Last Updated on April 4, 2024 by Real Men Sow

The 10 Best Garden Spades (Review) 2021

The Best Garden Rakes

Where would we really be without the trusty garden rake? Clearing up leaves and clippings by hand, chances are. That’s why the best garden rakes are built for ease of use and for helping to get rid of some of the most annoying debris that clog up our gardens.

In this guide, we are going to take a look at the best garden rakes we’ve found for you to buy online right now. These are some of the best garden rakes in terms of design, gardener reviews and more. Take it from us – if you’ve got foliage or grass to shift, you’re going to want one of these tools by your side, or at least in the shed.

In This Review

Spear & Jackson 2155NS Select Carbon Steel Flexo Lawn Rake

Spear Jackson is easily one of our favourite garden product and tool brands. This rake really does everything you need a lawn rake to do – it benefits from carbon steel prongs, and it’s also coated especially to resist all kinds of rust and soil problems. It’s as flexible as the name suggests. There’s a soil rake in the same line, too.

Features

Dimensions: 166 x 45 x 9.5cm
Weight: 0.6kg

Spear and Jackson Plastic Leaf Grabber

Amongst the best rakes in this list there was always bound to be a grabber! Who need tines after tines and a steel head when you can be clearing leaves with a long-distance gripper? For some people, grabbers are easier to handle than garden rakes. We really like this long handled grabber as it’s so simple.

Features

Dimensions: 1140 x 50 x 14cm
Weight: 1.21kg

Draper 21862 190-570 mm-Spread Adjustable Lawn Rake

With a plastic grip handle system and 15 steel tines, this rake is great for getting up foliage, garden cuttings and more. It’s a good all rounder, and we like it for its head flexibility and locking mechanisms. It easily spreads open and closes again whenever you need it to!

Features

Dimensions: 36 x 7.4 x 146cm
Weight: 1kg

Rovtop 63 Inch Garden Leaf Rake

This is an Amazon’s Choice winner and it’s a good all-rounder if you struggle to bundle those leaves up and moving! Nice and rust-resistant, this rake also offers safety locking and is easy to maneuver one-handed if needed. It’s also adjustable, meaning if you need to make space for more length, it’s just a twist away, and a great help.

Features

Dimensions: 75 x 18 x 3.9cm
Weight: 0.8kg

Jardineer Telescopic Garden Leaf Rake Tools

This telescopic rake will help you get nuisance garden debris up and away at a distance. It’s got a thick handle and the head is always nice and easy to adjust. Not quite a soil rake, but for autumn foliage, this is one of the best garden rakes going.

Features

Dimensions: 43.69 x 53.34 x 170.18cm
Weight: 0.6kg

Spear and Jackson Neverbend Carbon Plastic Leaf Rake

As the name suggests, this is a pretty sturdy rake that we’re only too happy to review. This is a popular garden tool staple and offers a nice soft grip that will always be easy to handle. There’s 24 tines on the head which should be more than enough for your garden.

Features

Dimensions: 3.5 x 150 x 56.5
Weight: 0.82kg

JVL Outdoor Twenty Tooth Garden Lawn Leaf Rake

This brilliant budget leaf rake has plenty of tines and is very light in weight. It has a long enough handle for most gardeners to feel at ease with, and even those who are completely new to the wonderful world of raking should find the heat tough enough to make hay through some thick cuttings. It’s amongst the best all around picks.

Features

Dimensions: 127 x 41 x 1.5cm
Weight: 0.4kg

Spear & Jackson 4184NB Elements Leaf Rake

This leaf rake looks the part and is weatherproof. It has an impressive 24 different tines, and is nice and soft on the grip. It receives plenty of great reviews – and while you may be used to cheaper rakes out there, you really do get a rake that’s designed to last, here.

