Though we’ve become increasingly impressed with the ever-improving cutting power and run time of electric mowers over the past few years, it’s still hard to beat a tried-and-true gas-engine mower. The Toro 21-inch Super Recycler is easy to start and features a powerful 163cc Briggs & Stratton engine. It easily wheels through tall and wet grass, bagging nearly every shred of grass that it cuts. We were impressed by its mulching capability given the soggy conditions during the test.

We attribute this mulching ability to the two wedge-shaped baffles under its deck, which, when paired with a blade-mounted “accelerator,” enhance mulching performance. The wedges keep larger clippings floating in the cutting deck as you mow, so that they can be chopped down to a smaller size, while the accelerator blows the finely mulched particles into the ground. While it’s a boon overall, the grass discharge can clump up when wet.

We relied on this mower throughout the mowing season last year, and it worked flawlessly through all conditions, though we did have difficulty pulling out the mulch plug when we wanted to bag.

This is an expensive mower, but it’s a solid investment. Because it features a cast-aluminum mowing deck, you can be sure that you’re getting a durably constructed machine that won’t rust and, with proper care, will last for many years to come.

The model currently listed with the blade stop would be especially useful as we head into fall. The ability to stop the blade from spinning without shutting off the engine means that it's easier and faster to empty the grass bag. So if you're mowing up leaves to put into your garden, you can shave seconds off of each emptying cycle, not to mention having to restart the engine every time.

Read full review here >>

The Ego Power+ 21-Inch Select Cut XP Electric Lawn Mower sets a high standard for electric mowers, which is why we’ve included it here, as well as giving it our best overall recommendation in a crowded field of the best electric mowers. In our tests, we found it offered excellent cut quality, thanks in part to its multi-blade system, which features one upper blade and a lower blade that includes three interchangeable options: a mulching blade, a high-lift bagging blade, and an extended run-time blade that reduces drag.

We didn’t find any grass clumping, even in mulching mode, after mowing a dry lawn. It’s also outstanding at bagging grass, even when you don’t have the high-lift bagging blade installed. We were able to gather pounds more grass per square foot of test area than with most other mowers.

A noticeable difference with this model when compared to others is that it doesn’t have a traditional side discharge chute. Rather, the chute mounts on the rear and discharges to the side. We did notice considerable clumping in this mode; it’s not the mower’s strong suit. But it’s not a major complaint overall.

In other respects, Ego went all-out to equip this mower: variable-speed rear-wheel drive, bright LED lighting, a front handle and fold-forward rear handle, three-mode capability (bag, mulch, side discharge), and height adjustment from 1 to 4 inches.

Key Specs

The M110 is a simple push mower that should meet the needs of most homeowners with smaller lots. It can bag, mulch, and side discharge, and it gets the job done without much fuss.

Height adjustment is made with two levers, one for the front axle and one for the rear. The Briggs & Stratton gas engine is easy to start—no priming or choking is necessary; just depress the blade brake handle and pull the cord, and you're in business.

This mower is not suitable for everyone—if you have a hilly lawn or more than a quarter-acre to mow, you should consider one of the self-propelled mowers in this guide. Additionally, the mower's deck is made of relatively thin metal, and the front and rear sections are plastic, so this isn’t made to withstand much abuse. If you mow through wet grass, we strongly recommend (as with all mowers, but especially this one) taking a few minutes to clean wet clippings from the deck regularly to prevent rust from weakening the structure.

Key Specs

Mulching performance was good. This mower dispersed the clippings evenly, aided by the cross-cut blade configuration, which uses two crossed blades that work in combination to finely cut and spread the grass. Bagging was adequate.

To deal with tougher mowing conditions, the Ryobi automatically increases power to adapt to things like thicker grass. This worked pretty well in our tests, and it has a turbo button you can engage before you hit if you want to preempt the automatic function.

There are several user controls centralized on the handle, including seven sequential speed settings to choose from, a standard battery gauge, and a blade life indicator that illuminates when the blade gets dull and needs to be replaced. This Ryobi comes with two 6-amp-hour batteries that provide up to 75 minutes of mowing, depending on conditions.

Key Specs

This is Ego’s newest and largest walk-behind mower yet, and the largest walk-behind on our list. Sitting beneath the wide plastic-composite deck are two 15.2-inch mower blades, similar to what you’d find under a riding lawn mower, just smaller. Like most mowers, it offers bagging, side-discharge, and mulching modes.

Our first test was conducted in mulching mode, which delivered a clean cut that didn’t leave any clumps of grass behind. It was easy to remove and restore the mulching plug, too. Meanwhile, when we switched to the bagging function, we found that the bag that comes with this mower is spacious and took longer to fill than expected.

