Side by Side Comparison of: Worx vs GardenMate

I love the mulcher for dry leaves

as expected

We recently got a WORX Leaf Mulcher and like it quite a lot but it goes through the red mulching line quickly. We have needed refills twice since we got the mulcher a year and a half ago. Having said that, the refills are inexpensive and the mulcher does a great job. I'm so glad that I can order these refills so easily and they are a PERFECT fit for it. We will continue to order these.

served purpose

I bought them with the basic unit on E-mail and two days later I was chopping up leaves. The delivery time was quick. The WORX works as advertised. The replacement lines are easy to install. They wear down if you have small twigs or rocks but they do chop leaves and grass blades rapidly.Happy gardener!

The WORX WA0050 is a nice item. Twigs do cause the lines to wear but if in a limited amount this should not be a problem. Also, the lines themselves are very easy to change so overall this is not an issue. It chews up the leaves quite well and was a good buy.

This replaced a Flowtron shredder that finally died after about 10 years. I made the decision on this item based upon reviews from users on Amazon and several online reviews from sites dealing with lawn & garden equipment. My concerns about the product were the inability to adjust the fineness of the shredding and what appeared to me to be a design bias toward using plastic bags.The adjustability proved to be an non-issue; the shredded results turn out to be just what I aimed for with my old shredder.Using paper bags was problematic. The bags are too tall to fit under the shredder and you can't fold the bags over the base so folding the bags as advised in the manual leads to torn bags and a lot of spilling. Not the end of the world but a pain to deal with.After thinking about the spilling problem I came up with a neat solution. I cut off about 6 inches from the bottom of a 33-gallon plastic bag and allowed that to drape into the paper bag after putting onto the base as you would normally. This completely eliminated the spilling!The height of the base problem was resolved by cutting some 1-inch PVC I had laying about into three 26.5 inch segments and sliding them over the legs of the base. I drilled a hole in each leg extension about 3/4-inch from the top and fed wire through the hole to wrap around the base so the extensions don't slip off. The added height sets the top of the open paper bag about 1.5 inches below the bottom of the shredder with no need to fold the top of the bag. I can't take credit for this idea since I saw references to the general idea in a couple of discussions on the web.I've only used the item twice shredding 5 bags of leaves which is about half of what my trees usually produce each fall. The cutter filament is holding up much better than the 0.080" line I used in my old Flowtron. The Worx cutters still look good whereas the old unit would have required replacing the line about every 2-3 bags.The big unknown is how long the motor will last and time will tell. I was pleased with the active cooling design. I was able to keep my hand on the motor casing at the end of the first day's use with no discomfort. The casing was cool to the touch, a very good sign.So far I have to say great product and worth the money.

I did read most of the reviews of this product before I bought mine. Some said that it did not mulch leaves at all or not well. I completely disagree!! Totally surprised by how well the leaves are mulched. Really well. Much better that a mulching mower! Much easier to use that any gas powered thing!! Easy to re[place the mulching 'trim' line! I bought leaf bags made of durable 'woven' plastic that I now use as the leaf tote and then the mulcher cover when not in use! A 2fer! I keep a 50 ' outdoor extension rolled up and it lays in the 'well' of the top of the mulcher! So all is covered and ready to be used wherever I want. A great product. So easy to use! So glad I bought this one!

 It really shreds! Shredded about 7 homedepot bags of leaves and grass down to less than 1. This thing has plenty of power to cut through wet grass and leaves. Mulched almost all of my flower beds with the finely shredded product. Nice to never have to buy homedepot bags and lug them to the street again. I wish I discovered this product earlier. I think the ratio they claim is accuarate. Looking forward to use it again next weekend.

I have only used this for about 4 hours. I cleared this area in that time. Not rushing just a steady pace. I have over 50 trees and needed to use a shredder. It worked well. I scooped up the leaves w a rake, and dropped them a little slow. I also stepped back as I put them in the hopper. Any kick back was small amounts I would buy this again.

We purchased this to use this fall and it worked just great. I read the reviews and was prepared for "issues" as I tried to make sure no sticks went into the hopper. I set the mulcher up in the middle of an 8x10 tarp and just kept feeding the leaves through until we had a big pile of shredded leaves that we then hauled to another location on the property. I used the machine for over 6 hours straight the very first day, only turning off to re-position or to haul off leaves. It worked great with no issues. We continued to use it the next two days for several hours each day. Our home sits in the middle of an oak forest. This is a great machine if you are using it for a small area or a large area. We are excited to have used it this past fall and look forward to using it again this coming fall. Now that we have it, we will be able to use it periodically as the leaves build up versus all at once at the end of the season. Regardless, it's a work horse for sure!

This is the 2nd year of use for making leaf mulch and leaf compost, and this thing is working like a BOSS! Last fall, I went to the local leaf collection area, and I was the person putting leaves INTO trash cans to take home, mulch down and use on my garden beds and for compost. I have no idea how many packed cans I took home, but I think it was in the area of maybe 45-50 trash cans in one season. (Leaves break down into barely anything) I'd grab the piles of leaves and throw them very ungently into the WORX shredder, and it did a fabulous job at making the pieces very small. I put a smaller trash can underneath of it rather than a bag or use the stand. The 13 amp motor was the best bet because of the amount of mulch I wanted. I also packed several cans of shredded leaves to use in the compost pile during the year whenever I added green kitchen waste, and chicken manure. I used the compost we made last year which included all these shredded leaves, which broke down SO much faster than whole leaves, and the compost was much darker and richer looking than in the past. Shredding is key to good compost! I replaced the strings when they were worn, but still had some leftover for this year. Rather than buy more precut strings, I purchased a roll of string used for regular weedwhackers, and I will cut it to length when I need it. Very happy with this shredder. It's lightweight, shreds leaves nicely, and has a strong motor.

