Verdict
The Ryobi RY18BLCXA-125 blower is a powerful yet lightweight garden tool. With an extremely comfortable grip shape like to the ones you’d find on Ryobi’s drills, it’s easy to manoeuvre around with minimal hand fatigue. It lacks a bit of raw power but makes up for it by being so easy to handle.
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Comfortable grip shape -
Light and manoeuvrable -
Comes with two nozzle tips
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Can only be locked on full power
Key Features
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Cordless
Uses the same batteries as Ryobi’s cordless tools -
Powerful for smaller jobs
Blows air up to 7m/s (from one metre away), making it good for smaller jobs
Introduction
Compatible with the company’s range of batteries, the Ryobi RY18BLCXA-125 is a flexible and versatile leaf blower. A little limited in power, it’s still a good choice for smaller jobs, particularly for those who own Ryobi tools already.
Heading
Design and Features
- The grip shape is ergonomically designed and very comfortable
- Supplied with two nozzle tips for focus and wide sweeping
- Can be locked on full power
If you’re familiar with Ryobi’s bright green offerings, then the RY18BLCXA-125 is another cleverly designed tool to join the family. It feels sturdy, well-thought-out and is more like holding a drill than a leaf blower. This choice makes it supremely easy to point the nozzle tip at individual leaves that stick to wet grass.
Weighing just 1.5 kg with the battery in place, this blower is ultra lightweight and very easy to hang on to. It boasts a variable speed trigger that is sensitive and responsive. The trigger can be locked on, a bit like cruise control on a car, but it only locks on full power.
The Ryobi RY18BLCXA-125 comes with a 2.5 Ah battery and charger, as well as a pair of nozzle tips and extension tubes. The standard round tip is for focused blowing, while the wide tip works a bit like a broom. You lose a bit of air speed, but the wide stream of air is great for jobs like clearing a path of fallen leaves.
And because it comes with a battery and charger, you can use it in any one of hundreds of Ryobi tools. You can take apart the extension pieces and nozzle tips to store the blower away neatly, and hang it up by the handle to save floor space.
Performance
- Excellent focused air stream
- Lightweight yet powerful
- Loud and harsh on full power
What stands out about the RY18BLCXA is how easy it is to point at the target. Thanks to the excellent grip shape and overall light weight, it’s a doddle to use. Unlike some of the big and chunky blowers, anyone could use this tool without getting tired after a few minutes.
At high speed from one metre away, I measured the air speed at 7m/s, which is enough of a gust to blower lighter debris around. This blower lacks the raw strength of the Einhell GP-LB 36/270 but has an impressive power-to-weight ratio. Overall, this kind of power is good for smaller jobs in smaller gardens, but you’ll need something larger and more powerful for bigger piles of leaves or bigger gardens.
I like the idea of being able to lock the trigger on, but as it only does so on full power it will drain the battery in less than 10 minutes, so it’s not always ideal. Keeping the blower on about half power extends the runtime to a decent 15 minutes.
The real downside of this blower is the noise that it makes. The noise levels of 80dB on the lowest power setting and 98dB on the highest are not ideal. The tone is quite high too – on full power, it’s quite piercing.
Should you buy it?
You want a lightweight yet powerful little leaf blower
If you already own Ryobi tools, it’s an easy decision to make.
You want to move big piles of leaves around
More suitable for focused blowing, this leaf blower lacks the raw power of bigger machines.
Final Thoughts
I like this blower for its lightness and ease of use. The two nozzle tips make it useful for focused blowing as well as path clearance too. The brushless motor is mighty enough for smaller jobs, but annoyingly loud on full power. If you need something more powerful, read the guide to the best leaf blowers.
How We Test
We test every leaf blower we review thoroughly over an extended period of time. We use standard tests to compare features properly. We’ll always tell you what we find. We never, ever, accept money to review a product.
Find out more about how we test in our ethics policy.
- Tested with a variety of garden debris
- We measure wind speed and air flow
FAQs
Yes, you can use the standard batteries you use with the cordless drills and so on with this leaf blower.
Test Data
| Ryobi RY18BLCXA-125 | |
|---|---|
| Sound (normal) | 93 dB |
| Air speed 15cm (low) | 10 m/s |
| Air speed 15cm (high) | 15 m/s |
Full Specs
| Ryobi RY18BLCXA-125 Review | |
|---|---|
| UK RRP | £129.99 |
| Manufacturer | – |
| Weight | 1.53 KG |
| Release Date | 2026 |
| First Reviewed Date | 03/03/2026 |
| Accessories | Two nozzles |
| Leaf blower type | Cordless |
| Speed settings | Variable speed trigger, trigger lock |
| Max air speed | 15 m/s |
| Adjustable length | – |
