Each testing metric was worth five points and a rake’s final score was an average of the three metric scores. Flooding: A layer of leaves can prevent excess water from draining, which can cause your grass to become waterlogged and cause flooding in your home.

The handle on this rake has grooves for better gripping and a rim to prevent your hands from slipping down the pole. We were also able to extend and shorten the pole’s length depending on our height and how far we wanted to reach. Our Score While customers said the product was heavy, they liked that most of the weight was in the head. They said that this allowed the head to break through compact soil without requiring too much force. However, some customers expressed a desire for the handle to be longer. Our Experience The rake was also easy to use. We liked that the rubber gripping went several inches down the handle because that allowed it to accommodate larger hands. However, our arms felt slightly tired after using the rake because of its heavy metal head. Our Score Fungus growth: Fungus grows in humid and cool conditions, which normally occur in the fall months when your leaves are on the ground. Fungus will start to grow in the leaves, infecting your lawn and creating yellow, white, or brown spots in the grass.

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Our team researched some of the most important factors to consider before buying a garden rake to help you choose one that’s right for you. Type We tested it in its shrub position by raking pine straw in between shrubs. We also fully extended it and tested it in a larger bed with pine straw and leaves. The tines performed well in the shrub position, but when we extended them to rake larger debris, they bent under too much pressure. Lawn rakes are typically used to clear your yard of leaves, but they can also be used for clearing other debris like pine straw. They have a long handle for a wide reach, and their metal or plastic tines fan out in a triangular shape. Shrub Shrub rakes are similar to lawn rakes, but they have a narrower head that can fit in tighter spaces, such as around bushes and along fences. Bow Tine buildup—A rake lost one point if we had to pause to clear its tines. If we didn’t have to clear the tines, the rake received full points for this metric.

Rakes are typically made of metal, plastic, wood, or fiberglass. The materials used for the rake handle and tines can be the same or different. Handle After finishing our tests, we rated each rake based on its ease of use and comfort using a scale of 1-5. Extra features like adjustability and grip material, along with the handle’s length and the head’s width, factored into the ease of use score. The comfort score was based on how tired our arms and hands felt after performing each task. Scoring Additionally, some rakes have extra features that make them easier to use. For example, rakes with telescoping handles allow you to change their length, while others have grips to prevent your hands from slipping during use. Other factors that affect a rake’s ease of use include its weight and head width. A rake that’s too large or too heavy can be cumbersome to handle. Testing Process Leaf rakes that are longer with a wider head allow you to clear big areas fast. They can also be heavier and require more effort to manage depending on their materials. Rakes with small heads—narrower than 10 inches or so—are ideal for clearing hard-to-reach spots. During our task efficiency tests, we counted the number of times we had to pause and clear the rake of leaves, pine straw, or debris. Ergonomics

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Similar to the first rake, we tested this one with dirt. It raked and leveled a large amount of dirt at once and didn’t accumulate any dirt buildup. While the rake’s wide head made it easy to handle, it limited where we could use it because it didn’t fit in tighter spaces. Additionally, its size and metal material made it heavy, which made our arms sore after testing. Our Score B.D.: I tend to prefer plastic rakes with fiberglass handles because they seem to hold up better and are also generally lighter than wooden or metal options, which makes the plastic-fiberglass rakes easier to use.

Rakes can weigh less than one pound or more than four. Their weight depends on their size and the materials used in their construction. Lighter rakes are good for tasks like raking dry leaves, while heavier rakes are good for heavy-duty tasks like moving dirt or leveling sand. Similar to the ORIENTOOLS rake, this rake arrived in two pieces. However, it was more difficult to assemble because the opening in the head for the pole was too small, so we had to use some force to get it to fit. It also came with a nut and bolt that were meant to further secure the pole to the head, but we struggled to get the nut through the handle. Eventually, we used the rake without the nut and bolt because it was already secure from the tight fit.Most rake handles are between 30 and 70 inches long. A longer handle allows you to reach farther, but you don’t want a handle that’s so long that it’s hard to control. In general, a rake should be in line with your eyes when it’s upright, meaning longer handles work better for taller people and vice versa. Leaf rakes have long, skinny tines that sit in a triangular or fan-shaped arrangement—also called the head—specifically intended to gather up leaves and light materials. Leaf rakes are not meant to be used for branches, stones, or other heavy yard materials and for these tasks we recommend using a metal rake. A hand rake is a smaller version of a shrub or bow rake. It has a shorter handle and fewer tines, and it’s designed for use around smaller plants like vegetables and flowers. Its short handle gives you ultimate control of where the tines touch. Material