I have had several of these collapsible buckets in the past, but this one is the best! About half again as large as all the others I have and a bit heavier. Easy to collapse and store.

This looks like it's going to last a lot longer than a different one I bought before. Am going to put it to good use with my leaf vacuum.

Would have preferred a larger capacity garden bucket however, this item is suited to be versatile and efficient as well as storing in tight places

I purchased the 26 Gallon Spring bucket to work with a shredder. I was surprised to see how large this bucket is and how little space it takes up when it is put away. Since it is so lightweight, filling it to the brim is no problem, since there is no added weight of the container. The material seems heavy duty as well.

Just what I needed - it fits right under the WG430 leaf shredder.I will point out that the material is a poly/pvc coated canvas and not a cotton/duck cloth canvas, so I expect it will deteriorate in the sun due to UV rays.

This is such a spacious container for garden leaves and debris. You don't have to make a trip to the trash can every second. You just fill this up and empty it in your trash can in the end.

Wow, I accidentally ordered the 72...and the 72 can hold A LOT. I originally planned to use these for grass clippings, but since I ordered it in the wrong size, I'm planning on using these to hold aluminium cans. I think they're great for storing/holding things. They seem sturdy, like they'll hold for a long time.One thing though, is that inserting the plastic piece into the rim to keep it open is tedious. You only have two holes next to each other, the beginning and the end. And then you also have to work around the handles and the crinkles in the bag which is hard to press through. I think it took me like 15 minutes just to get one in to standing.Overall, yes I would order it again, hopefully in the right size!

5 stars for GardenMate's service.They first sent me a confirmation email that my order was shipped. Then when I needed more of the black strips that get fed through the top that keeps the opening firm, they compensated me with a complete new order. LADIES.. you should order these 16 gallon bags, they aren't just for men! You will find them helpful for so many things. Like wet beach towels or sandy toys from a day at the beach; or keeping purchases contained in your trunk; like groceries that may produce condensation. Or place one right in your grocery cart. They have, as the picture shows, great handles and even side handles on the bottom. There are 3 sturdy green waxy coated bags that stand on their own. And they come in several sizes, and they are folded nicely and packaged in a nice gift giving "display" type bag for all those guys too on Father's day. In case you are wondering what size to get, I'd suggest the 16 gallon like I purchased(5'2"). Nice wide opening and won't be too heavy when full. My family are boaters and RV'ers....so they will be put to good use this summer.

These bags are deceptively huge, which is great for all the yard waste I have. They stand up and open on their own. I can sit on the ground and weed and they're just short enough to allow me to toss the waste in from sitting. The opening is really wide so that helps in my poor aim sometimes.I do drag full bags on my gravel driveway, and they've survived for now, but I shouldn't make a habit of that since they're not hard bottomed. I've been leaving them out in the elements and haven't noticed any degradation, though I've just been using these for maybe 2 months now in a Vermont summer.They are difficult to transport when full if you have a small hatchback, as a bag is about the height of the cabin. With my passenger seat down and rear seats removed I might be able to cram all 3 bags full in my Nissan Versa. Last time I brought one to the dump I found a tree frog stuck to the outside as I was dumping it out. The froggy then jumped off there so I hope he's OK in his new environment.I'm a cheapskate so I was hesitant to buy 3 bags for $20, but I'm glad I was a baller. Though I do see other sellers selling the exact same bags, and just one of them, for more than the cost of this 3 pack.Photo is for size comparison. I don't know how many gallons the red plastic barrel on the left is but I think a lot of people know it's a jumbo one that could fit an adult inside, and on the right is a big HD yard debris paper bag. I feel like the green bag wins though in how much it actually holds. I love that it's easily reusable, I can wash it out if it gets muddy, and the handles are super strong. They're also placed in really great places, as there's one near the bottom which makes it so much easier to empty.I plan on getting more for garbage and recyclables, and actually laundry would be helpful since I'm way backlogged with that. It's nice they can be all compacted down when not in use, just should take out the flexible plastic insert at the top.

What a relief that I now can handle my recycling containers when I need them. I have gotten rid of all of the tuff rubber containers and only open up my new reuseable containers one at a time. When I have emptied the recycling I refold the containers restoring the area to a nice looking space. Easy to use, sturdy, and well made. I am limited to lifting five pounds or less which is no problem for the heavy weight green containers which are far less than five pounds each. I also saved big bucks with these green containers. I gave away the expensive heavy grey tiff containers to those that felt the need to have the bulky garbage containers that crack in cold weather and often get over stuffed. Try the green --you won't be sorry.

Great leaf bags. Makes the job of getting rid of leaves easier. My wife pointed out they would be good for storing attic stuff in since they are easily written on to label the contents. Sturdy bag appears to be durable. The ring that holds the bag open is inserted in the top and you need to look closely to find the openings to insert the ring in. Well worth the money which is reasonable.

These bags are wonderful! They were easy to assemble and arrived quickly. The material is thick and durable. It is strong enough to drag around the yard and hold a significant amount of yard waste, but light enough to not be too heavy to carry. I anticipate that they will last me a long time. They stand nicely with the plastic piece in the top, making tossing waste inside easy.

These work just as advertised, but I must admit that now I have bought a spool of the same gauge plastic string line and cut my own to the same length and they work just as well at a much lower cost. If you don't want the hassle of cutting up a spool, these do the job great.

Ordered when I bought the worx unit, didn't need them

Only reason to not give a 5 is because of the flex line having to be replaced often. I would think they could develop a more better cutter system. The concept is great and the flexline is not a deal breaker it just slows the process down.

