I recently purchased this blower to replace my Black and Decker cordless blower NS118 18V NiCd blower. I had the B&D since 2005. The main reason why I decided to replace my B&D with the Worx is because it uses a lithium battery instead. The B&D uses NiCd battery that lowers the power to the blower motor as the battery drains. With the B&D, I usually had full power for 5 minutes however by 10 minutes it was usually coming to a slow stop (even with new battery). I did try out the Ryobi lithium blower (HD) before ordering the Worx however the Ryobi had very little power. The Ryobi was actually less powered than the B&D. The Worx by far is the best cordless blower currently on the market. It has significant more power than the B&D and blows the Ryobi out of the water. The great thing about the Worx is that it uses lithium battery instead. With lithium, you have full 100% power until the battery is totally dead. There is no slow down of power as the battery drains compared to older battery technology. The Worx is also lighter (probably due to the lithium battery being much lighter than NiCd). I used the blower for the first time today. I used it for about 15 minutes and did not drain the battery. I actually had power to spare. This is an impossible task for the B&D since it would be dead within 10 minutes. The down side to this blower is the price. I purchased it as part of a package that comes with the lithium string trimmer (another great product) which ends up being a better deal. One thing I do want to point out is that if you have an electric or gas powered blower, do not expect a cordless blower to have the same power. Cordless blowers are not currently capable of having the same power output as gas or electric however they are great for clearing a driveway, patios or light to medium duty jobs. A benefit to these blowers is the portability which is a huge plus. As for build quality, it is similar to the B&D which is durable and should last for years.