Milwaukee's New MX Fuel Blower Hits 190 MPH, But Is It Too Expensive?

A quality blower can be an invaluable tool for yard maintenance, but you should make sure that whatever model you choose has enough power to meet your needs. Those who live in an area with a lot of rainfall or who have a large number of trees on their property will probably need a bit more horsepower than the people who just need to clean up a few dry grass clippings now and then.

The new Milwaukee MX Fuel Backpack Blower (MXF600-2HD) is a beast of a machine that promises to produce wind speeds up to 190 mph — a speed that is comparable to what you might expect from a 63cc gas blower. That performance is certainly nothing to sniff at, and Milwaukee has long held a reputation as one of the best power tool brands on the market, but the price might give some prospective buyers pause. The bare tool starts at $999.00, while the kit, which includes two MX Fuel Redlithium Forge HD12.0 Batteries and an MX Fuel Rapid Charger, costs a whopping $2,999.00. 

Suffice to say, that's a lot of money for most people to spend on a leaf blower. With that in mind, you might be interested in learning a bit more about the tool's other specs and how it compares to comparable blowers from other brands. That way, you can judge for yourself if this exceptionally powerful blower is worth the four-figure price.

Now that you know how much the Milwaukee MX Fuel Backpack Blower costs, you'll probably want to know a bit more about the machine itself in order to make an educated decision about whether or not it's worth the money. Documents sent to SlashGear by Milwaukee state that the blower moves air at a volume of 800 CFM (cubic feet per minute) and a speed of 190 mph. Together, this generates a maximum blowing force of 30 Newtons, which is certainly substantial. This places the blower squarely in the realm of what you should expect from a professional-grade backpack model.

The blower is 25 inches tall, 8 inches wide, and weighs 30.4 pounds with the HD12.0 battery installed. It comes with an adjustable harness, a telescoping nozzle, and adjustable handle positioning. This setup is able to produce up to 20 minutes of continuous full-throttle operational time on a single charge when running at the maximum power output and up to 45 minutes when running at 600 CFM, 145 mph, and 17 Newtons. It produces up to 64dBA of sound, has three selectable "performance modes," and comes with a two-year equipment warranty. It also comes with Milwaukee One-Key security, which allows you to use an external app or computer to monitor usage and location tracking, inventory management, and other advanced security features such as remote lock-out.

Throw in the other benefits of battery power–no fumes, less noise, easier maintenance–and you can see why the specs are so exciting. It's also important to account for Milwaukee's reputation as a top-tier brand when factoring the cost. But is the full kit really worth $3,000?

The truth is, there simply aren't a whole lot of battery-powered backpack blowers that can offer this kind of power. There are a handful of options out there, though, and just about all of them are cheaper than Milwaukee's. Greenworks sells two backpack models that might catch your eye. The Pro 60V 800 CFM Dual-Port Backpack Blower comes with two 5.0Ah batteries and a dual charger for $599.99 and promises 80 minutes of runtime and speeds up to 200 mph. 

Meanwhile, the Optimus 82V 755 CFM Dual-Port Backpack Blower is sold in a kit which includes two 8Ah batteries and a dual charger, costing $1,599.99. It promises 225 mph speed, and up to 63 minutes of runtime. Ego sells several variations of a Commercial 800 CFM Backpack Blower that promises up to 190 mph and 26 newtons of force. You can get the bare tool for $349.00 or as part of a kit with two 10.0Ah batteries and a charger for $1,299.00. Finally, Ryobi sells a 40V HP Brushless 730 CFM Backpack Blower Kit with two 6Ah batteries and a charger that hits 190MPH for $599.00.

So, the MX Fuel Blower is clearly quite expensive for what it is. Then again, while Greenworks, Ego, and Ryobi are major leaf blower brands, they are often seen as budget options while Milwaukee has a certain reputation for premier-level quality that helps to justify a higher price. Also, those who collect Milwaukee's professional-grade tools might consider the extra cost worthwhile if they already have MX Fuel batteries, or if buying the kit opens the door for them to take advantage of the other products that make use of the MX Fuel battery system.