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After another round of research, we remain confident in our picks. We’ve also added some long term test notes for our top pick.
Mowing the lawn is a chore, but it’s one you might actually look forward to with the Ego Power+ Select Cut Mower LM2135SP. A good cordless mower blows away any gas option on convenience, because it doesn’t need fuel, there’s no exhaust, and it requires only minimal maintenance. This particular Ego stands apart from all other cordless mowers with its long run-time, short charge time, polished dual-blade cutting, excellent mulching ability, and user-friendly interface. Cordless mowers are still pricier than gas ones, but because the latest cordless models nearly match the top gas mowers in cut quality and performance, it’s hard to argue that paying more is not worth it.
The self-propelled Ego LM2135SP’s battery runs for an hour and easily mows down overgrown grass—and it spares you the noise, emissions, and maintenance of a typical gas mower.
The Ego Power+ Select Cut Mower LM2135SP is a battery-powered, self-propelled mower that can cut grass for about an hour on a single battery charge. Compared with other cordless models, it has a longer run time than most and a faster charge time. And compared with gas mowers, the LM2135SP feels hassle-free: no trips to the gas station, no checking the oil levels, no spilled fuel, and no emissions. The LM2135SP improves upon previous Ego mowers with a more intuitive speed control and two blades (a feature found only on high-end mowers), ensuring an even cut and efficient mulching. When it’s not in use, the handle can be folded in and the mower can be stored upright. Typically sold for about $700, the LM2135SP is an expensive item; in fact, it’s priced on a par with the premium gas models. But after reviewing mowers for nine years—and seeing the full range of features and abilities of the top gas and cordless models—we are convinced this mower will be the most satisfying.
This mower is not as polished as our main pick, but for a more-basic, self-propelled cordless mower, it’s an excellent choice.
*At the time of publishing, the price was $599.
If our main pick is out of stock or simply not in the budget, we also like the Ego Power+ Self-Propelled Mower LM2102SP. This is our previous pick, and, like our main pick, it has a long run time and a short charge time. However, the LM2102SP lacks our main pick’s more-polished speed control. And though this model’s single blade can easily handle overgrown grass, it leaves a more-ragged cut edge than a dual-blade mower. But this is still a high-achieving cordless mower, and we prefer it over all the others we tested or researched.
This reliable Honda gas mower’s dual blades manicure a lawn with precision, and its unique system can dial in the ratio of grass you’re bagging and mulching.
*At the time of publishing, the price was $699.
If you’re not ready to go cordless just yet, we recommend the self-propelled Honda HRX217VKA Lawn Mower. In terms of cut quality and the ability to maintain turf health, it’s one of the best self-propelled mowers available, due mostly to a pair of features—a two-blade cutting system that offers golf-course-like results, and a unique way to dial in a precise mulching-to-bagging ratio to compensate for various grass conditions. Combine all of that with this mower’s other strong details, like a large 200 cc engine and rear-wheel drive to help traverse tall grass or hills, and you’re getting enough to justify the steep price.
This dependable, popular Toro performs as well as other decent self-propelled mowers and stands out for its ability to be stored upright (like the Egos), saving valuable garage space.
*At the time of publishing, the price was $449.
If you want to pay the lowest price possible and still get a quality self-propelled mower, we recommend the Toro SmartStow Recycler 20340. At around $450, the Toro costs less than the Egos and the Honda, and, like other good options at this price level, it offers intuitive self-propulsion and excellent mulching performance. The Toro’s unusual feature—and the reason we recommend it over a lot of similar machines—is its space-saving ability to be stowed upright in a crowded garage or shed (the Egos can be stored this way as well). However, with the Toro, you don’t get the Ego’s gas-free convenience or the Honda’s cut quality.
The self-propelled Ego LM2135SP’s battery runs for an hour and easily mows down overgrown grass—and it spares you the noise, emissions, and maintenance of a typical gas mower.
This mower is not as polished as our main pick, but for a more-basic, self-propelled cordless mower, it’s an excellent choice.
*At the time of publishing, the price was $599.
This reliable Honda gas mower’s dual blades manicure a lawn with precision, and its unique system can dial in the ratio of grass you’re bagging and mulching.