I have shredded 8 or 10 bags of leaves so far and like how this thing works. It is messy but it gets the job done.I would recommend it.

Easy install. Wears out quickly BUT I am using it for leaves that have a lot of sticks in them. Would be nice to have something more durable however obviously needs to be wear item since the tray on the mulcher is hard plastic

The Flex-A-Line works very well with the WG430 Leaf Mulcher. One package was included with the mulcher and I bought a second just in case. I'm glad I did. The line is made of plastic or nylon and wears down fairly quickly. I bought about using copper wire instead of the Flex-A-Line, but decided to let well enough alone. They are cheap enough as it is.

I bought the WORX leaf mulcher to reduce the volume of dry leaves and weeds for disposal. The supplied line is small (and short) and is quickly consumed. I used a #41 drill bit (0.096 inch) to ream the string holes from each side by hand to allow using 0.095 inch trimmer string in the mulcher. You can find this drill bit size at your local hardware store. The 0.095 inch trimmer string is a little more stout, used in professional trimmers, and can be bought in bulk rolls for a reasonable cost. The WORX does produce a bit of a tornado of leaves and dust. I use a plastic bag to collect from the bottom, so dust does not escape there, and I use a 5 gallon bucket to load the mulcher, holding the bucket down in the top, so leaves and dust are not thrown out at me. You can tell when the mulcher is done processing the load, and then lift the bucket. In spite of this measure, you will get dusted with fine leaf mulch. Without the measure, you might as well be rolling in it. The volume reduction is substantial, reducing the number of trips to dispose of the resulting mulch.

It turns leaves into dust. The only thing better than this is a couple passes over the leaves with a riding mower. I don't have the money for that. The string it comes with is pretty bad. You are better off using cooked spaghetti. Get some good string trimmer line, and put that inside it. Just cut them to the same length as the ones it comes with. I had some .095 laying around. It's a little tight squeezing it into the hole, but it does fit. Probably be better to get a slightly smaller line. There is a little line cutter thing inside the bowl. Its attached with a couple screws. I took it out, the leaves kept getting backed up against it.Keep sticks out of it. They break the string and get stuck in the bottom holes preventing leaves from falling through. What i do is dump the leaves some ways away from the mulcher, and then blow the leaves to it. All the sticks and heavy stuff get left behind, and the leaves move forward.I am using this to make my compost pile. I mixed DRY leaves and DRY fresh cut grass clippings together. Then I slowly dumped them into the blender. Filled up my 5ft x 3ft x 4ft bin to the top, spraying water every foot or so. The next day, the pile was all ready climbing past 100. Since the leaves are well mulched up, I usually add in equal parts grass clippings if not more.I was using a push mower to mulch the leaves. I ended up tired and had a good caked on layer of dust and dirt on my arms. The st augustine grass was starting to get thinned out from the constant walking, raking, and extra mulch everywhere sucking up the nitrogen. With the worx mulcher I am less tired and the grass doesnt get abused as much.I just have to wait and see how much abuse this machine can take.

See my edited review after getting some nice dry crunchy fall leaves. It’s still worthless for wet leaves.Worthless, unless your leaves are small and completely dry, and you have no sticks in themIf they're wet, this thing clumps upIf there are sticks, it will destroy the weak string that's includedA good price, but the hassle of operating the machine outweighs it's usefulnessEDIT - I’ve changed my review. It really does a great job on dry leaves. If you keep the sticks to a minimum and stay on top of the leaf work, then this thing does a great job. My only complaint is that the string is very weak and tends to wear down too quickly.

The ratio of 11 bags ground into one isn't accurate... but this does grind them down for rapid composting. The ratio actually depends on the type of leaves to be ground. We pick up bags of leaves to compost from neighbors who put their leaves out for municipal pick-up. I found that leaves like silver maples are generally very well squished into the brown bags, and probably only grind to a 3 or 4 bags into one bag ratio. However, stiffer leaves -- like oak -- can't be as compressed by the typical dad/teen raker duo and therefore grind to something like a 5 to 8 bags to 1 ratio. Pretty good either way for my purposes, which is simply to reduce the bulk and hold them until next summer when we pick up neighbor's bags of grass clippings to mix with the leaves and get our compost pile steamy. And gee: our grinding of leaves in November kept the compost steaming until a couple of days ago (about Dec 15) here in Maryland. So kudos to grinding leaves.The machine itself is a bit awkward, and I found that the adapter for the brown bags was impossible to actually deploy. I ended up making a torn up brown bag skirt on the stand, with the skirt a maxi where I stood and a mini in the direction I wanted the ground up leaves to go. The instructions say that leaves may be added to the hopper by "double handfuls" unless they are wet, in which case single handfuls is required. Given the slow going with wet stuff, I'm not going to try to grind anything wet anymore -- it is just not worth the effort. Trying to grind up hosta leaves stopped the machine completely. The cutting strands do wear down quickly, especially if there are any twigs in the batches or if tougher leaves are being ground (oak!).

3.5 stars, but I rounded up. I have to say the unit itself works great, shreds the leaves, no problems. Although, I do not believe the 1/11th ratio. It's probably closer to 1/3 or 1/4 if you have already smaller leaves. Probably approaches that with the bigger leaf trees, though.The reason for the lower rating is because this thing in no way is set up for paper bags that you buy at Lowes, Home Depot, Costco, etc. The ring is too big and the unit is too short. Notice how every promo video the camera cuts to the paper bag in place? Yeah, that's because the bags don't fit and you have to rip them and bend them to get them to fit on, and it really makes it difficult to do the job.So, my tips are: buy a reusable yard bag, or get some PVC stilts like others described. Also, I have .095" square string trimmer line for my Weedeater. That line annihilates the leaves and lasts longer than what they give you. It's a tight fit to get it in the holes, but works great.

