The fastest, easiest way to handle the drudgery that is fall cleanup is to pay someone to do the work for you. But if you're going to do the work yourself—perhaps to save some money or get a bit of exercise—what's the fastest way to handle this chore?

To find out, we recently stacked man against machine, arming our outdoor maven Peter Sawchuk with a leaf blower and a rake and had him tackle a 15x15-foot plot of lawn covered with 6 inches of leaves. Click here to watch our new video of the leaf rake-off and see which method wins the battle. (It's sad to admit, but leaves  seem the likely winner of this annual "war.")

For more expert advice on dealing with leaves and other seasonal yard work, read "How to tackle fall cleanup."

JANUARY 2009 UPDATE: We will be testing gutter systems for a report that we expect to publish in the October 2009 issue of Consumer Reports.