The Drew&Cole Leaf Chief, a manual leaf collector, is reduced to £68.40 on Yimbly with code AUTUMN10 during Black Friday, saving £32 off its £99.99 price. The device promises to make quick work of fallen leaves without the physical effort of raking.
How the Leaf Chief works
The leaf and grass collector operates manually by being pushed back and forth across the garden, activating built-in plastic rakes that channel fallen leaves into an included 100L detachable nylon collection bag. It carries no running costs, unlike a conventional leaf blower.
According to Drew&Cole, 291 specially-designed bristles reach out and grab leaves, scooping them into the attached bag for efficient, hassle-free cleaning. The device also features an adjustable sweeping height, controlled by a simple dial, so gardeners can customise the raking height to suit the terrain and leaf coverage.
Testing the Leaf Chief in a real garden
The reviewer, whose narrow plot has trees overhanging on both sides, tested the device after autumn arrived early this year following storm Boelo, which brought gusts of up to 85mph in parts of the country. The task of clearing leaves is one they dread, but recent advice from gardener Alan Titchmarsh highlighted the importance of clearing leaves from the lawn, as they deny grass crucial light and air, which can trigger fungus diseases. Speaking on his YouTube channel earlier this month, he said: "The sooner you clear them up, the better it is for your garden."
The Leaf Chief arrives with some assembly required, but the reviewer was up and running within around 15 minutes of unboxing. However, the instruction booklet could be improved with better quality images, and one set of screws seemed to be numbered incorrectly.
Performance and ease of use
Operation was simple: just push the Leaf Chief up and down the garden. The reviewer found it would make an ideal gift for more mature gardeners or those with reduced mobility, as it removes the need for raking and bending down to bag leaves. The handlebar height can be adjusted between a couple of settings, which was handy when the reviewer and their 6ft tall husband took turns using it.
One caveat noted was that pickup quality struggled on uneven sections of the lawn, which might require experimentation with the height settings of the collection head. However, after 10 minutes of use, the majority of leaves were picked up, enough to prevent them suffocating the lawn over winter.
Cleanup was straightforward, as the collection bag clips smoothly on and off for easy transfer to the garden waste bin or compost heap. The Leaf Chief can also be stored on a garage wall with an included wall storage bracket, though the reviewer could not test this as the wall plugs were too deep for their garden shed.
The reviewer concluded that the Leaf Chief is a simple but effective design that does one job well, and with no power use, it avoids adding to energy bills. The Leaf Chief is available on Yimbly, an online marketplace owned by Reach plc, for £68.40 with code AUTUMN10 during the Black Friday sale.