I've used this mulcher for a year now, and it has performed well. It handles leaves and twigs pretty easily. When the leaves are reasonably dry, I can fill a garbage can with leaves and then dump them into the mulcher until it's full. Then I just shake it lightly for a few seconds untill everything feeds through...easy. It works fast enough that the job doesn't get too tedious. Depending on how twiggy the mix is, I've been getting 3-4 large bags of mulch per set of trimmer lines, and they're really easy to change.

no comment

Does what it's supposed to do. Wish it were bigger, but love that it folds away when not in use.

This is very well designed item. Light weight, durable and easy to lug around.It makes cleaning up in the yard much more efficient vs having to create big piles anduse e.g. plastic bags to do the job. In this case, fill up the collapsable barrel then cart offthe green waste directly to recycling barrell

Works as expected, Have to use a smaller yard bag in it. Folds up easily to store flat.

Hold a lot but rather difficult to handle although it is needed when cleaning up a large area.

The landscaping 26-gallon spring bucket is okay, but it fills-up too fast, which creates a whole lot of extra work.

I have these bags in about three different sizes. You could haul a couple of bodies into the woods in these. They are HUGE. I am moving and I have found these to be handy for all kinds of stuff. When I actually start hauling stuff between houses, these will be great for stuffing things like pillows and bedding into to transport.Funny thing... They work great for yard work, too. I do like the smaller ones for yard work, though, since it is too easy for me to overfill these and make them too heavy for me to maneuver around and into my truck.These are great bags. Really glad I bought them. Lots of ways to use them.

These bags are bigger than I expected and hold an amazing amount of yard waste. I volunteer doing beach and road side cleanups so I added a shoulder strap to one of these bags and it worked great. Much easier than using a 5 gallon bucket and a lot longer before I had to empty it. Only reason I didn't give it 5 stars is I am not sure how durable to the bottom will be but I am very hopeful. If it holds up well, I will come back and give fit upgrade my rating. Great quality, great value - I recommend these.

Bought these at the end of the summer last year for fall lawn clean-up. They are light-weight, work pretty well. I have used them quite a bit without much wear. But the nicest surprise I had was being able to put one over a half-barrel that I am using as my patio herb and veggie garden during a recent late freeze. It fit perfectly and my tender edibles were safe and intact.The only reason I took away a star is because sometimes when I begin using the bag, it doesn't stand up very well...makes work more challenging when it collapses just as I am about to place debris inside. Once it is about 1/3 full, it stands easily on its own. Overall, I am very pleased and would purchase them again, especially to use during a brief late freeze or frost.

These bags hold a lot. I emptied a large, outdoor, plastic trash bag full of leaves into it and was only about half full. I purchased these to replace my old green, recycling bag. With any bag like this, I think I will have to be a bit careful not to overfill it or punch a stick through. But they are sturdier than I expected (especially for the price.) The only thing I am not thrilled with is that they come with a black plastic piece that you need to thread through holes at the top. It holds the bags open at the top and is reasonably easy to thread . But I haven't figured out a good way to store the bags with the large hoops in them. And it would be annoying to take out the hoops all of the time. You could also leave the hoops off if you need to store them smaller. It would just make them a little more difficult to load. But still easier than a trash bag.

These bags are perfect for my needs but not really heavy duty as advertised. If Gardenmate would remove the words Heavy Duty from the description I would give this five stars. As others have pointed out the fabric is too flimsy to support the claim they are heavy duty. That said I was aware of this before I purchased and as I am using them for storage instead of lifting I felt comfortable buying them. If you use them to lift dry leaves and small branches you will be okay. Wet leaves may cause them to tear or at least wear out quickly.I had an issue with only receiving two bags instead of three. I reached out to Gardenmate and they promptly responded offering a 1/3rd cost refund. I am using this to buy another pack of bags.

I ordered the 3 pack of 16 gal. bags. Arrived yesterday, in use today. They are adequate--I am using them for weeding and leaves. Would not want to risk a rip by loading up completely with really heavy soil, rocks, etc., but some heavy materials should be OK. I like the way the top stays open. Handles made of sturdy webbing and are reinforced/stitched to bags. Will have to use them more to see if they hold up. They are OK, and I knew they were "lightweight" when I ordered them; they seem OK for my intended use, and better made than I expected..

As advertised

Be prepared to replace the strings quite frequently. Works well as described.

Wasn't able to chop the leaves up like expected.

I'm not sure whether it was me or not but these break a lot. I really wouldn't buy the leaf mulcher again and these are a mediocre part in a mediocre tool.

They are the right model string, but they are not as stout as the strings the shredder came with. I am going to recheck it and elaborate. Used one. It broke on some coir that was mixed up with the leaves. You have to be careful to not let anything too thick get down there with the leaves.

Haven't used yet. Seemed logical to order along with my new Worx, but we're still using the supply that came with it!

The strings used in WORX does not cut the leaves as well as I would like. The string was not strong enough to mulch the leaves, they kept breaking and I had to replace them frequently.

I ordered the leaf Mulcher and at first loved that it was easy to setup and that it had such a large opening for debris. However I was very disappointed when the dry leaves did not get shredded small. There were too many large pieces left that basically made the unit worthless for my needs. I wanted to use the dry leaves for mulch in my garden bed . I ended up returning the unit and have not found anything yet to replace it with.

I had this for 2 years, kinda works, in the end I got rid of it and just used my lawn mower. The issue is if there ANY sticks in the leafs then the plastic line breaks. It breaks a lot for me, I would only get 1 -2 minutes of runtime before needing to replace line. It did do a nice job of mulching the leafs when it worked.

