Do some research on the shredder parts of those tools. I am not sure how they do over the long haul (blades and impellers). Some may do better than others. The blower side will be okay, but if you have alot of blowing, you can't beat a backpack blower.

I have a little electric Toro Blower/Vac/Shredder. I use it to clean up the carport and get some stuff around the plants. Maybe 2 hours a year on Vac.

I realize this is too late for the OP, but as it is getting closer to the 2010 leaf wars, I thought I'd post that there is a very nice comparisom of the Stihl and Husqvarna shredder/vacs by an Amazon reviewer at this web site address: http://www.amazon.com/Husqvarna-125BVX-2-Stroke-Gas-Powered-Handheld/dp/B00280MUZ8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1282829999&sr=8-1
That homeowner bought both machines and compared them head to head. He found both to be pretty good, but favored the shredding/vacuum ability of the Stihl as superior.
(There were other favorable reviews of the Stihl at the other following sites that are worth reading: http://www.epinions.com/review/Stihl_Vacuum_Shredder_SH85/content_224492621444 http://www99.epinions.com/review/Stihl_Vacuum_Shredder_SH85/content_451287092868 http://www.arboristsite.com/showthread.php?t=66122&page=11 .)
Based on this review, and many unfavorable reviews of the Echo shredder/vacs, I just purchased a Stihl, although my local retailer only had the Stihl HS55. My initial impression is that it is a great machine for what I intend on using it for.
I mainly intend on using it as a shredder/vac for leaves trapped between my house and the coninuous line of shrubbs that encirlce my house. (This area is too confined to blow leaves into a pile, as blowing only serves to get the leaves even more stuck in the azaleas.) The other areas are those parts of my large garden beds where blowing impales the leaves onto my roses and azaleas. In all these areas I have tries only moderately successfully to drag a power cord and my electric Black and Decker shredder/vac. But the frustration of getting the power cord repeatedly stuck in the shrubs usually ends up with me on my hands and knees stuffing the leaves into bags. (It's not that this would be such a terrible thing, but it is so time consuming when I know I have the rest of my leaves and other fall chores to contend with.)

[By the way, if others haven't found the joy of just mulching the majority of the leaves into their lawn with a good mulching mower, then I urge them to try it. If it seems too much work with a push mower, let this be the excuse to finally get that time saving riding mower you can use the rest of the year to 1/2 your mowing time and in the fall to decrease your raking time by 2/3's. Just get out there and mulch at least once a week - Don't wait for every last leaf to come down.]

Husks suck along with their non warranty.i had one and it worked for 3 weeks but they wouldn't repair nor replace it. I'll never buy another nor recommend them.Cheap junk that is not cheap