I bought this to replace a Flymo Garden Vac with which I had been very disappointed, it was heavy, unbalanced and far too fiddly to empty. I found every time you thought you had finally got the collection bag on and its flimsy plastic frame seated correctly, the safety switch wasn't activated - meaning you have to take it off and start all over again. I also found it continually broke or threw off the small strimmer lines it uses to shred the waste and worst of all gave me chronic backache while using it. I own other Silverline tools so thought what the heck - its far cheaper and worth a go.
The Silverline is much lighter, it has a longer nozzle so taller people don't have to stoop to use it, it hangs over the shoulder comfortably and well balanced and is simple to empty as you simply unzip the bottom of the bag. It shreds well meaning less bag emptying and doesn't use those stupid little strimmer line things. Switching from vacuum to blower is as simple as moving a lever - takes about half a second. Obviously its longevity is an unknown at present but it has a full warranty and even when it does finally give up - replacing it is only half the cost of a Flymo.