This could be a 5 star with some upgrades:- LEGS. Thin legs, should have variable height settings for different size bags. Needs discs on bottom, since it sinks into soft ground.- DISCHARGE. I found that the paper bag support ring is useless. Perhaps there should be a collar extension with a ridge on it, and a type of bungee to hold it tight. Right now, a 42 gal. plastic contractor bag works very well, but the paper bags allow too much side discharge.- CUTTING LINES. When new, this machine works very well, but they wear very quickly. Though easily changed, I have to believe that there is something a bit stouter to stand up to the occasional twig that makes it into the leaf pile.- STIR THE POT. I found that there would be a buildup of fine leaf material around the inside of the funnel, especially as the string wore down. Using a stick, I would stir along the edges (so as to miss the string), and eventually the build up would go down into the collection bag.

We got this to prepare our family for the neighborhood fall jobs approaching. We did three yards, front and back and one front yard; these were all pretty large yards with oak and maple trees. What would have been 50+ bags turned into about 20. The only downside to this is that you would have to keep a stock of the replacement string, because it goes fast depending on how much you have to do. Not recommended for big chain lawn services, as this would be a precious waste of time setting up. Not everyone has an electrical outlet on the outside of their house if it is not a new construction or an old with modifications for outside power; with that in mind a portable generator was what we used to help power this thing. Also, keep in mind that even when you shred leaves, this thing does make a small mess around its perimeter due to the spinning action to chop up the leave. It can take twigs, but don't try to shred any larger than a half inch in diameter. We are satisfied with this, so it is a keeper for us.

I am a huge believer in creating compost and living in Oregon with an abundance of trees and leaves has led me to try a number of different products that mulch. I have purchased many combination blower-mulchers as well as stand-alone leaf eater (leaf shredder) electricity-driven products. I would like to share with you my review of the WORKX WG430 & compare it to the Flowtron LE-900 and to the McCulloch 14-AMP Electric Chipper/Shredder- MCS2001.Pros:All 3 pieces of equipment shred leaves sufficient to allow for mulching and ultimately composting. The WORKX is easily put together and this is so simple that the instructions are not needed. The assembled unit is stable despite some other reviews that it may not be so. The assembled unit is easily disassembled for better cleaning, for storage and to facilitate putting in new leaf-eater line. The Flowtron assembly is a little more involved but easily done. The assembled unit does not feel as sturdy as the WORKX but it is durable and the first Flowtron unit that I bought in 2007 lasted two years; it was the electric motor that died, and not any other part of the unit. I still have the McCulloch chipper-shredder. It has lasted over 5 years and shows no signs of impending demise. Therefore, I do not think that the construction, stability or assembly/disassembly of these units plays a major role in my choice of what the best unit is.Cons:The WORKX and Flowtron both generate a major amount of dust and the Flowtron is especially noisy. Definitely advise use of a face mask or some form of protection for the eyes and ideally the lungs (simple mask) when working with dry leaves. Ear protection is important as well. All units can emit (spit out) pieces of debris that could result in trauma to your eyes or any exposed soft tissue so safety should be a key issue when running these machines. Of the 3 units, the Flowtron is most offensive to the ears. Of the 3 units, the McCulloch emits the least amount of dust with the Flowtron and WORKX tied for a very distant second.Inability to handle even small twigs is a major downside for the Flowtron and WORKX since both use filament line to act as leaf eaters. This is the same kind of line used in weed wackers. If you intentionally or inadvertently toss in twigs or even small branches into either machine the filament length is whittled down quite quickly and you will be inserting new line often. This is not a super simple task for either Flowtron or WORKX. On the contrary, the McCulloch handles branches and of course twigs, pine cones, etc very well. No problem there. The major downside of the McCulloch is the need to hand feed the leaves, twigs, or anything else that you are chipping or shredding. The Flowtron and WORKX allows you to grab large handfuls of leaves and quickly toss them into the unit. Not so with the McCulloch. If the McCulloch had this ability there would be no issue as to which machine to select.The mulched product is the finest with the McCulloch, followed by the Flowtron with the WORKX the least impressive. The reason for this is that the WORKX has no way to adjust the opening for the shredded leaves; it is one size. The Flowtron has a sliding device that allows you to select a fine or coarse adjustment. Both the Flowtron and WORKX talk about the ability to shred moist leaves but I would tell you that although this is possible you end up after 5 minutes stopping the machine and scraping off a large amount of mushed leaf product and the trimmer line rapidly is eaten up as well. Same issue with the McCulloch but here you have not a problem with trimmer line but caking up of this mushy mulch on the inner walls of the machine that forces you to disassemble the McCulloch. The disassembly of the McCulloch is a time-consuming and not at all enjoyable procedure and if McCulloch could devise a quick release set up like the WORKX, this would be wonderful (assuming it to be safe).I do not like that the WORKX has a two-pronged plug. I feel better with a 3-prong which is seen with the Flowtron and McCulloch.Lastly, with the McCulloch you have 3 major working blades. These can be sharpened by the homeowner or new ones purchased online. These are not cheap but I have found it pretty easy to sharpen them myself so I do not consider this a major downside for this machine.I just purchased another Flowtron after trying the WORKX and today have returned the WORKX for the reasons listed. I did a side-by-side comparison of the quality of the shredding and it was clear that WORKX allowed to many fully intact leaves to pass through without shredding.Final conclusions: of the two leaf eaters, the Flowtron is clearly better. Of all three units, I would have to say that the McCulloch's ability to chip leaves, twigs, pine cones, seeds from cedars makes it my favorite. It just does not handle leaves as fast as the Flowtron. I have no connection in any way with any of these companies. Anyone that uses one or more of these products will find this review to be complete, clear and right on target. Lastly, I purchased and returned the WORKX via Amazon and purchased the FLowtron via Amazon on two separate occasions. I bought the McCulloch locally. I am very pleased with the delivery and return policy of Amazon.

