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6 Best Leaf Rakes of 2024
When fall arrives, leaves accumulate in a hurry. A well-made rake makes a significant difference — choosing the right one reduces the time it takes to keep your yard clean and clear, providing relief and confidence in your yard maintenance.
It's important to keep leaves picked up. Why?
Leaves invite pests. Bugs such as gnats flourish in wet, decomposing leaves.
Leaves cause drainage issues. A lawn filled with leaves creates a layer where water pools. This issue can cause your yard to flood.
Fungi thrive on lawns with leaves and damp conditions. Fungi love damp conditions, so keeping leaves off your lawn is important since they soak up water.
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There are plenty of rakes capable of meeting your specific needs. Whether you're looking for a classic steel-tine rake or an innovative poly-blade model, let's look at some of the best rakes of 2024.
Key Takeaways
Raking Importance: Leaves attract pests, cause drainage issues, and promote fungi, making leaf removal essential for lawn health. |
Rake Selection: Choose based on size, type, and material for comfort, durability, and efficiency. |
Top Picks of 2024: Groundskeeper II, Razor-Back, and Ames Poly Leaf Rake are standout options for durability and performance. |
Special Features: Clog-free designs and sturdy materials, like in the True Temper and Bully Tools, make tough tasks easier. |
Comfort Features: Lightweight rakes with long handles and cushioned grips reduce strain during use. |
What to Consider When Buying a Rake?
The choice of rake may seem trivial, but it will make or break your experience with the tool. As rakes come in numerous designs and are made of different materials, you should think about the aspects of the rake that will make it more effective and comfortable for you. The size and type of the rake and the material it's made of will greatly influence how you'll work with it.
Size
The first thing to consider when choosing a rake is its size: the head's width and the handle's length. The width of the head determines how much ground you can cover in each pass. Smaller heads typically cover about eight to 12 inches. Not bad for a small lawn. They make working in tight spots like garden beds easy.
Consider a head somewhere around 2 feet or more if you have a huge yard. These rakes will help you accumulate more leaves with each pass.
Handle length is also important: shorter handles are more compact and easier to store but require more bending, which could strain your back if you cover a lot of ground. Longer handles, ranging from 48 to 72 inches, will give you better reach.
Type
There are many designs of rakes available, each with a particular purpose in mind. Fan-shaped rakes are the most common. They're great for collecting leaves and for quickly covering a large area. Adjustable rakes can change their head width for confined spaces and wider spaces.
Those who need to rake branches or compost will want a heavy-duty option. Bow rakes meet the need. They're thicker and stronger, with strong tines to move wet leaves, gravel, or soil. Then, there are shrub rakes. They have thinner heads that are better for edging around shrubs and tight spaces in the garden.
Material
The material of the rake is an important factor. You'll want a tool with the right durability and weight. Plastic rakes are light, making them easy to work with for longer periods. They are good for most small jobs, such as removing dry leaves, but they might break under heavy pressure or while working with wet debris.
Metal rakes are much more durable and geared for more rigorous use. Steel tines easily move wet leaves, mulch, or small rocks but are heavier than aluminum, which is lighter and more durable but without the added weight.
The Best Rakes of 2024
Groundskeeper II
The Groundskeeper II Rake is built tough. Its steel tines feature a spring design that creates its own torsion — meaning they dig into the ground themselves without users pushing down. This design puts less strain on the back. Pretty cool.
This rake can be used to pull up thatch and mulch or to bring together small debris. Homeowners who maintain a yard in all seasons appreciate that this rake is useful for gathering leaves in the fall and also excels in pulling weeds and clearing out garden beds.
The Groundskeeper II is lightweight; it's about two pounds, making it relatively easy to manage – even for long periods – and helps limit user fatigue.
The full-size Groundskeeper II has a 21-inch wide head with 28 steel tines. There's also a shrub rake (9-inch head, 12 steel tines) and a mini rake (6-inch head, 8 steel tines). The fiberglass handle is strong and comfortable.
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Razor-Back 24-Tine Steel Rake
The Razor-Back 24-Tine Steel Rake is a heavy-duty rake that can be used to tackle tougher jobs. It has 24 solid steel tines that offer superior durability. It can pull out thatch as well.
It's durable for a lighter rake. It will hold up to rigorous work. The main feature of the Razor-Back is its steelhead, a 24-inch-wide sweep that covers a lot of ground quickly and efficiently.
This makes it ideal for people with big yards, dense leaf piles, or anyone just looking for a tool to help them get into hard-to-reach areas.
The spacing between the tines is tight enough to snag even the tiniest leaves and debris. Yet, thanks to their flexibility and a bit of stiffness, the tines can also be used for heavier yard chores, like turning soil, cultivating vegetable beds, or breaking up clods of dirt.