*At the time of publishing, the price was $699.
This dependable, popular Toro performs as well as other decent self-propelled mowers and stands out for its ability to be stored upright (like the Egos), saving valuable garage space.
*At the time of publishing, the price was $449.
Over the past nine mowing seasons, we’ve spent more than 120 hours researching nearly 250 mowers, interviewing experts, and extensively testing some of our top picks.
An invaluable source has been Roy Berendsohn, a Popular Mechanics lawn mower guru who has more than 20 years of experience testing and writing about mowers. If Berendsohn isn’t writing about mowers, he’s often being interviewed about them (see here and here).
We’ve interviewed landscapers, including Chad Crosby of West Michigan Lawn Services and Paul Koehler of Koehler Landscape Construction Services. We’ve called people at lawn mower retail/service outlets, like Nick Ortiz at Kellam Lawn Mower in Glen Mills, Pennsylvania, and Boston Lawnmower Company’s David (who asked that his last name be withheld). We’ve talked to product managers at Honda, Toro, Troy-Bilt, Ego, Cub Cadet, and other manufacturers.
Personally, I maintain a rural property in New Hampshire that is far too large for a push mower to cover but that does provide ample room to test our recommendations. This guide’s editor, Harry Sawyers, assists with testing mowers on his LA property and draws from his previous experience as a professional landscaper.
If you want to be able to stand the sight of your yard this summer, you’re going to need a lawn mower. Anything larger than a half-acre gets into riding-mower territory, but a self-propelled push mower is perfect for a half-acre or less. Going at a pace of about 3 mph (roughly average walking speed), it will take about an hour to cut this amount of grass. (If you have a particularly small lawn, a reel mower is an option—but it’s quite hard work.)
If you already own a gas mower that’s less than a decade old, you will probably not notice a tremendous difference by upgrading to a newer gas mower. Upgrading to a cordless model is a more noticeable change you could immediately appreciate.
After 30 hours researching and testing reel mowers, we think the Scotts 2000-20 20-Inch Classic Push Reel Lawn Mower is the best pick for manual lawncare.
As a result of our years of lawn mower evaluation, we’re sure that most people will be happiest with a self-propelled, electric cordless option. Honestly, it all comes down to convenience. Every single element of a gas mower that is considered a nuisance—from the fiddly start-up to the annual maintenance schedule—is gone. Cordless mowers start with the push of a button, are easier to maneuver, and don’t need oil changes, gas, spark plugs, or air filters. They’re much quieter, they don’t smell, they don’t produce emissions, and they’re easier to store in the off-season. The run time has limitations, and charge times can be slow, but the latest models close the performance gaps between cordless and gas.
All that said, there are many capable—and several excellent—gas mowers available. Whatever type of mower you need, here are the criteria we feel matter most in making a selection:
Rear-Wheel Self-propulsion: Self-propelled mowers make life easier. With the mower moving itself across the lawn, all you have to do is throttle and steer, rather than forcing the mower’s full weight up every incline and over every bump. Self-propelled cordless mowers are all rear-wheel drive (RWD), which is preferred over front-wheel drive (FWD), because the mower’s traction improves as the grass bag fills and adds weight over the rear wheels. A self-propulsion feature adds to a mower’s price, but it’s a feature we feel is well worth it, and this requirement doesn’t narrow the field by a whole lot. It does, however, weed out the most bare-bones machines.
Performance as a mower: We researched which mowers could perform the best from a lawn-care perspective—which could make cleaner cuts in grass or promote turf health. We’ve measured this performance firsthand over years of long-term testing and in tests of new contenders against our established recommendations.
User interface and features: In years of tests, we’ve found most midrange mowers perform at a comparable level; most can cut the grass just fine. That led us to place an emphasis on user interface features—how difficult is it to adjust the push-bar height, or to raise and lower the mowing deck? Can you intuitively control and adjust the self-propulsion? Is the bag a pain to put on and take off? Are there other design details that make startup smoother, reduce engine maintenance, or make storage easier?
