Stihl BGA 30 Cordless Blower Review

Introduction

Forming part of Stihl’s capable and ever-expanding range of handy garden tools powered by the lightweight AS battery system, the BGA 30 is an ultra-portable leaf blower that still manages to pack a punch.

With excellent ergonomics and a lightweight and portable body, this leaf blower lacks raw power but is incredibly easy to operate. 

Design and Features

• Well balanced between battery and tip
• Battery charge indicator on the handle
• Removable nozzle tip for close up work

Something that Stihl always gets right is ergonomics and balance. The handle is well sculpted and just about big enough for large hands, and is built at the right angle for leaf blowing, so I could hold it naturally without having to bend my wrist. Weighing just 1.7 kg with the battery, it’s very light which reduces arm fatigue during use. 

The variable speed trigger is responsive, and makes it easy to control the level of air flow coming out.

When you pull it a little set of LED lights above the handle show you the current charge level. 

This leaf blower comes supplied with an easily detachable nozzle tip. Using it without the tip is great for clearing sawdust off a mitre saw or leaves and other debris from garden furniture. The long-reach nozzle tip is attached by twisting and locking into place. 

The power comes from Stihl’s excellent little AS battery ecosystem. These batteries run at 10.8V and 2.6Ah, and weigh just 220 g. If you value comfort and manoeuvrability over raw power, this battery system is fantastic. It doesn’t have the capacity of much larger batteries like the EGO’s huge 56 Volt range, but carrying a spare AS battery with you is no problem and can be swapped out in seconds. 

If you have AS batteries already, you can buy the BGA 30 without batteries for just £99.

And when it’s time to store the blower away, there’s a handy hanging eyelet on the back. 

Performance

• Impressive power to weight ratio
• Easy to handle and control
• Not the highest air flow speeds

I measured the BGA 30 air flow at a maximum of 5.5m/s from 1m away. That’s a more gentle gust of air than larger leaf blowers with bigger batteries can do, but it’s still enough air flow for most typical garden jobs, from moving leaves and the like off a lawn, or clearing garden furniture of debris.

The BGA 30 offers a good power-to-weight ratio, so you can work without tiring yourself out too quickly. However, on full power, I only got around ten minutes working time, so it’s worth getting the version that comes with two batteries (or reusing batteries from other AS tools, such as the HSA 40 hedge trimmer or the RCA 20 Cordless Pressure Washer. 

Because the handle is large and the ergonomics are great, it was easy to manoeuvre this leaf blower. With the nozzle tip removed, it’s even lighter and easier to direct the air flow to where you need it. 

Another thing I like about this blower is that it’s quiet when you need to be. Unlike the harsh noise of the Ryobi RY18BLCXA-125, the BGA 30 is about as pleasant as a leaf blower can be. Running at just 64dB on low power and topping out at a manageable 81dB on high, it’s not going to annoy the neighbours too much. 

The drawback of this blower is that it doesn’t reach the high air speeds of other, larger models. It’s ideally suited for small gardens, but those with larger spaces and more mess to deal with will need a more powerful blower.

Should you buy it?

FAQs