Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I compared a few Blower/Vac combo units before choosing this Toro 51609. Ultimately, I'm very happy with this machine. I researched the following competing models (mainly by reading their Amazon reviews - I do NOT have hands-on experience with these other units): Black & Decker LH5000 12 amp Variable Speed Electric Leaf Hog Blower/Vacuum - seems like a good unit, but more complaints re: motor longevity and quality of leaf bag. WORX TriVac WG500 12 amp All-in-One Electric Blower/Mulcher/Vacuum - looks cool, but expensive, poor quality, terrible reviews. Toro 51599 Ultra 12 amp Variable-Speed Electric Blower/Vacuum with Metal Impeller - well-established, highly-rated unit with >1200 Amazon reviews, 4.5 star average. Was about to buy it, noticed that Toro had just released a newer model... Which led me to the 51609. The only detectable difference seems to be the inclusion of some new blower nozzle attachments (cord wrap, power insert, and concentrator insert). These are all quite handy and work as intended. The cord wrap is perfect for a 50ft extension cord, anything longer exceeds the capacity of the hook and makes the unit really heavy to carry around. The power insert does help with blowing leaves more easily into rows and the concentrator insert is good for clearing stuck on debris. Switching between blower and vac is really easy. One thing I notice is that looser shorts can get sucked up against the intake cover in blower mode, but the opening isn't big enough for anything to get stuck or tangled. The blower speed is adjustable, but for some reason I was expecting more of a range between slow and fast - I think most people will notice that it's more or less two speeds, and the "infinite" adjustability isn't really a major feature. Works very well to mulch leaves, not super fine, but certainly good enough to simplify bagging or accelerate composting. Metal impeller was a big feature for me, should last a very long time. Overall, the differences between the 51609 and 51599 are minimal, but the addition of the two nozzle inserts and cord wrap are nice iterative improvements to an already great yard appliance.