Cost: We looked at cost in terms of long-term value. Gas mowers are cheaper up-front, generally, but they carry long-term costs that cordless mowers avoid. Those include supplies (like gas, oil, stabilizers, air filters, and spark plugs) and the time and labor of caring for one: getting gas, changing the oil, and emptying the tank at the end of the season. With cordless mowers, a large percentage of the price tag is the battery. Most companies offer a series of outdoor tools (leaf blowers, string trimmers, hedge trimmers, etc.), all compatible with the same battery. And they cost less if you buy them without a battery. So for a high cost up-front, a cordless investment may open the door for an affordable expansion into that manufacturer’s other tools.
Charge time and run time: For cordless candidates, we looked at these two primary factors, which determine whether a battery will be adequate or frustrating. Because these two elements are so important, we looked only at mowers that used at least a 40-volt battery.
Owner reviews and reputation: The best mowers out there have proved satisfying for the most number of people for the longest amount of time. That led us to closely consider the differences among a smaller group of about 50 established, well-regarded models from major brands, often covered by comparable warranties of about three to five years.
We’ve been testing string trimmers for years, and the Ego ST1511T Power+ String Trimmer with Powerload is the best we’ve found.
The self-propelled Ego LM2135SP’s battery runs for an hour and easily mows down overgrown grass—and it spares you the noise, emissions, and maintenance of a typical gas mower.
For the best in convenience, battery run time, cut quality, and value, we recommend the Ego Power+ Select Cut Mower LM2135SP. Compared with a gas mower, it’s quieter, doesn’t create exhaust, and requires almost no maintenance. Among other cordless models, the Ego LM2135SP has among the longest run time and shortest charge time. This Ego has a redesigned control interface that allows you to control the propulsion with either hand. It also cuts with two blades, making for a finer cut and better mulching. Rounding out the features are two forward-facing LED lights, an easy-to-use cutting-height adjustment, and a battery port that faces the battery gauge toward the operator. The battery, which is good for a solid hour of mowing, is compatible with Ego’s other lawn tools, such as the company’s leaf blower, chainsaw, and string trimmer.
Most people report getting roughly 60 minutes of run time from a full charge of the Ego’s 56-volt, 7.5 Ah battery, which is included with the purchase. We confirmed the run-time figures in tests of this pick and our runner-up in March 2019 and in 2020. In several hour-long sessions of strenuous cutting on tough grass in Los Angeles, running this mower across hills (some of which were steeper than its recommended 15-degree max), the battery never died before we expected it to. If anything, it exceeded the hour-long window by about 10 to 15 minutes. An added bonus: Once the battery was too low to power the mower blades, it still had enough juice to operate the self-propulsion function, letting us drive the mower back to the charger. Compared to older Ego batteries, this one has a ring of lights that give you an approximate gauge of the remaining charge (the previous generation communicated with a red light only when the battery got critically low). The battery regularly recharges in 60 minutes or less. (Recharge time is another advantage for Ego, as competitors’ charge times range from an hour and a half up to almost five and a half hours.)
In the mowing tests, the two-bladed Ego showed a superior cut-quality compared with our runner-up, and this is the primary reason we’d choose this model over the older version. We’ve put the mowers on some rough tufts of knotty crabgrass, knee-height rye grass, and thick purple stalks of weeds, and although the runner-up never bogged down, the LM2135SP did a better job of lifting overgrown grasses as it cut, mincing up fine mulch and effectively cutting through tall growth without pushing the grass flat. This second blade elevates the Ego into some territory that was formerly exclusive to mowers like the highly regarded Honda HRX series, making the case for cordless that much stronger.
Controlling the Ego is easy and intuitive. As with many mowers, the Ego has a metal bar (called a bail) that’s held against the handle to activate the blades. To activate the RWD self-propulsion, you press one of two buttons in the upper corners of the handle, and a central dial controls the mower’s speed. A couple of subtle changes set this mower apart from other models: The speed-control system can be operated with your thumbs on either hand—a more versatile setup than the single, oversize, right-handed trigger on the runner-up. Second, although the mower can move at a brisk pace if you want it to, the slowest speed setting available is unusually slow. This is quite handy if you’re backing in and out under a tree or in another tricky area, if you’re mowing across a hill and taking care not to let the mower slide or roll away, or if you just need to take it slow to make sure you’re not about to mow over an obstruction.