Features

Dimensions:162 x 56 x 1.5cm
Weight: 0.86kg

Crystals® 120cm Metal Extending Garden Leaf Leaves Rake

This garden rake is ideal for loose grass and foliage, and the best part is, it’s fully extendable. It’s therefore a superb choice if you often struggle with reach. It has 15 separate teeth and is even lighter than it looks. You can also adjust the head if you need to!

Features

Dimensions: 120 cm Max
Weight: Not Clear

Bulldog BPR Plastic Leaf Rake

Get a handle on this plastic leaf rake if you’re looking to buy a new way to clear up those leaves. What you see is what you get with this rake – it boasts splayed tines and cranked teeth, and has a very sturdy ash handle that attaches firmly to the plastic head. It might not look like the best, but it certainly packs a punch. From the handle to the head, make a point to add this to your new tools list.

Features

Dimensions:165 x 59 x 5cm
Weight: 0.445kg

How to Choose a Garden Rake?

Choosing the best garden rake tool for your needs doesn’t have to be hard. In fact, many of the important points you need to consider are pretty easy to come up with and look for.

Consider the length of your rake, for example. Regardless of whether you choose a square ended rake or something with a wide flare, the best rake for you – the most comfortable fit, in any case – is one that you won’t have to endlessly stoop down and use. If you are taller than most people, look for a longer rake. Simple!

Do also be careful to look for products of a certain weight. Consider your own strength! If you don’t have that much upper body power, then a heavy duty rake is going to tire you out very quickly. You will do well to buy a lighter type of rake or tool which doesn’t give your arms and hands serious fatigue. Otherwise, you’re probably going to find the job pretty tiring.

Look, too, for a product depending on what you need to rake up. Some materials used in rake design will be better at collecting wet mulch than dry bits and pieces. Others will do well with lawns, while some will be perfect for leaves. Sometimes, it is all to do with how the rake is made, or what it is built from.

As you can see from the product choices in our buying guide, hunting down that perfect designed rake for your garden can be tricky – as there is so much choice!

Take our tips in mind and always read buyer reviews from verified purchases, too. These reviews will help you cut out a large portion of time spent hunting for the best tool made for the job.

Do also look for a specialist range or brand of soil rake, too, if your aim is to get into the really soft stuff and to start sifting the earth about.

Garden Rakes – FAQs

What Does a Garden Rake Do?

A garden rake – well – helps you rake up foliage and grass!

A rake can arrive in many different materials and looks. It is sometimes hard to know what to look for before you buy. Ultimately, however, you are looking for something that can pick up debris well, and which may relieve you of all kinds of gardening headaches.

A rake is an ideal tool to keep in your shed regardless of if you need products to help with clearing lawn cuttings, leaves or other rubbish.

What type of Rake is Best For Leaves?

In our collective experience, the type of rake most useful for leaves is going to be made of metal, and has long, played, catching prongs.

There are some rake design options which have straight or square edges, and some which flare outwards. In our collective opinion, it’s those which flare out which are great for scooping up and condensing free leaves that are seriously annoying to pick up by hand.

It doesn’t really matter what brand you go for, in this respect. Take a look out for ideal rake designs which offer much in the way of collecting length – it’ll be less work for you in the long run, and it’ll mean there is less heavy duty work to finish off in the garden.

Are Metal or Plastic Rakes Better?

Metal rakes and plastic rakes sometimes serve different purposes. Both can be good for clearing leaves and lawns. However, a quality rake in either material should weather all kinds of use.

Metal rakes, such as those built in stainless steel or carbon steel, may be ideal for wet mulch or fallen leaves. However, you’re going to need to make sure that your rake head – for example a steel head – is weatherproof and rust-resistant. The reason for checking the head should be pretty obvious – we would have thought!

Plastic rake head systems aren’t bad at all – new models and brand tools offer well made plastic heads that are great for dealing with wet and dry produce and leavings.

Therefore, the best garden rake for your needs might not come down to metal or plastic. Keep an eye out for handle length and handle grip more than head material if you can!

Find your new rake from our list above in no time!