OMOTE Leaf Blower
Pros
- Very powerful for the size.
- Easy to use controls.
- Ultra lightweight.
- Extra batteries available.
Cons
- No vacuum function.
- Only one blower speed.
It’s autumn, and the leaves are falling, if they haven’t already where you live. This means it’s time to clean up your lawn and get ready for winter. But cleaning up your lawn is hard work, and it’s even harder when you do it by hand. If you want to do things the smart way, it makes more sense to use a leaf blower. Now, a small, battery-powered leaf blower might not be ideal for doing your whole lawn. But it’s a great way to clean flower beds, clear paths, and take care of other smaller areas. That way, you only have to lug around your big blower when you’re doing the larger areas. That’s less strain on your back, which makes it easier to get the job done.
Of course, a compact cordless leaf blower is good for more than just fall cleanup. It’s a year-round tool for performing all kinds of tasks. For example, a leaf blower is great for clearing light snow off your car or driveway. It’s not going to be much help in a blizzard, but it’s fine for your average winter day. Blowers are also great in hot, dry conditions, for clearing dust off your porch or patio. You can use one to clean your car, get dirt out of your garage, or remove debris from your sidewalk. And with a small, cordless blower, you don’t have to haul out a big machine or mix fuel. Just pop in the battery and you’re ready to go.
Today, we’ll be reviewing the OMOTE Cordless Leaf Blower. At only 3.4 pounds, this is one of the lightest leaf blowers on today’s market. It’s also surprisingly powerful, with a well-engineered motor and housing. But what else does it have to offer? To answer that question, we’ll have to take a deep dive into this leaf blower’s features, benefits, and drawbacks. We’ll need to talk about the battery technology, as well as the charging performance. We’ll have to look at the ergonomics and controls, to see how easy it is to operate. We’ll also have to talk about what kinds of jobs it can handle. After that, we’ll be better equipped to provide a fair judgement. Let’s dig in, and see what we uncover!
Overall Design
The OMOTE Cordless Leaf Blower is smaller and simpler in design than most leaf blowers. There’s no backpack unit, motor, gas tank, or pull cord. Beyond that, the battery is compact, and there aren’t a lot of bells and whistles on the housing. This is both a good thing and a bad thing. On the one hand, you’ll find a few missing features as we go along. On the other hand, this is undeniably one of the lightest blowers you’ll find. With its simple, no-frills design, it weighs only 3.4 pounds. This makes it easy to carry in one hand, even if you have limited strength. That’s a great feature if you’re concerned about the potential weight of a leaf blower.
The main housing is bright yellow, so it’s easy to spot if you’ve left it sitting out on your lawn. The motor is in the center, inside a trapezoidal housing with cooling vents on the sides. Beneath the vents, there are also twin grey and white OMOT logos on both sides of the housing. The shape flares out underneath the motor, into a wide, donut-shaped base. This base houses the fan, which is attached directly to the bottom of the motor. The fan sucks air in through circular vents in the bottom before blowing it out the front. Make sure to keep this bottom area unobstructed, or you’re not going to get much blowing power.
The handle is mounted directly to the rear of the motor. It has a forward-swept design, similar to the handle on a handheld vacuum or dust buster. It’s wrapped in a grey rubber coating, with tiny textured nubs all over the surface. These provide a very secure grip, even when your hands are damp or sweaty. The handle is nice and long, with plenty of space underneath. Even if you have broad hands or fat fingers, it’s very easy to get a comfortable grip.
Control is similarly simple. There’s a basic on/off switch that you toggle with your thumb. That’s it. On the one hand, it’s as uncomplicated as a control scheme gets. You also don’t have to hold down any kind of trigger. This is great news if you suffer from arthritis or other joint trouble. On the other hand, a simple toggle switch means you don’t have variable speed. You’re either blowing at full blast, or the blower is off.
The air blows out through a long black tube, which comes in two sections. Both are made of softer plastic than the housing, which makes them a bit more durable. They’re more subject to scratching, but they’re less liable to crack or split when they get banged around. The base section slides onto the front of the housing, and locks into place with a simple button. To remove the tube, all you have to do is press the button and pull on it. This first tube is short and easy to manage, but the end is wide open. As a result, you’re not getting the maximum air power. The second tube snaps onto the end of the first, and has a narrow, flattened end. This forces the air to come out faster, increasing your blowing power at the expense of some maneuverability.