It's okay

I attach the WORX 8 foot hose with adapter to the top of the WORX yard bag, pull the drawstring tight, then tip the bag on its side. It's not perfect, but you can drag it around while collecting, if you don't yank too hard, until it gets full/heavy. It would be much nicer if the two had a sturdier connection with a rigid ring on the bag, and a better fitting adapter. The drawstring adapter is too big for the bin, leaves collect in a pouch that forms around it. When the WORX bin is full, I stand it up, pull a 30 gallon trash bag down over it, then flip it over, which is much easier than filling trash bags directly.

The placement of the handles makes it impossible to move around with the WORX LeafPro connected without causing the LeafPro to fall off. I expected the correlated products to have better integration.

The materials are rugged and is useful when manually filling the bucket with yard waste. However, when you use this in conjunction with the WORKX universal bagging attachment, it collapses and flops about like a wet noodle. The springs should be a bit stronger to hold it up to the bagging attachment when empty.That being said, it does hold about Workx mulching bags worth of leaves and helped make short work of a couple of monster piles of leaves. We've also found it very useful in getting twigs/small branches into garbage bags. So it does work nicely for the lighter work.

Overall, I like this and it works as advertised. It is very well made and clearly is of sturdy construction. However it is much smaller than you would expect when you look at the image. I intended to put a full size trash bag in it, lay it on its side and to rake leaves or acorns into it. The issue for me was that it was so small that you can only use it this way until the bag is about 1/3 to 1/2 full. That's not what I expected. I'm keeping it and will find other uses for it, but if buying this, you should take note of the 26-Gallon size listed in the description. That's about half of a full size trash bag.

I have several trees in my yard so I found this to just be too small for my needs and it is so light weight it tips over too easy. I currently use it to go around the yard and pick up small branches and weeds as it's light weight is great for hauling around the yard.To handle the leaves I finally bought a large black trash can with two wheels for outdoor use and found that much easier to use with the Worx WG504 leaf mulcher/blower.

In the picture they look like they are free standing, but they are not.

This is a great size for a reusable bag, but the material seems cheap. About 4 times of use with occasionally dragging them around I now have several holes. They are nice but I would not buy them again

Great bags that come with plastic wire loop to hold them open (I didn't read that in the ad). Unfortunately, upon first pull of lower handle, it ripped right off one of them. I didn't pull on the other two. They served my purpose very well. The three filled with mulch equals one cubic yard of mulch.

Excellent product. Light weight, sturdy, good price. Works great as a yard maintenance bag. Handle at bottom helps dump it.This is an update to my prior review above. The bottom of these bags needs to be reinforced. Multiple holes appeared after about 12 months of limited use. Had to throw away. reduced rating from 5 to 3 stars because of this.

Bought 6 of them. Pros: easy to carry and light Cons: It does not last long, averaging 1 per month due to tear at 1/4 way from the top. It would be better if stronger material is used and the bag is 5 inches shorter.

Update 10/9/2016: Unfortunately, I have to downgrade this product due to some quality issues. I purchased the 3-pack in July and used them once a week for about a month, then took a break. I picked up where I left off yesterday and noticed that the bag seemed to have some shredding towards the top. I figured I'd keep an eye on it but the situation quickly deteriorated. The bag developed an approximately 4 inch gash while I was using it. I see the same markings on another bag. While initially the product worked well, quality control seems to be an issue. The product should certainly last more than a couple of months. Disappointing...My backyard had been overrun with weeds and other living things that tend to take over when you're not paying attention. Using lawn & garden bags was an effort in futility so I decided to look for something much more useful.The GardenMate 3 pack Reusable Garden Leaf Waste bags are exactly what I needed! I knew I had a lot of yard waste but wasn't sure that I would actually need 3, 72 gallon bags. The price convinced me to take a chance. I'm so glad that I did!I have filled up each of the 3 bags that I have and could use even more. The wide opening has made the job so much faster and easier. Since I'm only using them to hold lightweight yard waste such as leaves and weeds, even when full, they have not been too heavy for me to carry. My backyard includes a small hill and I've been able to carry them downhill without a problem. They seem very well made, although I wouldn't test the limits by putting sharp objects such as nails in them.

Too expensive. I ended up buying a reel and cut them myself - cut at an angle so its easy to feed through. If it curls too much just dunk in boiling water and they straighten out on their own.

A waste of time and money, it was faster to use a mower and a rake. Don't waste your money.

The chipper stalled on a small branch and that overheated the motor. The breaker did not activate and the motor burned out. I had to go to the manufacturer for warranty service /replacement It's been over 45 days and no product

The plastic piece that attaches to the motor broke with in 2 weeksthe two star rating is more for the unsatisfactory customer serviceI called waited on hold for a hour left a call back number, they call back a hour latertried to blame me for being to rough on it and if it my fault its not covered on the 3 year warrantyafter a little debate if it is covered they agreed to sent me a new part if I give them $19.40 for shippingI could forgive the broken piece things sometime happen. after all its not the most expensive tool out thereI am keeping my $19.40 and not buying WORX again. well a least I have a three legged leaf bag holder.

For once I was fooled by previous reviews....this product is exactly what you pay for. Wet leaves? Forget about it...this product becomes useless as it will clog up and not work. Here's the thing...for all the effort you put into compacting your leaves...is it really worth it? You can buy leaf bags at the Home Repair stores for very little and spend less time filling them. The stand that comes with this mulcher/shredder is too low to allow you to put the common leaf bag under it, meaning you have to buy cinder blocks or something compatible to raise it higher and make it work. That's a low price, yet still something they should have thought of.Next, you definitely need a filter mask to use this tool...the dust it makes is ridiculous.I feel like I wasted my money. The same energy used to put leaves into this mulcher can be applied to put leaves directly into a lawn bag. Sure...I don't get the same efficiency of space, but I do spend less time getting the job done for a few pennies more.

