Makita CBU02Z 40V max ConnectX™ Brushless Backpack Blower, Tool Only

I've had this blower for a few days now, and overall I am a bit underwhelmed.The things I like about the blower are as follows. First and foremost, it is fairly quiet at all speeds, and it doesn't have the high pitched whine that the Stihl handheld blowers all have despite being low noise units. I also like the fact that there is no "turbo" concept, I find that concept annoying especially when you have to hold something in place to engage it. The weight of the blower is taxing over long periods, but the straps are very well padded and the unit sits well on my frame so it is not uncomfortable. Assembly is straight forward and the battery is very easy to clip in and out.The things I dislike about the blower (and the pdc1200a01 battery) are as follows. Most importantly, once the battery level drops below about 1/2 the blower drops its power output dramatically unless you feather it on and off constantly. It looks like Makita is cheating with the battery level indicator on the blower itself ... they implement 3 leds to estimate the power whereas all their batteries have 4 leds, and when the battery itself still has 2 leds the machine shows just one. Soon after, the machine limits the blowing force if you don't pulse it on only for short periods even though the battery still shows 2 leds. My second issue, which is a battery issue, is the adapter is clumsy and the charging port plug is difficult to insert, on top of which the battery takes forever to charge (well over 4 hours). I also dislike the fact that you have to turn on the battery in order to use it, if you forget and mount the machine on your back you need to take it off and press the power button unless you can feel around your back and find it. I think for such an expensive tool, they also should have added a metal ring at the tip of the tube like the commercial competitors to avoid wear from rubbing on concrete.The blowing force feels quite good. I like their choice of CFM vs MPH and would not change that by using a more narrow tube.I had the Greenworks commercial GBB700, and I have the newer 82ba26. The GBB700 is a piece of crap. However, the 82ba26 is a much more powerful unit than this Makita blower, it's lighter with two 5Ah batteries, and it holds its power until the batteries are completely drained. However the greenworks unit is very loud and the noise is very unpleasant (screechy).I haven't tested out the Stihl BGA 300 or the EGO lbpx8000. These look to be superior options although the Stihl looks too heavy with the recommended battery and the EGO looks like it produces a lot more noise. They both do profess more blowing force but I find the Makita to be fairly decent for getting the job done. Of course, more power is better.