What’s the Best Pine Needle Rake You Can Buy?
Anyone who has pine trees knows that you can expect havoc in your yard every fall. The best way to tackle this problem is to get the best rake for pine needles. Having the right tool for any project is half the battle. Make sure you do your research and find out how to pick the best pine needle rake for your needs and landscape.
While you may be motivated to find creative ways to get rid of the pine needles in your yard, the tried and true method of just raking them is still one of the best ways to rid your yard of those dreaded pine needles. A rake that is flexible, ergonomically designed, and also multi-functional can convert a painful day of raking pine needles into an effortless chore.
Here are a few tips on what to look for when choosing the best rake for pine needles and a detailed guide with rake reviews to help you start shopping.
- Best Hand Rake: Root Assassin Rake
- Best For ATV: Yard Tuff Pine Straw Rake
- Best Ergonomic Rake: Amazing Rake
- Best For Tractor: Field Tuff Pine Straw Rake
- Most Flexible Rake: Flexrake Classic Rake
- Best 3-Point Attachment Rake: Titan 3 Point Pine Straw Needle Rake
- Best Value For Money: TRG Inc Rake The Groundskeeper II
- Best Garden Rake: Midwest Aluminum Landscape Rake
- Best For Leaves: Gardenite Adjustable Garden Leaf Rake
- Best Roof Rake: Sweepa – Rubber Rake (Head Only)
Types of Rakes
Leaf Rake – A leaf rake, otherwise known as a lawn rake, is great for raking leaves. It comes in a range of widths up to thirty inches and a long handle with tines fanning out to form a triangle. Variations between rakes lie in the type of material used to make the tines. Usually made of either bamboo, plastic, or metal, the most gentle rake tines are made of bamboo and are used when raking over garden beds or groundcovers. Plastic tines are perfect for moving a large number of leaves and work especially well when the leaves are wet. Metal tines are the most durable but not quite as effective as a rake with plastic tines.
Shrub Rake – A shrub rake is constructed similarly to a leaf rake but features a smaller span of tines to give you better access to the area under shrubs, along with your fencing, or anywhere your landscape may be tight. Not everyone needs a shrub rake. It mostly depends on your needs and your landscape. When choosing a shrub rake, look for a handle that can telescope in out and out which is a convenient feature for some yards.
Bow Rake – The best choice for leveling sand and dirt or any materials that are heavier than leaves, a bow rake is thicker and shorter than a leaf rake. Made of metal, the bow rake is the workhorse of the rake varieties and is particularly useful when you do your own landscaping projects, seasonal mulching, or have a gravel driveway.
Hand Rake – A smaller bow rake or shrub rake, a hand rake comes with a short handle and is usually about the size of a garden trowel. This is a great tool when you work around small plantings or in and around flowers. With a short handle, you get better control in tight spaces although you will spend a lot of time down on the ground in the dirt.
Thatch Rake – Not used for raking leaves , a thatch rake is used to remove thatch which is a layer of material between the soil and your lawn.
1. Root Assassin Rake
- Product Dimensions: 15 x 6 x 58 inches
- Materials: Powder-coated aluminum with a plastic D-handle
- Weight, Pounds: 1.7
- Type of Work: Removing grass, leaves, tree waste, pruning clippings, fallen fruit, or moss
- Number of Tines: 18
Key Features and My Experience
Unlike most rakes that just scoop up small amounts of leaves, the Root Assassin Rake will not break or bend under pressure making you waste time and causing back problems. With a two-piece aluminum pole measuring 58 inches, this is an easy-to-store and transport rake that only weighs 1.75 pounds. Allowing you to do the job in half the time, this rake allows you to remove moss, fallen fruit, pruning clippings, tree waste, leaves, and grass, plus it also works better than most nets for skimming your swimming pool.
The Rake Assassin will make a difference in how you attack your outside chores with an expertly designed handle that is heavy-duty and durable.
This is more than just a rake with a special design that makes working in the yard a breeze. The innovative technology features a bend in the bottom part of the pole that lets you roll the handle and convert it into a shovel. With just a simple hand motion, you can draw the pile of waste or leaves to you and then use a scoop motion to shovel the debris.
