TerraKing Pro Leaf Bag review

Cleaning up autumn leaves is my least favorite type of yard work, and it usually leads to an aching back. Using a rake takes forever. Leaf blowers can be difficult to control. Even mowing the leaves takes forever, because the bag needs to be emptied every other pass. And again, my aching back.

Last year, a friend recommended the TerraKing Pro Leaf Bag (available at Amazon for $87.69) for my lawn tractor. It’s a 54-cubic foot, heavy duty riding mower bag that connects to the bagger on the tractor and collects about five times the leaves as my regular lawn bags.

I have over half an acre of lawn with a lot of leaves, and I only need to empty the riding mower bag two, sometimes three, times, instead of 5-10 with my regular bagging system. And I can do it all in 45 minutes or an hour. There really is no easier or faster way to suck them up.

About the TerraKing Pro Leaf Riding Mower Bag

• Capacity: 54-cubic feet
• Dimensions: 94-inches by 60-inches
• Opening: 120-inches
• Material: Nylon
• Compatibility: Most two-bag riding lawn mower collectors

This large 54 cubic foot riding mower bag replaces classic leaf bagging systems and adds drastically larger capacity. Compatible with most riding lawn mowers, it attaches to the collector using dual draw strings.

The bag is brown and black. It is made of nylon with a reinforced bottom. At 94 inches it extends for about eight feet behind your tractor.

What we like

It has a large capacity

The feature that makes this product so valuable is the huge capacity of the bag. I mean, 54 cubic feet is a lot of leaves. Frankly, I’ve never put 54 cubic feet into the bag because I’m not convinced I can lift that much to dump it. I always leave it at less than two-thirds capacity, and that’s pushing it. It’s amazing how much time only having to dump the leaves twice instead of five to 10 times saves in the process of cleaning up.

It is very durable

Because the bag drags on the ground behind the tractor, it needs to be strong enough to withstand bumps, rocks, and debris in your yard. With a double-reinforced bottom, it really is.

I used it for the full season last year, and haven't seen any sign of the bottom liner tearing. I do make a point to pick up the big sticks, rocks, and kids’ toys littering my lawn as best as I can in the leaves, but even when I’ve run over sticks, it hasn’t been a problem. If you’re worried about the liner, you could also attach a tarp beneath the bag as additional protection, but I haven’t seen the need to do that yet.

I would imagine that this product can last four to five years at least, and quite possibly more than that. The person who recommended it to me is in his third year using it, and likewise doesn’t have any significant damage.

It's easy to use

Once you have the bagging system switched over to accept the TerraKing, it’s super easy and fast to put on and off. The opening has dual drawstrings that you loosen, slip the bag over your collector, and then tighten the drawstrings back down.

It takes less than a minute to put it on, and even less time to take it off.

Because it’s designed to drag on the ground, you can drag it by hand to wherever you need to dump it, though I recommend driving it as close as you can because it does get heavy.

Dumping is the trickiest part, but that’s only because it is so big. It usually takes three or four lifts to finally get all of the leaves out.

What we don’t like

Initial install requires some customization

This isn’t necessarily a problem, but it is something to be aware of. Because it’s designed to fit most two-bag systems, it’s not designed to fit any of them perfectly.

On my tractor, a John Deere LT180, I had to modify my bagger slightly in order to get it to work without blowing dust out or clogging after a few passes.

Specifically, I had to take the support rods off of the bagger shroud to get a tight enough seal and allow the leaves to blow into the back of the back instead of falling straight down and clogging up the front.

This only took a few extra minutes, but did require some trial and error before I found the best solution.

I’ve seen other owners who have attached small wooden ramps to their tractors hold the bag up a bit.

Give yourself some experimentation time when you first start using it to figure out how it fits best on your tractor.

It can be hard to maneuver

The bag is almost eight feet long, and you’re dragging it behind your tractor. This is akin to driving an SUV versus driving a semi-truck. Except this is a semi-truck that you can’t back up; if you do, you’ll back over the bag.

So using this does require some careful path-planning, and the occasional inefficient loop around the yard just to get where you want to go.

The first couple of times I used it, I got myself stuck in an area I couldn’t get out of, and had to take the bag off to get the tractor out. This is just a function of the design, and there’s nothing anyone can do to alleviate it.

Just make sure that you think about the best way to get through your yard, and use a rake to pull the leaves out of tight corners or areas that your tractor won’t be able to get out of.

It’s not worth the frustration that comes with getting stuck.

Warranty

The TerraKing Pro Leaf Bag is covered by a 1-year warranty that is limited to defects in craftsmanship and manufacturing, and does not cover any damage done by use.

What owners are saying

Owners on Amazon have given the TerraKing Pro Leaf bag a 4-star rating out of 122 reviews. People love the speed and efficiency that it brings to the fall cleanups, as well as the durability of it (mostly). Some users have reported defective products that tore very quickly after ordering.

Should you buy the TerraKing Pro Leaf Bagger?

Yes, this is a handy way to collect leaves

This is one of the biggest time savers in my entire arsenal of tools. It cuts my leaf cleanup time almost in half. And it is far, far easier on my body.

In my mind, the price is well worth it even if I had to buy a new one every other season, and I think mine will last far longer than that. If you have more than a postage stamp for a yard and have a tractor that it will fit, then this bagger is well worth the investment.