With the Ego’s cutting path being nearly 30 percent larger, this mower can be a real time-saver, too. We tested this theory out by making 10 passes on a section of a yard with a standard 21-inch walk-behind mower, and then re-mowed that same area with the Ego. It only needed seven passes with the 30-inch machine. That’s 30 percent less time mowing, which is pretty significant if you’re cutting a large property (though results may vary with different landscapes).

It’s important to note that this mower is heavier than most walk-behind mowers at over 100 pounds, even without the batteries. That made it a bit harder to turn. We also found that adjusting the self-propel speed (between approximately 1 and 3 mph) was difficult to adjust on the fly. The knob is small, located at the center of the handle, and fairly sensitive.

The $1,799 list price of the Ego may seem high, but when comparing that cost to a riding or zero-turn mower, it may be a more budget-friendly way to deal with a larger property that would take a lot longer to cut with a smaller walk-behind mower.

Read our full Review of the Ego Power+ 30-Inch Lawn Mower

Key Specs

A riding mower can mow a large yard more quickly, but not everyone wants such a large piece of equipment. DeWalt’s 28-inch self-propelled mower meets the need of cutting a large lawn more quickly in a walk-behind format. A wide cutting deck features dual blades mounted side-by-side—a configuration often used on larger commercial machines—allowing you to cover more ground in less time.

Starting the mower is much easier than gas mowers of the past. There's no throttle or choke on this machine—just pull the recoil starter to fire it up and hit the kill switch to turn it off. The engine is electronically governed and automatically increases power to meet heavier cutting loads as mowing conditions change. Additionally, it adjusts the speed of the rear drive wheels based on your pace. As you walk faster, the mower detects the pressure your hands apply to the handle and speeds up—as you slow down, it slows down.

The mower offers side discharge, mulching, and bagging capabilities, just like many of the mowers on our list. For side discharge, we found the DeWalt throws the clippings far enough to evenly disperse them, eliminating clumps in all but the wettest conditions. Mulching worked well, but we noticed that cutting too much when the grass is taller can leave visible clippings. It also bags very well, and this larger model comes with a larger, 2-bushel bag.

One of our favorite features, though, is the front caster wheels that provide excellent maneuverability when mowing around edges or obstacles. The casters are also great when moving the mower from one area to another, or even when jockeying it around in the garage. But when you do want straight lines, you can simply lock these front wheels into place. It’s hard to imagine a gas mower being much easier to operate.

This is an updated version of Greenworks’ compact 40-volt mower, which we previously reviewed and recommended. It’s a nicely designed electric mower, with features you rarely see in this class and price level.

The mower is well-crafted. The cutting deck is made with a single piece of steel, ensuring strong durability. It offers seven cutting heights, from 1-3 ⁄8 to 3-3 ⁄4 inches, all controlled by a single spring-loaded lift mechanism that makes adjustment easy (many mowers require you to adjust multiple levers). We also appreciate its 10-inch rear tires, which help the mower roll over washboard surfaces. Other great features include dual-battery support and three-function capability (mulch, side discharge, and bag).

It only comes with one 5 Ah battery, which is enough to get through up to 45 minutes of mowing, but the mower is designed to support two batteries if you want to extend that runtime with another 5 Ah battery or a larger one compatible with Greenworks’ line of 40-volt tools.

As moderately-priced zero-turn mowers go, the Toro 77401 was one of our favorites that we had the chance to test. With a 22-horsepower Briggs and Stratton gas engine and a 42-inch deck, this mower is typical of what is being increasingly seen on sale at your local dealer or Lowe’s.

We found it to have an intuitive control system, with controls for engine choke, throttle, blade activation, and deck height. The cut quality is good. cutting through 4 inches of grass with no issues, though in our testing, double-cut most of the grass because the discharged clippings were noticeable—going over the grass again breaks down those clippings into finer material that decomposes more easily and gives the lawn a cleaner appearance.

With three speed settings—trim, tow, and mow—this mower is fast, which is nice, though we found the speed adjustment with the lap bars is more sensitive than we would prefer.

The only complaints with this model are the lack of seat height adjustment (it will seem too low for anyone under 5-foot, 10-inches), and there doesn’t appear to be an hour meter on the mower. Since Toro recommends tracking usage by hours for scheduling performance maintenance, it would be helpful to have a meter.

Annoyances aside, this mower appeals to a wide swath of potential customers. If you’ve got half an acre or more to mow and are ready for a zero-turn mower, this one is worth a look. – Tested by Colin Aylesworth