I have a sweet gum tree (drops those little spikey balls) and a Pecan tree. Yard is pretty messy, not to mention, about to be covered in leaves.

Raking takes forever. Not really interested in that. I'm wondering whether anyone here has ever tried a yard vacuum. I've been using a Black and Decker electric unit and it's not getting the job done. The plastic fan has been torn up pretty bad by the sweet gum balls it's sucked up.

I'm not sure I'm ready to go up to a full blown push unit. There's an Echo yard vac that is carried. Kind of like a big leaf blower. Anyone ever tried one of those? Any advice on what I need to be looking for?