Verdict

The Husqvarna 536LiB is a sturdy but expensive leaf blower – but it lacks the power of some cheaper models.

Pros

• Robust and reliable
• Can use buttons with a gloved hand

Cons

• Expensive
• Not as powerful as cheaper models

What is the Husqvarna 536LiB?

The Husqvarna 536LiB is a leaf blower designed for professionals, and uses the same battery and chargers as the company’s line of electric chainsaws. The blower’s low noise should enable you to work in public areas; it offers cruise control, and is designed to be comfortable, well-balanced and efficient. It has an advanced brushless motor.

Decent clearance performance in our tests shows that his model is powerful and simple to use, but you can get more powerful blowers for less elsewhere.

Husqvarna 536LiB – Design and features

The first thing you’ll notice about the orange and grey Husqvarna 536LiB is its size: it’s chunky, with a thick, straight tube. The extension tube is on a bayonet mount but very tight to get on, so much so that it really needs lubricating.

To turn on the unit, you press a button on top of the handle; a green light illuminates. The trigger on the underside of the handle is for variable speed. Boost can be found on the top of the handle, and can easily be reached with your thumb.

Cruise control sits on the handle next to the boost button and is also worked with your thumb. You set the speed you want with the trigger, press cruise control, and then you can release the trigger and the machine will keep working at that set speed. It means you don’t have to continuously hold down the trigger, making long periods of work more comfortable.

The Husqvarna BLI200 5.2Ah battery has four green condition-indicator lights (which go out when it’s fully charged) and fits into a fan-cooled Husqvarna QC330 charger, which has two indicator lights to show charging and charged. The unit made an unobtrusive hum and took 50 minutes to charge, after which we managed 12 minutes’ run-time on high and 20 minutes on low.

Husqvarna also makes a 14.4Ah backpack battery that gives a much longer run-time – but it costs around £600.

Husqvarna 536LiB – Performance

The controls were simple, and the cruise control button is great if you’re doing a lot of blowing. It’s nice to be able to use it to lock the blower in one position; if you have to hold a steady speed on a trigger as you move your hand round, sweeping from side to side, it’s surprisingly easy for your finger to flex accidentally, altering the speed and giving a pulsing effect.

The buttons on the Husqvarna are also a good design. They could easily be used if you were wearing thick winter gloves because they’re so large and well-spaced. You’ll definitely need the shoulder-strap as the Husqvarna 536LiB is heavy; it would become uncomfortable without one. It is well-balanced, though.

Incidentally, since there’s only a steel harness ring fitted on the left-hand side of the machine, the unit is only really ideal for right-handed people. Lefties could still use the Husqvarna 536LiB, of course, but it would be awkward.

The Husqvarna 536LiB is advertised as perfect to use in public areas where noise might be a problem, but I found it quite loud at 86dB on low and 91dB on high. It definitely isn’t the sort of unit you’d set running on a Sunday morning if you had sensitive neighbours.

I found that the Husqvarna 536LiB  took a fast four and a half minutes to clear 40 square metres of damp leaves from grass. It could move leaves up to 2 metres away on grass and 3 metres on concrete. It easily got leaves over the 4-inch lip round my drive. Although it could do these jobs well, it didn’t have the force of a cheaper machine, such as the Wolf Garten 72V.

Why buy the Husqvarna 536LiB?

Husqvarna has an excellent reputation for reliability. The buttons are well designed and can be used while wearing thick gloves. It feels robust and would probably take a lot of punishment.

However, it isn’t as powerful as other similar machines that cost quite a lot less, so you may be better off with one of the alternative models on the Best leaf blower list. It’s also awkward for left-handers to use because of the placing of the harness clip, and one of the more expensive leaf blowers out there.

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