’ run-time in Eco and half that on Turbo.

Why buy the Cobra BV6524V?

The Cobra BV6524V is well-made, lightweight, and fairly quiet – but it’s expensive for what it is, and not very powerful. There are better options in our Best leaf blower guide. The Cobra BV6524V’s lack of variable speed, and the irritation of turning it on accidentally would stop me from buying this machine.

Verdict

A lightweight, well-made leaf blower, but the Cobra BV6524V is quite weak with a super-irritating trigger.

Trusted Score