I'd like to know what leaves they used to compare their ratio of 11 bags to 1 from. I have elm, pine, maple, popular, oak, and a couple others in my yard so I am overwhelmed in leaves. I already had about 40 full bags of leaves that I needed to mulch, however my ratio was FAR lower than advertised. I used 33 gallon lawn bags with the mulcher. It took only 2 1/2 bags of dried leaves to run through the mulcher until the lawn bag was full. I may as well pay to have the bags hauled off instead of taking the time to mulch them. I think this machine is more for small yards with very few trees.Also this machine is pretty loud. It kicks out a lot of dust, dirt and debris from the funnel at the top. So not only do you need to wear a mask, safety glasses, and hearing protection, but also long sleeves and a baseball cap to help keep the dirt off.

I purchased the Worx mulcher/shredder to shred my lawn waste for use in my compost bin. The description promised to shred leaves and small twigs which is all I need for my garden.The unit was easy to assemble and took no time at all and also required no tools, so I started with a positive. But it was all downhill from there. The shredding bin is much wider in diameter than the effective shredding diameter of the plastic shredding lines, plus it has huge gaping holes in the bottom. Combined with the wind generated by the spinning lines pushing most of what I tossed in out to the edges, roughly 75% of the leaves I threw in and nearly every single twig that went through came out entirely in tact. Even after repeatedly running the material through the shredder (which you really shouldn't have to do in the first place), I think I was able to shred maybe 50% of my leaves (and still none of the twigs) before giving up.It's too late for me to return it (entirely my fault), and now I'm even having trouble giving it away. Do not purchase this unit, it does not do its job.

It needs several improvements to do an effective job.I bought it for mulching some live oak leaves. They all drop at the same time and I've got a dozen large trees. In a typical year I'd get 30-40 bags of leaves for the trash man. With a 10 to 1 ratio that would reduce the bag count from 40 to maybe 5.It was easy enough to set up, and use, but it's major flaws are:a) no way to adjust the opening in the unit to control the size of the mulch being produced. Live oak leaves are relatively small and tough. Most of the leaves just fall through the large openings unmulched. I was looking for a size between a dime and a nickel after mulching to allow me to use it for some mulch under my trees.b) the small flimsy plastic string is not strong enough to stand more than a couple of runs of leaves. And any twigs introduced only add the to problem. Which means you will be buying a lot of string. And they don't appear long enough to reach the far edge of the unit. Again leaves go unmulched.This unit might work well for large soft leaves like Maples, but it won't work for live oaks.Consider a mulching mower blade or another mulching unit altogether.I'm not sure I can get my money back but if not, I've got some ideas I can try to improve the results. If they work, I'll report them here.

I put the machine together and got ready to test. I have some banana trees and the leaves fill a garbage can real quick. I put one leaf in and turned to get another. When I looked back the first leaf had disappeared. Where could it have gone. The adds say 11 to 1 compression. Not banana leaves, more like 100 to one. I have a lot of fruit trees and I use grass clipping, leaves and tree trimming for mulch and fertilzer. This works great. You should see the size and quanity of my fruit. I had a schreder and mulcher before but I put orange branches in it and that was the end of my Black and Decker schreder. Black and Decker did not support the repair. It broke the bearings and burned up the motor on my B&D unit. This machine goes thru stringer line kind of fast when used with branches. But Home Depot has new line rather cheap compared with buying that line that comes with the machine.I bought a garbage pail and put it under the machine. It collects my schreded stuff and allows me to spread it around the gardern.EDIT: After using it for a while I have found that this thing is usless for anything but small jobs with leafs only.. The slightest twig will break the leading strilng cutter. The training string cutter will just break itself immediately. The 13 inch string folds in two. See the illustration in the add for how it is assemble. I tried larger string (comes with .080 and I tried 0.095) and found no difference in performance. If you have much work to do you need to go to HomeDepot and by a large spool of string.EDIT 2: I called the company and asked for help. I asked it there was some way to add a steel blade. They said no. My leaf eater should be renamed string eater. I tried steel wire and it cut beautifully for 15 seconds and then the wires dissapeared like the string. The customer service at the company stated my leaves are to strenous for it. Or may it is not suitable for my work. I tried tying the string together where it comes out of the center disk and it helped a little but not much.

Thought it would be better than it was. It is not stable when the connection to the vacuum is being used. The weight and maneuverability of the 8' hose is too much for this basket. The seal between the two isn't too good either. Difficult putting the hose/top on to the basket. In theory it seemed like a good idea but it is not practical...too much of a hassle to be honest.

Combersum to use, heavy, not as powerful as my cordless blower. The vacuum head is too small and unless leaves or debris is collected then using it as a viable vaccum for large areas isn't fesible. I'd like to see it be more powerful and have a larger vaccum head to vaccum larger areas.

Bag wont stand up, the connection to the leaf connection system comes apart even with low suction power. I will continue trying to make this work and will upgrade my rating if I do but so far its Not good

Too small and flimsy. A waste of money.

too soft and flexible to handle the attachment.. really not worth the purchase, get yourself a sturdy can instead.

It is a little hard to use but it works enough to pick up some yard debris. Not very stable

After 3 months of use, one completely tore apart upon trying to empty it at our transfer station. A second one is beginning to tear.Apparently, they only last 3-3months.

Handles tear too easy!! 😩

Great idea fabric to thin. Holes in bottom after one use. Save money and buy thicker fabric one from AM Leonard.