At 51 inches long, the handle also reaches further, allowing you to complete jobs with less bending or strain, especially after hours of use.
Bully Tools 16-Tine Bow Rake with Fiberglass Handle
Bow rakes bring muscle. And the Bully Tools 16-Tine Bow Rake is all muscle and 100 percent made in the USA. It won't break when tackling a tough job. It can spread mulch, gravel, and soil or loosen up hard, compacted earth.
Its 10-gauge steel head is more durable than other bow rakes. Homeowners and contractors love its powdered coat finish for rust prevention and its over-welded connections that keep tines from snapping.
A 58-inch fiberglass handle provides good leverage and length — even for taller users. The durable head of the Bully Tools Bow Rake and the resilient handle make this a comfortable rake for long-term use.
Bow shape rakes are designed with short, strong tines. Rakes like the Bully Tools Bow Rake can collect leaves but excel at pulling and pushing compost, gravel, mulch, and soil.
Ames 26-Inch Poly Leaf Rake
The Ames 26-inch Poly Leaf Rake is an inexpensive, lightweight tool for gathering large quantities of leaves in a short amount of time. Its 26-inch poly head gives you a lot of surface to quickly pile up leaves. Customers with large yards love this rake.
The poly tines are flexible. They're also strong enough to handle wet or dry leaves without breaking or bending.
A lot of thought went into its comfort grip handle. It's cushioned. These details matter for homeowners with large yards. At 2.32 pounds, this rake is truly lightweight. The fact that customers say it's tough despite its lightweight build is a plus.
The handle length is 60 inches, so if you're tall and need a new rake to handle light jobs, this one may be worth adding to the list of options.
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True Temper Clog Free Poly Leaf Rake
The 24-inch Clog-Free Leaf Rake from True Temper is ideal for homeowners fed up with tines clogging up with leaves. This rake features a unique design, with uniquely shaped tines that keep leaves from getting stuck in the tines and keep the raking experience smooth and uninterrupted. This can be a real benefit in wet leaf beds.
The 24-inch wide head makes cleaning big areas a breeze, saving time while holding back the spread of fall foliage. The poly head is light and sturdy, great for moving around large yards, and won't bend or break under the weight of wet leaves. It's gentle on lawns, making quick work of leaf cleanup without damaging grasses or uprooting delicate plants.
One of the best features of the True Temper rake is the ergonomic handle. The 48-inch hardwood handle strikes a nice balance between length and durability.
Corona 19-Inch Leaf Rake
The Corona 19-inch Leaf Rake is the perfect choice for homeowners who demand precision and control with their yard work. Its 19-inch head clears two feet in a single pass.
Its extra-wide, 25-inch spring steel tines bend and flex without snapping under strain. This rake works equally well on dry leaves, damp leaves, pine needles, and light thatch. The handle is made of lightweight aluminum.
Users state you must wear gloves when using this rake since there's no cushion grip. Long work with bare hands may be an issue.
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Quick Summary
Rake Model | Key Features | Best For |
Groundskeeper II | - Steel tines with torsion for self-digging action - Lightweight (2 lbs) - Fiberglass handle for comfort | All-season yard work, pulling weeds, and garden beds |
Razor-Back 24-Tine Steel Rake | - 24 durable steel tines - 24-inch wide head - Flexible tines for tough jobs | Large yards, dense leaf piles, and tough debris removal |
Bully Tools 16-Tine Bow Rake | - 16 steel tines for heavy-duty tasks - 10-gauge steel head, rust-resistant finish - 58-inch fiberglass handle | Spreading mulch, gravel, soil, or loosening compact earth |
Ames 26-Inch Poly Leaf Rake | - 26-inch poly head for quick leaf gathering - Lightweight (2.32 lbs) with cushioned grip handle | Large yards, handling both wet and dry leaves |
True Temper Clog-Free Poly Leaf Rake | - Unique tines design prevents clogging - 24-inch wide poly head - Ergonomic 48-inch hardwood handle | Quick and smooth raking without tines clogging |
Corona 19-Inch Leaf Rake | - 25 spring steel tines for durability - 19-inch head with aluminum handle | Precise yard work, handling dry leaves, damp leaves, and thatch |
Keeping a lawn free of leaves is an important task. Letting leaves be is an issue. They create wet environments that harbor poor drainage — pests and fungi love damp lawns.
The best leaf rakes of 2024 help keep your lawn healthy. Rakes today are designed with the user in mind. For those with large yards to rake, lightweight materials, long handles, and cushioned grips make the work much less painful.