Random aside: Without the stink of gas engine exhaust in your face, the smell of mowing the grass while using Ego is entirely different and much more pleasant; unfortunately, the allergens are exactly the same.
The Ego has a number of other convenience features. The headlight, something not found on gas mowers, gives some illumination as the day starts to end. The single-adjust height control, a rarity on gas mowers, allows you to set the cutting height with a single lever. On most gas mowers, cutting height has to be adjusted at each individual wheel. The Ego has seven cutting heights, between 1½ to 4 inches—a wider range than on most cordless mowers, which top out at around 3½ to 3¾ inches.
The Ego outshines most gas mowers on storage, since it can be folded up and propped up on an end and rolled like a dolly. Once folded up, the whole thing is the size of a large suitcase, with multiple rails to grab. Although it’s a little over 50 pounds, it’s quite a bit lighter than, say, the Honda (at 89 pounds). We had no problem lifting it over large thresholds, hauling it up a couple of garage steps, or fitting it through a door. It feels light and easy to maneuver, especially for anyone accustomed to a gas mower’s bulk.
Typically costing about $700, the Ego is expensive up-front, but it actually includes many features that come as premium options on gas mowers—electric start, the ability to stop the blades but not the engine, and self-propulsion—which can normally add on $100 apiece. Those features are all baked into the DNA of a cordless mower, which starts and stops with the push of a button. Add in all the avoided long-term costs of gas and maintenance and the Ego’s two-blade system, and the value proposition starts to look a lot more even.
A final benefit of the Ego is that once the mower and battery are purchased, you can buy other tools in the company’s 56-volt lineup at a reduced price as bare tools, meaning they’re sold without the battery or charger. Ego’s blower, chainsaw and string trimmer have all been excellent performers in our testing. The tools have a limited five-year warranty; the batteries have a separate, shorter warranty.
Although the two-handed self-propulsion control is a more convenient setup than the one-handed paddle design seen on competitors, it does make accidentally engaging the self-propulsion a little too easy. Usually this isn’t an issue, but often the moments when you’re grasping to get a better grip on the handle are the times you least want to engage the self-propulsion. For example, if you are mowing across a hill, there’s a brief moment during a turnaround when the mower is pointing up or down the hill. When adjusting your grip to make those turns, you may inadvertently tap the throttle, destabilizing your stance or your grip on the mower. If anyone from Ego’s reading this, they’ll probably say we’re mowing on too steep a hill, but hey, sometimes life throws a steep hill at you.
We think that the hour or so of run time is going to be enough for anyone keeping to about a half-acre, but if that’s not enough, additional batteries are available to extend run time infinitely. But batteries are costly. Depending on the Ah, they currently range in price from about $140 (2.5 Ah) to about $250 (5.0 Ah), and up to about $450 for a 7.5 Ah battery. They all fit, and with a second one on the charger while one is on the mower, you can really minimize or eliminate downtime.
Because the Ego is cordless and loaded with electrical components, the company does not recommend using a hose to wash out the underside of the mowing dome. Instead, the mower needs to be put on its side and the dome wiped off or scraped clean, using a plastic scraper. Because there is no gas or oil to leak out, this process is much easier than with a gas mower.
Finally, Wirecutter writer Kit Dillon, who loves his Ego mower, uncovered an issue with an older version of our pick, where the wires for the self-propulsion function run up the handle to the operating switch. “The wiring is super thin and where the arm bends over itself over time this wire breaks,” he explained. “The annoying thing is the wire is so thin it will sometimes break inside the sheath, which makes it difficult to diagnose or even find what section to repair.” Because of the large number of youtube videos devoted to the problem, it’s clear that this isn’t an isolated incident. We’re not sure if this problem happens with this current version of the mower, but looking through the customer feedback at Lowe’s, we found a number of people saying that their mower won’t start, which makes us think the issue persists in newer models.
This mower is not as polished as our main pick, but for a more-basic, self-propelled cordless mower, it’s an excellent choice.
*At the time of publishing, the price was $599.
