Back in mid to late 2018 when Echo debuted the PB-8010 backpack leaf blower they did a great job marketing this new powerhouse to consumers, commercial landscapers, and everyone in between. Echo claimed that the PB-8010 was the most powerful backpack leaf blower on the market. With specs like a 79.9 cc engine pushing out 1,071 CFM (Cubic Feet Per Minute) at 211 MPH to give it a blowing force of 44 N (Newtons), they were definitely in competition with models like the 580BTS from Husqvarna, the BR800 from Stihl, the Maruyama BL9000, and the Redmax EBZ8550 that have claimed to be or have been pointed to as being the most powerful leaf backpack leaf blower. Up to the debut of the PB8010 Echo’s top leaf blower was the PB770 which was a good all around blower, but just wasn’t in the same league as those other previously mentioned models. The PB8010 quickly became a flagship product for Echo and was in such high demand they struggled keeping up with the orders by Echo dealers.
As the demand grew and the praise of the PB8010 got louder the competition looked for ways to down play the PB8010 and try to hang on to their claim of having the most powerful backpack blower. Then, as expected with a brand new model of equipment, the PB8010 had a few issues that arose which slowed delivery to dealers as Echo tried to make corrections and fixes to the units before they were shipped out. These bugs also became the talking points of the competition as they continued to look for ways to discredit Echo and their new prized blower while trying to add features and tweak their own models to help keep their market share. Husqvarna made modifications to their 580BTS and rebranded it the 580BTS Mark II. The Redmax EBZ8550 is actually just a red version of the Husqvarna 580BTS so it was tweaked just as well. Stihl added the side starter option to their BR800. The fierce competition went on for well over a year with each brand pushing their features and trying to discredit the claims of the others. And if you’ve ran any of these models of backpack leaf blowers then you know that they are all powerful machines that live up to the hype.
Then without warning Echo decided they would just settle the debate once and for all. Around the end of summer in 2020 the PB8010 deliveries to dealers were again starting to slow and many of us thought that it was just due to the popularity and demand of it. But then out of nowhere Echo surprised everyone with a new an improved version of the PB8010 that they redubbed the PB9010. With this new model number came the clarity that any issues that were once associated with the originally released PB8010’s were gone. And on top of that, Echo found a way to crank out more power! With a few of the redesigned and improved components they were able to jump the CFM’s up to 1110 (39 more!), the air speed increased from 211 to 220 MPH, which gives the PB9010 a whopping 48 N of blowing force that clearly separates them from the completive models. With the PB9010 having 9% more power than the PB8010 it also meant that any PB8010 models left out there would no longer be in as high of demand as they were over the previous year.
With the PB9010 coming out of nowhere there were quite a few dealers that were left sitting on quite a few PB8010 models. Since the PB9010 had more power and the same MSRP the dealers were left with few options. They could keep their PB9010’s hidden until they sold out of PB8010 models, discount the price of the PB8010’s to make them more appealing, or put both models on display and just hope that the PB8010’s eventually sold. If there was a silver lining to the gray clouds of product shortages cast over dealers in 2021 it was the fact that they were able to sell items that they didn’t have much success with before.......or items that had become less appealing because they were replaced by something seemingly better. When the PB9010’s went on backorder that was the opening those dealers needed to bring the leftover PB8010’s back to the shelves.
The PB8010 was never a “bad” option for a powerful backpack leaf blower. It was just a casualty of the war between brands and models when Echo decided to distance themselves a bit further from the competition. There are still a lot of PB8010 blowers out there being used by commercial landscapers, home owners, farmers, and many others that can tell you that the PB8010 is a great piece of equipment with plenty of power and that if you come across one in your search for a PB9010 or one of the competitors models, you should probably buy it before it’s gone!
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