A Garden Tractor and Its Boy

Because of this massive number of models, we had to make some generalizations based on the ones that were tested. If you have a lawn larger than half an acre, consider getting a riding mower. Though most high-end mowers can bag, side discharge, and mulch, the Honda can also shred leaves to the point that it can replace raking entirely.

Further reading

And it comes with a nearly indestructible and fully warrantied composite mowing dome. All of these features are enough to set a mower apart from the pack, but what really launches the Honda into new territory is the unique Versamow system. Versamow, simply put, lets you control how much grass is being bagged and how much is being mulched. It does this via a 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 percent of the grass gets bagged or mulched.

If your grass is too wet or too tall, for example, the blades can get overwhelmed and your mulch will come out as a bunch of annoying clumps on the lawn.

Best Lawn Mower & Tractor Buying Guide - Consumer Reports

Versamow lets you distribute your clippings between bagging and mulching, so you can still produce decent mulch and minimize how much grass you have to rake, bag, and dump. In the fall, Versamow also gives the mower the ability to shred leaves. According to Honda and confirmed by Neff , if you set the mower at a certain spot between bag and full-mulch, it forces the leaves to stay in the mowing dome longer, which completely shreds them and sends them back into the lawn or disposes of them in the bag.

Neff elaborated on the benefits of this process: When the leaf cover gets too thick, I switch to half mulch and half bag, and eventually I use the mower to pick up all the leaves and bag them. The Honda mower has virtually replaced raking entirely for me. The Honda has a unique drive control system called Select Drive.

Our landscapers told us RWD gives it much better traction on hills and inclines. That is also a key feature if you bag your grass. As the bag fills, the center of gravity shifts to the back, which actually increases the traction of the tires on a FWD mower, this weight shift would try to pull the drive tires off the ground. The composite deck is a nice detail that helps ensure a long-lasting mower. Most mowers have steel or aluminum decks that dent on impact, but in the same situation, the Honda will only flex. Most mowers have a single blade, but the Honda has two. On top of that is a limited lifetime warranty that covers the composite mower deck.

The warranties of most other mowers top out at two or three years. At Home Depot , most comments praise the tool for its reliable start normally on the first pull. Others express that such a nice machine is worth the cost. The sense that we had after completing our research was that Honda mowers deliver a consistently high level of quality.

The Best Lawn Mower

Of the top eight spots in the Consumer Reports rundown, six are Hondas, including the top five spots our pick is number two. First, John Neff reported that the speed-control dial can vibrate down to a lower speed when used on a bumpy lawn. But again, if these are important features to you, Honda offers appropriate models: Third, if you want to change the cutting height, you need to make the adjustment individually at each wheel.

If you have areas of your lawn that you like to cut to different heights, this may become tedious. The majority of mowers have this same four-point adjustment, but some have a two-point system front wheels, rear wheels. Our cordless pick, the Volt Ego, reduces that even further to a single adjustment lever.

As long as the adjustment is easy as it is on the Honda , it will take only a couple of extra seconds to change the cutting height. Last, the mower lacks a washout port, which provides an easy way to hose off the underside of the mowing deck. With the accolades that the Honda mowers have received at both Consumer Reports and Popular Mechanics, as well as the excellent customer feedback, we felt confident we could recommend it, even if getting down to this price does cut out a couple of convenient features. According to Toro, this reduces the storage footprint up to 70 percent over a traditional mower.

To stow the Toro, you simply fold the handle over the body of the mower and lock it in place. Then you can place the mower upright or wheel it around like a piece of luggage. Toro has a video of SmartStow here. This takes a little getting used to, but based on customer feedback, most users are satisfied with how it works.

The same system is used with great success on the Toro SnowMaster our current snow blower pick. Toro told us in an interview that the engine swap was the only change made at the time. It comes with eight-inch front wheels and inch rear wheels. These larger rear wheels are going to assist the mower over uneven terrain, but, as we discovered in our research, they may make tight turns a little more difficult.

For the mowing season, Toro released the , which is nearly identical to our pick 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. If your mowing usually takes less than 45 minutes and you want to bypass the hassles involved with owning a combustion engine, we recommend the Ego LM Volt Cordless Lawn Mower.

It starts with the push of a button, requires no gas or oil, and can fold up and hang on a wall when not in use. Marc Lyman, in a HomeFixated. The overall handling of the Ego is also nice. According to most reviews, the run time on the Ego mower is about 45 minutes. In the past, cordless mowers could require all night to recharge, which could obviously be a big inconvenience.