If the Ego LM2135SP is not available, we also like the Ego Power+ Self-Propelled Mower LM2102SP. Our previous pick, this model shares many of the characteristics of the LM2135SP, such as the long run time, short charge time, and overall convenience. The LM2102SP has only a single blade, so the cut quality and mulching ability aren’t as good (but they’re still pretty nice). The control system isn’t as fine-tuned as on the LM2135SP, either. But aside from our current pick, the LM2102SP is still better than any other cordless mower.
This reliable Honda gas mower’s dual blades manicure a lawn with precision, and its unique system can dial in the ratio of grass you’re bagging and mulching.
*At the time of publishing, the price was $699.
If you strongly feel that gas is the way to go, we recommend the Honda HRX217VKA Lawn Mower. The Honda’s roughly $700 price tag puts it clearly in the upper echelon of gas mowers, but all indications show that it is worth the cost, both in performance and long-term durability. This mower stands apart for its superior cut quality, its unique ability to balance the ratio of mulched and bagged grass, the way it can shred leaves enough to replace raking entirely, and its nearly indestructible (and fully warrantied) composite mowing dome.
Most mowers have a single blade, but the Honda, like our Ego pick, has two. This doubles the amount of cutting edges and results in a lawn that, as Berendsohn puts it, has a “velvet finish.” With its two blades, the Honda cuts grass into smaller pieces than other mowers we tested did; this leads to better mulching (since smaller pieces decompose more quickly) and more efficient bagging (you can fit more grass per bag).
What really launches the Honda into new territory is a unique system that allows you to control the size of the opening between the mowing dome and the bag, and this dictates how much grass goes in the bag and how much gets mulched. Honda calls this the Versamow System, and it works via a 10-position toggle that adjusts the opening between the mowing dome and the bag opening. On other mulching mowers, the dome is either completely open or completely closed off, so 100 percent of the grass gets bagged or mulched. But with the Honda, you can do things like set one-third of grass to be bagged and two-thirds to be mulched. This feature really helps you respond to your yard’s conditions and makes mowing easier.
In the fall, the Honda is able to shred leaves, thanks to its Versamow System. This leaf-shredding feature may sound like a minor thing, but it’s actually effective enough that, in some cases, it’s able to replace a leaf blower, which can cost hundreds of dollars. According to Honda (and this is something we confirmed in our tests), if you set the mower at a certain level between bag and full-mulch, it forces the leaves to stay longer in the mowing dome, which completely shreds them and sends them back onto the lawn or disposes of them in the bag.
Honda’s self-propulsion control, Select Drive, allows you to set a speed that matches your stride and then use an adjustable handle to slow the mower when needed, like when you’re approaching a tree. Honda’s system is proprietary, but other mowers have similar speed-adjustment functions.
The composite deck is a nice detail that helps ensure a long-lasting mower. Most gas mowers have steel or aluminum decks that dent on impact, but in the same situation, the Honda will only flex. The deck also has a lifetime warranty, and if you’re not convinced that it’s a durable item, Honda has a video of it being run over by a car.
Hondas have a reputation for longevity, but if there are any issues, the company offers a five-year warranty (PDF) for this mower (and the others in this model’s family, the HRX line).
At both Lowe's and MowersDirect, the Honda HRX line, specifically the HRX217VKA, has received excellent feedback. Most comments praise the tool for its reliable start (normally on the first pull). Others express that such a great machine is worth the cost.
We think the Honda HRX217VKA gives you the best features Honda has to offer, but at this level you do not get a blade stop system (which stops the blade without stopping the engine), an electric start, or a washout port to attach a hose directly to the mowing dome for a cleaning. These are nice features but not essential ones. If you want them, Honda offers the HRX217VYA with a blade stop and the HRX217VLA with an electric start. The HRX217HZA has both features, but a different drive control system. There are no Honda mowers with a washout port, so you’ll have to tip it back and hose it off (shut the engine off first, please). To Honda’s credit, the composite deck resists grass clumping (and won’t rust).
Another downside is that to adjust the Honda’s cutting height, you need to adjust each wheel individually. This is typical in gas mowers, but it’s not an issue on the Ego. And, like any gas mower, the Honda produces noise and emissions, and it lacks the Ego’s relatively easy maintenance.
This dependable, popular Toro performs as well as other decent self-propelled mowers and stands out for its ability to be stored upright (like the Egos), saving valuable garage space.
