I just tried out my new combo leaf blower/vac for the first time yesterday. My predominate impression of this lawn tool was howy heavy and cumbersome it was to operate. I am a 5'2" woman, but I am fit and strong. I'm not sure that this tool actually makes the task physically easier because just operating it is tiring in itself. It's like carrying around a bazooka. It does have guide wheels on the chute end, but those are only useful on the driveway or unobstructed grass. For a more precise aimed flow of air, you have to carry it. The shoulder strap is not a good design to alleviate the weight. Maybe it's not even a shoulder strap. It's almost like a lanyard to be used for hanging the blower in the garage. The blow/vac feature is very good and powerful. It creates quite a vibration, though, and my hands got numb after only using it for the first 15 minutes. The leaves were well shredded for compost. Dumping the leaf bag, according to the user manual, by simply unzipping the bag, without removing the bag from the unit was less than satisfactory. Only about 1/3 of the contents will actually just dump out. You have to hold the bag open while shaking and twisting the bag (and the entire blower, which again, is heavy) to get it to empty out. I bought this unit for the vac feature and to replace my **** blower which broke. I would not buy this item again or recommend it to others.