My guess is that (aside from the manly powertool aspect) the attraction of the leaf blower is that it can dry and lift those wet, sticking leaves that a regular rake might not lift. Enter the rake (/broom) puffer. In the handle of the rake, a pressurised container of air allows a 'puff' of air to lift the occasional wet, stuck leaf. It can also 'puff' a leaf from under a small space, in a hard-to-rake corner, etc.

The pressure is recharged by pumping a lever that runs along the line of the handle. The whole system works very similar to those weed-sprayer back packs with pump-able recharging, but the design fits neatly along the handle.

Can those plastic air-pressure devices produce significant 'puff' for this purpose?