What’s the Best Lawn Mower for a Do-It-Yourself Home Owner?
What Makes One Mower 'The Best'?
When searching for the best lawn mower out there, there are a few easy places to start. The aisles at Home Depot or Lowes, or even searching their mowers for sale online, will give you endless options across a wide range of pricing. But which is the best?
With so many choices, you want to identify the few key factors in finding the best lawn mower out there for you. Taking a minute here, we'll take a look at the three main factors you should consider: brand, type, and price.
Does Brand Matter?
Husqvarna, Honda, John Deere, Toro, and so many other brands dominate lawn equipment advertising and all claim to provide the best lawn mower. But does the brand really matter?
If you're a professional lawn service like us, brand makes a big difference. We put countless hours on our equipment and are very particular about what we buy. In our experience, certain brands do hold up better in a commercial setting. But when looking at residential use it doesn't really matter.
Most mowers are made about the same, and if you're buying a new, name-brand mower you have a warranty and a pretty sophisticated piece of equipment out of the gate. That's why we recommend finding the best price for residential use rather than 'the best brand'. Don't pay more for then name--you'll never put enough hours on it for it to matter.
If We Had to Choose...
Husqvarna
We love the longevity of a Husqvarna. With high durability, we love us a Husqy for those mega yards. If you're more than just a home owner handling their own neighborhood yard, start by taking a look at a Husqy for your lawn needs.
Toro
As an 'off brand', Toro beats the rest most of the time on pricing and holds together surprisingly well. While we would not use it for commercial use, Toro kicks tail for personal use with their easy-to-handle zero turn radius riding mowers.
Honda
When it comes to the right push or self-propelled mower, Honda is the best lawn mower around. Affordable and durable, Honda makes our top three.
Is the Best Lawn Mower a Rider or Push?
Riding mowers are a great convenience. If you don't want the physical exertion of pushing a mower, or at a minimum walking behind a self-propelled mower, then a riding mower may be your best lawn mower to choose.
But there are issues with riding mowers for homeowners. Sometimes they're too big to fit through your gate and enter your back yard; they take up more room in your garage or shed than a push; the bigger ones can require a higher level of skill to use; and they're expensive. For these reasons, if you have a smaller residential yard, we usually recommend sticking to a push mower. You can still make things easier by getting a self-propelled, which will cost you hundreds of dollars instead of thousands like for a riding mower.
Is More Expensive Better?
Many home owners go for the biggest and baddest when trying to find the best lawn mower around. Some home owners will even buy the big 'bad boy' commercial mowers thinking this will cut a more beautiful lawn and make their life easier. But with prices ranging from $3,500 to $15,000, is it worth it?
For a commercial setting, absolutely. Residential mowers, which are usually what you find under $5,000 for a riding mower, simply cannot handle the hours they'd log for commercial use. But aside from being to handle the heat, a more expensive mower does not cut better, and usually does not making cutting easier. The bigger they are the harder they are to drive and the more storage space they require. So, we'd recommend a solid push mower unless you have a larger yard, in which case we'd recommend one of the least expensive riding mowers. The difference between a top speed of 5mph and 12mph does not matter in a residential, personal use setting.
Maybe I'd Rather Use a Professional
If after checking out what may or may not be the best lawn mower out there for you it all starts to feel a little too much to deal with, call us. Our professional yard card experts can keep you from spending a lot upfront for equipment and can instead handle your yard for you. Just give us a call and we'll provide a free estimate to show you just how competitive our pricing is and how well we can keep your yard impressing the neighbors.
Don't Forget Our Other Services
Our team provides more than just amazing lawn care services. We're licensed for plumbing repairs and maintenance, electrical installations and upgrades, air conditioning solutions, and more! Take a minute to learn more about us to know how all we can help.