- Great powder coating for an outdoor tool
- Works really well as a spade in the woods
- Great for planting trees and plants
- Needs a more lightweight handle
- Overall balance is off
2. Yard Tuff Pine Straw Rake
- Product Dimensions: 65 x 61 x 35 inches
- Materials: Durable steel
- Weight, Pounds: 90
- Type of Work: Rakes pine, straw, leaves, grass and debris
- Number of Tines: 24
Key Features and My Experience
The Yard Tuff pine straw is an ideal choice for users or homeowners who want to use it on their huge expanse of land, lawns, and garden for a very long period of time. With a working width of sixty inches, the Yard Tuff Pine Straw Rake helps you cover a large yard in a short amount of time. You get optimal performance with twenty-four, 5/16-inch spring steel tines that are reliable and durable ensuring that you can get the project done. Plus, the twelve-inch pneumatic tires give you easy maneuverability over different terrains. When users purchase this product, it can fall in their favor to be a smart long-term investment but let them note that assembling this product may end up being very complicated . This happens because the instructions that come with the product can be confusing. You need to read it carefully and follow all the necessary steps to make sure you are right.
Made of durable steel and featuring a powder-coat paint finish, with the Yard Turf pine rake, you get a rake that will last you a while. The lift handle allows you to drop your collection of debris easily to effectively and quickly rake up debris, grass, leaves, and pine needles.
- Nice black finish
- Easily gathers up pine straw
- Good quality tines and metal pieces
- Bolts tend to get stripped
- Handle slips easily when you hit a bump
3. Amazing Rake
- Product Dimensions: 17 x 64 x 5 inches
- Materials: Made of unbreakable Copolymer Polypropylene
- Weight, Pounds: 2.5
- Type of Work: For leaves, grass, pine needles, debris
- Number of Tines: 17
Key Features and My Experience
If you are on a budget and you need an affordable device that can be an ideal choice if you have a smaller backyard or garden. Both Lightweight and ergonomic, the Amazing Rake measures seventeen inches long and is a great tool for smaller yards that have large amounts of pine needles. This is a 3-IN-1 tool that picks up, scoops, and rakes debris in your hand. You won’t have to worry about bending over, stopping, and stooping so low having to touch dirt and debris. This rake from amazing has a specialized curved shape that spans over 17 inches in width. Due to this design, it may be hard to learn how to use the device, but once one masters it, they can be able to use it to collect plenty of pine straws from the ground.
This Amazing Product is a bargain deal. Although it is made out of plastic, it is very durable due to the fact that the plastic used in its construction, is an unbreakable copolymer polypropylene. Its ergonomic design helps you prevent back pain, and its design helps you rake and scoop your backyard quickly saving you time and energy.
- Great rake if you have a large yard
- Gives you relief from bending over constantly
- Saves a lot of time during yard cleanup
- Doesn’t scoop up large amounts of leaves
- Doesn’t work well when putting leaves in bags
4. Field Tuff Pine Straw Rake
- Product Dimensions: 17 x 61.2 x 33 inches
- Materials: Durable Steel
- Weight, Pounds: 57.3
- Type of Work: Rakes pine, straw, leaves, grass, and debris
- Number of Tines: 26
Key Features and My Experience
The field Tuff Pine Straw Rake is one of the best Rakes for pine needles and that is why it is on this top 10 list. Giving you the most in reliability, durability, and performance, the Field Tuff Pine Straw Rake measures sixty inches long allowing you to cover a lot of ground at one time.
It can attach directly to a hitch for convenient use and is perfect for raking debris, grass, leaves, straw, and pine. With this rake for pine needles, you are guaranteed that your expanse of land is cleared in no time.The company Field Tuff made this product stand for a long period of time. For this reason, the company gives a 1-year limited manufacturer’s parts warranty to give customers and users peace of mind when purchasing their products.
- Well-made rake that works well overall
- Sturdy rake with good capacity to do a thorough job
- Nice design with a corrosion-resistant coating
- Assembly is pretty involved and takes a while
- Bolts need a locking mechanism
5. Flexrake Classic Rake
- Product Dimensions: 57 x 25 x 3 inches
- Materials: Steel head, wood handle
- Weight, Pounds: 2.4
- Type of Work: Leaves, messy pine needles, additional lawn debris
Key Features and My Experience
If you are looking for a handy way to clean up yard debris from even as high as your roof, the Flexrake Classic Rake is worth checking out. The company created and manufactured an amazing product with a unique but sleek design. This product may seem ordinary looking and different from other pine rakes but once you see it in action, you would be very impressed. It can handle pines, leaves and debris which is known to be messy very easily. With a 48” wood handle and 24” steel rake head, the Flexrake is the perfect tool to clean up a yard full of pine needles.
If you have particularly long pine needles, the Flexrake makes it easy to pick them up unlike other rakes on the market.
Although the handle of this product is very durable, the place that connects the head to the handle seems a bit low quality . But fear not, that won’t affect the total durability of the product.