When I first started using these bags I thought they were great, but after a month of using them to store leaves, they are now starting to fall apart at the seems. If you happen to mix in some small twigs in there, expect small holes all over. I would not buy this product again, spend a few extra dollars and get something more heavy duty.

they stand up and hold a lot...problem: seem to rip vertically way too easy and keep ripping. So, good idea but too fragile

The bags are heavy duty and strong. The problem is that the material doesn't hold up to the sun. My plan was to leave a bag in the garden so I could collect trimmings for the mulch pile. Initially I was very happy with my purchase. However after only two months, the bag is falling apart from sun exposure. I was hoping to have something that would last longer and be more attractive than the big black bags I used to use. It is stronger and more attractive, but I think it falls apart even faster in the sun than the cheap plastic bags.

This pack contains (24) 13" flex lines. On average, I had to change a pair of these flex lines for every 2-3 30gal bags I fill.

Cheap. After every barrel of leafs, you have to replace the strings. It is easier just to jump up and down in the barrel like a fool than trying to mulch with these cheap pieces of thread.

OMG. This seems like a bad joke. First off, the orange ring that's designed to hold the bag does not fit! On the largest hole, it's much too small. You have to toss it & use it without the ring. What the heck? Secondly & most important, the leaves are coming out about the same size as they went in. They are dry myoporum leaves about 3" long. Should just crumble. I can't believe this is even on the market. Now, I've got to package it up & return it which will be no easy chore. So disappointed. The ring won't fit & the leaves don't shred. Crazy!

I assembled my WORX WG430 leaf shredder this after noon. Easy enough assembly. No tools required. I read the instructions for use very carefully. Didn't "stuff" the machine with leaves, etc. The first 10 minutes of operation went very well. Leaves shredded nicely. Me, whistling a happy tune. Sun nice and bright. After ten minutes of use, the machine stopped functioning. More precisely, the shredder's electric motor lost 90 percent of its speed and, thusly, its power to shred leaves--which was the whole point of the purchase, wasn't it? At the present time, it won 't shred the wings on a moth. Luckily moths are not a current problem on my property. So now I can grab the rotating portion of the motor and stop it from rotating using my thumb and one finger. Easy. So there we have it. Monday, I shall call WORX's customer service and see what they say, how to ship it back, get all the right numbers on the return address, and figure out another way how to clean up the leaves in my yard. In other words, it will be a big pain in the butt to get this purchase rectified and get my money back. And that's how I spent my Saturday. How about you?

Very slow because you cannot put very many leaves in at a time. Rather labor intensive and the nylon stands do not last very long. Had to replace them after just four bags full. Doesn't mulch the leaves as much a I thought they would, whole leaves get through quite frequently.

I can't believe the positive reviews posted here on Amazon. If you want one of these you're welcome to have mine. Otherwise this one's going to the trash!The concept is good but the execution is flawed. This shredder is fairly sturdy but it has a hard time shredding leaves and debris. especially if they are the least bit damp. If they're dry, it creates a dust storm of pollen so wear a mask if you're brave enough to try it. A complete waste of money.

I purchased last month and just got to use today. Leaves just spin around the top due to the blower, and do NOT break down. I thought maybe I was using "girly" handfuls; no change when I used more or less. Trying to mulch oak leaves....picture shows how it actually "mulched". Returning if I can. What a waste.

The idea of shredding your leaves for faster compost is a good one....but this is not the solution. Its way too noisy and dusty to make it practical. Shredding just small amounts of leaves becomes a total nightmare with masses of dust, jams, and racket. I believe the only way to do this properly is to spend the big bucks on a proper commercial quality chipper/shredder....but for my residential backyard I've decided to just improve my composting technique by adding more nitrogen substance such as grass clippings, food scraps (vegetable), and water and I have found the non-shreded leafs are now composting just fine.

Does not work as advertised

This is a flimsy piece of junk. Had to go buy a real trash can because this did not do the job.

this item is not strong...it collapsed when I put on a thin plastic liner...

It's much too small to be of any use for leaves its much too small for any thing.its much too small for any cleanup.

The actual blower/vacuum works great. But the hose and barrel set up is a disaster. The tube does not sit on the top strait, and the barrel collapses and leaf chunks fall out.

Product is usually advertised as if it goes with the Leaf Collection System, but it is falsely advertised this way. It NEVER stays upright and you're always having to pick it up. Shipping it back was going to be $14+ (almost the cost of the item itself) so now it's in my garage hanging on a wall.

2 out of the 3 bags ripped at the seams during my first use. It was filled with lightweight loose hay. Not heavy at all. I would not recommend this product.

Not happy with this product. After just opening today and the plastic rings practically break in my hands. :-( used for this Summer and the bags ripped. Ugh.

Large enough but not at all like pictured. IT DOES NOT STAND ALONE AT ALL AND IS NO EASIER THAN PUTTING LEAVES DIRECTLY IN A LAWN & LEAF BAG. It comes with a flimsy plastic strap that you have to thread around the pocket on the inside of the top of the bag. There isn't anything provided to clamp the plastic strap so it will recede into the pocket after every use. You might as well just use the plastic leaf bags.

Actually I have been very disappointed with them. I have used them twice to pick up leaves and twigs that blew up onto my patio over the winter. They both have holes in the bottoms. I was expecting them to last a lot longer than this.

Unfortunately after only one use of collecting twigs in my yard the bag had holes in the bottom. It would have been great if made of stronger material. If you only put grass clippings or leaves it may have held up. Too bad as I now will return them.

After one use holding freshly clipped small twigs and branches, both bags I used had holes in the bottom. If I can figure out some way to reinforce the bottoms I may get adequate use from them.