*At the time of publishing, the price was $449.
If you simply want a solid gas mower at a great price, we recommend the Toro SmartStow Recycler 20340. This is a popular, reliable model with great feedback, and it stands out from similarly qualified machines because it can be folded up and stored in an upright position. According to Toro, this reduces the 20340’s storage footprint by up to 70 percent over that of a traditional mower. And though that’s not a completely unique feature, it is rare enough for us to single out the 20340—even if it lacks the convenience of the Egos or the finesse and mulching ability of the Honda.
The Toro 20340’s storage feature is called the SmartStow system, which is made possible by the Briggs & Stratton engine’s unique design. It’s a simple process: You fold the handle over the body of the mower and lock it in place. Then (with the bag removed), you set the mower upright or wheel it around like a piece of luggage, much like you would a cordless model. It makes storage easy, not to mention cleaning the underside of the mowing deck or inspecting the blade.
As a mower, the Toro performs like many other good gas engine machines: It cuts the grass capably; switches between bagging or mulching its clippings; has its issues with maintenance, noise, and emissions; and otherwise meets the expectations that any experienced self-propelled-mower user would have for it. The 20340 is primarily distinguished by SmartStow; take that away and it’s just your standard, decent-quality self-propelled mower.
The 20340 comes with Toro’s unique control system, Personal Pace. In a nutshell, the variable-speed mower adjusts to how fast you’re walking based on the pressure applied to the control bar (up to 4.8 mph). If you’re walking fast, you press it forward; if you slow down, the mower does too. The same system works well on the Toro SnowMaster (our current snow blower pick).
The washout port is another of Toro’s stand-out features. This allows you to connect a garden hose to the mower that sprays water on the underside of the mowing dome. It makes cleanup much easier, and you can avoid having to tip the mower back to hose off the blade area.
The Toro comes with a two-year warranty that fully covers everything “under normal use and maintenance.” Closely follow the service instructions in the manual to ensure this isn’t voided. The mower also has a three-year “guarantee to start” that states “if it doesn’t start in two pulls, we’ll fix it for free.”
The 20340 does not have a blade brake clutch, which allows you to stop the blade but not the engine; that’s a minor flaw.
Recently both Ryobi and Ego have released cordless zero turn mowers. These are large ride-on mowers that have the capability of cutting two or more acres. Ryobi has a number of models available and Ego has one, but looking at the largest and most capable, they come with a price tag between $4000 and $7000.
The Ego ZT4204L 42-inch Z6 Zero Turn Riding Mower uses the same style of battery that is in all of their lawn equipment. The mower comes with four 10.0 Ah batteries, but the machine has ports for six, so there is some scalability, especially if you have additional Ego batteries from other tools. The mower also acts as a charger and, according to Ego, once plugged in, can fill all of the batteries in only two hours. Just using the four included batteries, the Ego can cut about 2 acres.
Ego followed the 42-inch zero turn with a larger ZT5207L 52-inch Z6 Zero Turn Riding Mower, which can cut up to 4 acres, according to the company.
The Ryobi RY48140 Zero Turn Electric Riding Mower has a single internal battery, which can power the mower to cut up to 3½-acres. Like the larger Ego, it has a 54-inch cut and amenities like the USB port and cup holders. The downside of this model is that charging is an overnight process, so you would want to make sure it could handle your lawn in a single mow. They have two 42-inch models as well.
This is a new category of mower and we’re watching to see how it progresses. Let us know if it’s something you’re interested in us testing and investigating further.
Through our extensive research of available cordless mowers, we have yet to find any models that match or exceed the unique set of attributes that define the Ego: long run time, short charge time, two blades, and an excellent interface. Many mowers have one or two of those features, but none have all of them. The most prominent competitors are Ryobi and Greenworks and we have dug into their product lines in search of a better mower and have come up with nothing.
The closest Ryobi gets are the RY401150 and the RY401140 which have nearly the same set of features as our top pick Ego and the runner up, respectively.