- Better at picking up pine needles than other rakes
- Great for really long pine needles
- Can also get pine needles off of your roof
- Handle isn’t very strong and cracks after a few uses
- Not good for large yards
6. Titan 3 Point Pine Straw Needle Rake
- Materials: Steel
- Weight, Pounds: 120
- Type of Work: For pine straw needles, leaves, sticks, and other debris
- Number of Tines: 28
Key Features and My Experience
Measuring five feet, the Titan 3 Point Pine Straw Needle Rake is great to use for rounding up pine needles with your compact tractor with its 3-point attachment. It also features replaceable coiled tines to give you better spring action. This rake is perfect for a medium to a large expanse of land. This is because it can be moved around easily regardless of its weight.
Made of steel, the Titan features tines that are heat-treated and spaced two inches apart and 22.5 inches long which would give it the ability for maximum work coverage. It will also work well with raking up sticks, leaves, grass, and other debris that can weaken the roots of your grass.It is compatible with a category one hitch or a compact tractor.
- Heavy-duty and well-made tool
- Comes with three-point attachment pins
- Won’t hurt your grass
- Not great for dead leaves
- Doesn’t come with instructions
7. TRG Inc Rake The Groundskeeper II
- Product Dimensions: 5 x 21 x 3.6
- Materials: Steel tines, fiberglass handle
- Weight, Pounds: 1.03
- Type of Work: Leaves, sticks, twigs, grinder chips, bark, mulch and even gravel
- Number of Tines: 28
Key Features and My Experience
Pine needles littering around the house can be so annoying every now and then. If you are looking for a device that would enable you to be able to gather this litter possibly to use it as mulch, the Groundskeeper II from TRG is your best choice.
Designed with 28 steel tines and 55-inch fiberglass, this product is not your average rake. Not that it is sophisticated as a smart device or it runs on battery, there is nothing really special about this rake but it has one of the best build qualities most rakes on this list don’t.
These tines look very stiff but if it’s pulled or pushed backward, it can bend in that same direction. The product is color so when you keep it in a dark room or one which is not conversant With light, you can be able to locate it. The only drawback of this device is that the head can’t be adjusted, therefore, it can’t be used in extremely tight places.
- It is affordable
- It is easy to use
- It is made with durable materials
- No need for downward pressure
- The rake head can’t be adjusted
- The head often falls off the handle
8. Midwest Aluminum Landscape Rake
- Product Dimensions: 66 x 36 x 4
- Materials: Aluminum
- Weight, Pounds: 5.1
- Type of Work: Rakes pine, straw, leaves, grass, and other
- Number of Tines: 36
Key Features and My Experience
This rake from Midwest is a good landscape rake that is ideal for handling and raking a lawn. It has a rounded tine and handles that are made out of aluminum which offers a smooth and firm raking action. This, in turn, prevents any gouging during raking and the striking edge is excellent for grading. Users can be able to make use of the edge to edge some parts of your lawn. The handles of the 10036 are designed to be strong with warp bracing while the head has a heavy-duty rib construction for maximum performance and stability.The handle is perfectly designed to be 66-inches long and the steel is coated in aluminum powder to boost durability.
The head of this pine rake has a solid aluminum plug that can keep the connection in place. This rake can do a great job of collecting debris and other materials like leaves, pine needles, etc.
- The handles are steady and not slippery
- There is a double-rib construction for added stability
- It is made out of aluminum making it compact and lightweight
- You need to apply force to grab the material because the product is very light
9. Gardenite Adjustable Garden Leaf Rake
- Product Dimensions: 43.31 x 0.39 x 1.97
- Materials: Steel
- Weight, Pounds: 2.13
- Type of Work: For leaves, pine needles, etc.
- Number of Tines: 15
Key Features and My Experience
The Gardenite rake for pine needles is one of my top picks when it comes to rakes which are perfect for pine needles. Measuring about 63-inches long, this product comes with an adjustable head that has an innovative slide mechanism that makes it possible for users to expand it from 7 inches to 22 inches. Due to the presence of this sliding feature, using this pine rake in places that are hard to reach is a huge plus to most users. When it comes to the handle, it is totally made out of steel which is coated in zinc so users can use it for a longer period of time. This is a huge change compared to older types of rake with wooden handles that may rot within a short period of time. The handle also measures ¾ inches wide.
This product is also compact and lightweight, weighing only about 2 pounds. It is however much heavier than most products that can be found on my list. When it comes to the build quality, this product is A1 but users won’t be able to do a lot of raking with this device due to the fact that it wasn’t designed to undergo heavy raking.
There are no enhanced grip points so if your hands are slippery, you would really have a hard time making use of this product.
- It is very long and convenient for users
- It comes with a stainless steel head
- It is very lightweight at just 2 pounds
- If is coated in zinc to prevent rust
- It cannot be used for a long period of time
10. Sweepa – Rubber Rake (Head Only)
- Product Dimensions: 16.1 x 3 x 1.1
- Materials: Rubber
- Weight, Pounds: 0.128
- Type of Work: Leaves, debris, etc.