The battery attaches to the bottom of the handle. This keeps the weight well-balanced, so you can handle the blower easily for longer periods. It has a slim form factor, so you can lay the unit down without the battery getting in the way. It’s also easy to know how much juice you’ve got left. On the back of the battery, there are three green LEDs that indicate the charge level. They’re normally turned off to save power, but there’s a little yellow button right next to them. Press the button, and the lights will shine for five seconds, so you can tell how much charge is remaining.
Battery & Charging
Clearly, the OMOTE leaf blower is well-engineered for ergonomics and ease of use. But how long can you actually use it for? Considering the small size of the battery, we were actually surprised how long it lasted. OMOTE advertises performance of 15 to 20 minutes, and they were actually being conservative. You can expect around 20 minutes of use under most circumstances, assuming the battery is totally full. The one major exception is colder weather. When the temperatures drop, 15 minutes is a more reasonable expectation. Even so, that’s more than enough time to clear snow off your porch or car.
The kit includes a battery charger, with a slot that the battery can slide into. When it’s inserted, an LED will start to blink, indicated that the battery is charging. When it’s done charging, the light will turn solid green, and you know you’re ready to go. The total charging time is less than 90 minutes, so you can easily use it several times in one day. You can also order an extra battery. On the one hand, they’re a bit pricey, over half the cost of the entire blower kit. On the other hand, that’s par for the course with power tools. And with two batteries, you’ll have twice the effective working time.
Blowing Performance
All of this sounds good so far, but ultimately, a leaf blower is only as good as its motor. If it’s not moving a lot of air, it’s not going to move many leaves, either. To get as much power as possible, the OMOTE Cordless Leaf Blower utilizes an all-copper motor. This technology is becoming more and more popular in small power tools, and is similar to brushless technology. The extensive use of copper maximizes conductivity, so you can get the best possible efficiency from your battery.
This translates to moving an impressive amount of air: 177 cubic feet per minute (CFM). Now, in terms of leaf blowers in general, this is a fairly low number. Your average gas-powered blower outputs around 300 CFM. But pure volume isn’t the only gauge of how powerful a leaf blower is. Equally important is how fast the air is moving. Thanks to the OMOTE blower’s small tube, it blows as fast as many gas blowers. It doesn’t cover as wide an area, because it’s a smaller jet of air. But you can still blow tough debris like wet leaves without running into any trouble.
Despite this blower’s power, it’s not as loud as you might expect. At 88dB, it’s about as loud as a drill, circular saw, or similar handheld power tool. So yes, you’re going to hear it. And if for some reason you’re using it indoors, it will be audible a couple of rooms over. But it’s not eardrum-meltingly loud like some gas blowers or backpack blowers.
The only major “missing” feature on this leaf blower, other than a variable trigger, is a vacuum function. This is a common feature on many blowers, since you can collect and bag your leaves easily. But that wouldn’t be practical on a leaf blower with this ultra-compact design. If you want to collect leaves, you’re going to need a beefier blower like the KIMO Cordless Leaf Blower. It’s bulky, but it’s a bit more powerful than the OMOTE blower, and includes a vacuum collection bag.
Final Verdict
The OMOTE Cordless Leaf Blower isn’t big or powerful enough to clean up your entire yard. That said, it’s very powerful for the size and price. For smaller jobs, you couldn’t ask for a better, more convenient little blower. It’s easy to operate, easy to handle, and easier to store away when you’re done. It also has powerful batteries, and a fast, effective charger. If you need a mini leaf blower, you’re looking at a great choice.
Meet Ry, “TechGuru,” a 36-year-old technology enthusiast with a deep passion for tech innovations. With extensive experience, he specializes in gaming hardware and software, and has expertise in gadgets, custom PCs, and audio.
Besides writing about tech and reviewing new products, he enjoys traveling, hiking, and photography. Committed to keeping up with the latest industry trends, he aims to guide readers in making informed tech decisions.
Will Dewalt 20v batteries work in the Omote blower?
No, they will not work with the Omote leaf blower.