But the downside of these models is that they require two 40-volt batteries to get the full run time. The mower is powered by one battery at a time, and once it is depleted, the mower needs to be manually switched to the second battery. The downside is that the mowers only come with a single port charger, so charging the batteries requires swapping them out after the first one is filled. This is an added step and one that we think is easily forgotten. We much prefer the simplicity of the Ego’s single battery. That said, these do look like very nice mowers and if you are already invested in the Ryobi 40-volt system, they would likely be a nice addition.
Greenworks is in a similar boat. Many of their mowers boast long run times and short charge times, but none of them have the two blades. It is also difficult to figure out exactly what models Greenworks is selling. Their models can be found at Home Depot and Amazon, but those models are often nowhere to be seen at the Greenworks site where they also sell direct. But like the Ryobi, if you’ve already bought into the Greenworks system and have other tools and batteries, then they’re a solid option.
Ego also offers the LM2133, which is the same as our pick, but without the self-propelled feature. The LM2133 typically costs about $50 less, but in the long term, we don’t think it’s enough to justify losing the convenience of having a self-propelled mower. But if you have a very flat lawn and don’t mind a little more of a workout, this mower provides all of the other upsides of our pick.
Ego’s other self-propelled model, the LM2142SP, has a longer run time than our pick (on a light load, the two-battery LM2142SP can run for up to 80 minutes). But it costs more than our pick, which is already on the expensive side.
Ryobi has a number of other cordless models, including the RY401110-Y, and the RY401120-Y, but they all have less than 50 minutes of run time and are hindered by an excessive charge time, up to four hours with some models (compared with the Ego’s 60 minutes of run time and only one hour of charge time). Ryobi’s mowers are priced a little lower than comparable Ego models, but the price difference is not enough to offset the negatives.
Toro’s 20366 60-Volt Recycler has the company’s innovative and successful Personal Pace drive system, but it also has a long, three-hour charge time and a 50-minute run time, neither of which matches the performance of the Ego mowers.
Similar things can be said about models from Worx, Kobalt. None of them offer the same combination of the Ego’s high run time, low charge time, and convenience features, like the headlight.
Other gas mowers in the Honda HRX line, like the HRX217VYA and the HRX217VLA, have pricey features such as electric start and the blade brake clutch, which are nice but not essential. Honda also has the new HRN line (which replaces its HRR line). These don’t have the Versamow System or a composite deck like other Honda models. Also, the warranty is only three years long, not five. HRNs also have a less powerful engine (167 cc). The HRN mower most comparable to our pick is the HRN216VKA, which costs around $150 less than the Ego LM2135SP. This is a sizable difference in cost, but we think the combined benefits of the HRX features warrant the upgrade, especially considering that a mower should last a decade or more.
Toro also has the 20355, which is nearly identical to the 20340 except that it has a feature called PoweReverse. This means that the Personal Pace drive system works for backing the mower up as well as for moving it forward. The feature adds roughly $50 to the overall cost. We believe for most people the regular version of the mower is just fine. But if you do a lot of back-and-forth maneuvering, the 20355 is something to consider.
None of the other gas mowers we considered have the stellar reputation and features of the Honda, Toro, or Ego. Models by Husqvarna, Ariens, Lawn-Boy, Cub Cadet, and Troy-Bilt were among the 50 we considered (and mostly dismissed) in our most recent research.
Corded electric mowers have so many limitations that most people would find them frustrating. Mowing around trees, hedges, or any other obstruction is an exercise in extension-cord management. Anyone looking to avoid a gas engine would be much happier with the Ego.
Roy Berendsohn, lawnmower guru at Popular Mechanics, interview
Chad Crosby, West Michigan Lawn Services, interview
Paul Koehler, Koehler Landscape Construction Services, Inc., interview
Nick Ortiz, Kellam Lawn Mower, interview
David [last name withheld], Boston Lawnmower Company, interview
John Neff, former editor-in-chief of Autoblog, interview
Roy Berendsohn, Best Lawnmowers of the Year: Comparison Test, Popular Mechanics
Doug Mahoney is a senior staff writer at Wirecutter covering home improvement. He spent 10 years in high-end construction as a carpenter, foreman, and supervisor. He lives in a very demanding 250-year-old farmhouse and spent four years gutting and rebuilding his previous home. He also raises sheep and has a dairy cow that he milks every morning.
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