- Number of Tines: 27
Key Features and My Experience
When it comes to pine rakes, Sweepa took it to another level compared to other companies that manufacture the product. The innovators of this product decided to sell the head of the rake as well as the handle of the rake separately. Since this head or brush is the actual product that handles the job, I am going to focus on that particular product. This pine rake is made entirely out of rubber which makes it acquire additional grip. With this product, you can collect dirt, debris, pine needles, and other items easily.
This rake is ideal for homeowners with patios and pavements because when users use this product, due to the fact that it is rubber, it would remain scratch-free making it last for a longer period of time. Users would be surprised at how silent this product is. When you make use of this rake, it won’t make any noise that can disturb the neighborhood.
- It is ideal for patios and pavements because it is scratch-free
- The primary material is rubber
- It is very quiet during use
- The handle is sold separately
Comparison Table
PRODUCTS | PRODUCT DIMENSIONS | MATERIALS | WEIGHT, POUNDS | TYPE OF WORK | NUMBER OF TINES |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Root Assassin Rake | 15 x 6 x 58 inches | Powder-coated aluminum with a plastic D-handle | 1.7 | Removing grass, leaves, tree waste, pruning clippings, fallen fruit, or moss | 18 |
Yard Tuff Pine Straw Rake | 65 x 61 x 35 inches | Durable steel | 90 | Rakes pine, straw, leaves, grass and debris | 24 |
Amazing Rake | 17 x 64 x 5 inches | Made of unbreakable Copolymer Polypropylene | 2.5 | For leaves, grass, pine needles, debris | 17 |
Field Tuff Pine Straw Rake | 17 x 61.2 x 33 inches | Durable Steel | 57.3 | Rakes pine, straw, leaves, grass, and debris | 26 |
Flexrake Classic Rake | 57 x 25 x 3 inches | Steel head, wood handle | 2.4 | Leaves, messy pine needles, additional lawn debris | - |
Titan 3 Point Pine Straw Needle Rake | - | Steel | 120 | For pine straw needles, leaves, sticks, and other debris | 28 |
TRG Inc Rake The Groundskeeper II | 5 x 21 x 3.6 | Steel tines, fiberglass handle | 1.03 | Leaves, sticks, twigs, grinder chips, bark, mulch and even gravel | 28 |
Midwest Aluminum Landscape Rake | 66 x 36 x 4 | Aluminum | 5.1 | Rakes pine, straw, leaves, grass, and other | 36 |
Gardenite Adjustable Garden Leaf Rake | 43.31 x 0.39 x 1.97 | Steel | 2.13 | For leaves, pine needles, etc. | 15 |
Sweepa - Rubber Rake (Head Only) | 16.1 x 3 x 1.1 | Rubber | 0.128 | Leaves, debris, etc. | 27 |
Features to Look for in a Pine Needle Rake
Handle
The material that is used in the handle of your rake is a great indicator of the quality of the rake. Steel, aluminum, and hardwood are the most common and most durable as regular wood often has the chance of caving in. Keep in mind that metal handles can be prone to rusting if they aren’t taken care of, plus they have the tendency to bend. Fiberglass is another material that has been used in a couple of models but they can be prone to cracking and shattering. Cheaper plastic handles usually won’t last you as long are intended for short-term use.
The length of the handle is an important consideration and will tell you whether or not your back will be aching when you are done working in your yard. The length you need to choose depends on your height with a handle that is too short making you bend more and a handle that is too long creating an uncomfortable position to work in. Also, consider what type of grip is on the handle as a grip that isn’t installed correctly can slide and shift making it difficult to rake.
Tines
Rake tines need to be flexible but also have the strength to take on thick pine needles, dry or wet, and other debris in your yard. Great for light or single-season use, plastic tines break easily and don’t have the required flexibility most people need while metal tines with spring metallic hinges are handy to have in any yard and can last several seasons.
Rake Head
A large determination of the rake’s performance with pine needles is based on the rake head.
When raking tight spots, rake heads that are adjustable can give you a smaller footprint to safely navigate between plants and is easier to store, just make sure that the adjusting feature is easy to engage or it won’t serve its purpose. A rake head that is curved or has a different design really doesn’t influence its handling and is the result of the manufacturer to stand out.
Comfort
Typically taking a toll on your muscles, raking can often cause distressed hands, hurting back, and premature tiredness. However, if you look at the dimensions of the rake, you can often find some with good ergonomics. With these innovative designs, you get better control and extra comfort making the whole process seem effortless. If you can combine an adjustable handle with a lightweight pine needle rake, you will have a much more comfortable experience working in your yard.
FAQ
1. Hunker
2. Garden Guides
3. LSU AgCenter