With a second 4. Lyman was also impressed with the headlight, which he called out as one of his favorite features. Plus, it kept me from mowing the flowers, which my wife tends to frown upon. Another benefit of the Ego is that once the mower and battery are purchased, you can buy other tools in its volt lineup at a reduced price as bare tools blower , chainsaw and string trimmer. Ego also has another version of the mower, the LMSP. This model comes with a 7.

This is just a walk-behind mower without a drive system on the wheels. So with no self-propelling feature, the machine moves only with someone pushing it from behind. The site liked it for its mulching ability, easy handling, premium engine, and washout port. This means that it will perform better on uneven terrain but will be a little more difficult for tight turns.

The original SC was an extremely popular mower, and was prone to selling out. Though he would have strongly preferred a self-propelled model at the time, he said he was living proof that, with enough sweat and determination, a basic push mower could get the job done. A mower is a big investment, so take care of it. Proper maintenance breaks down into two parts: Not only is this information specifically tailored to your machine and engine, but following it closely also allows you to maintain the warranty.

Brand History

For the most part, regular maintenance is easy. It involves checking the oil, checking the air filter, cleaning the mowing dome, and sharpening the blades from time to time. This stops the ethanol in the gas from damaging the engine during periods of long storage longer than 30 days. Also, the warranty is only three years long, not five. HRRs also have a less powerful engine cc and use a thumb-paddle control system that was once used on HRX mowers and was phased out in This is a sizable difference in cost, but we feel that the combined benefits of the HRX features warrant the upgrade, especially considering that a mower that should last a decade or more.

In general, none of the other mowers we considered have the stellar reputation of the Honda or the vertical storage of the Toro. It does have a blade brake clutch, which is a nice feature, but we feel more benefit will come from the compact storage of the Toro Husqvarna mowers, like the LCRH , sit in the mid to low range of the Consumer Reports ratings with lower mulching scores than both the Honda and Toro.

The Ariens Razor is a highly regarded mower, with Berendsohn putting it in a first-place tie with a Honda mower.

Consumer Reports has it in the middle of the pack, below both the Honda and Toro. These all seem fine, but again, none of them compare to the Honda or save space like the Toro. For cordless mowers, not many can compete with the Ego, either in the Consumer Reports roundup or with the enthusiastic customer feedback. The testers at ProToolReviews preferred the Ego for its better storage and handling. Compared with the Ego, it has a shorter run time and a longer charge time.

Roy Berendsohn, lawnmower guru at Popular Mechanics , interview. Nick Ortiz, Kellam Lawn Mower , interview. Evinrude took the role of President and Briggs was the Chairman of the Board.

Ole Evinrude passed away and his son, Ralph, inherited the presidency. The original Lawn-Boy was manufactured by the Evinrude Company and became the first one-handed reel power mower introduced to the American public. Products such as the Evinrude Lawn-Boy lawnmower and the Shop King combination home workshop were manufactured until the start of the Second World War.

The Timeline of Lawn-Boy

World War II During the War, OMMC manufactured outboards for military use, while the production of lawn mowers was temporarily put on hold. Doyle accumulated large orders for these mowers from Sears Roebuck, Gambles, Spiegel, and other businesses. Evidently, the demand for this machine was thriving. The RPM facility was converted to production line manufacturing in order to meet the large orders demanded by retailers such as Sears Roebuck and Spiegel.

This style of production was the first of its kind for walk power mowers. The corporate name changed to Outboard Marine Corporation. Lawn-Boy took the lead in the production and marketing of walk power mowers through independent retailers. The 's was a period of research and development for OMC, as the company continued to expand in America, and overseas as well. Lawn-Boy snowthrowers, roto tillers, and ride-on products were developed and placed in the market.

Lawn-Boy lawnmowers were revered for the all new 2-cycle engine that produced 20 to 30 percent more power with less weight, fewer parts, and easier servicing. As Lawn-Boy engineered the 2-cycle "F" engine, it simultaneously developed the first cordless mower and CD ignition system. This year was a major milestone for Lawn-Boy as the production of CPSC compliant lawnmowers, featuring 3 blade-stopping systems, began.

The blade stopping systems included zone, electric start and BBC blade brake clutch systems. Two new manufacturing plants were established in the mid-South Mississippi and Tennessee. To expand the product line, Lawn-Boy purchased Gilson Brothers, thereby inheriting a line of garden tractors, single and 2-stage snow throwers, roto tillers, and space heaters.