MakitaDLM460Z Twin 18V (36V) Li-ion LXT Brushless Lawn Mower - Batteries and Charger Not Included, Blue

We've owned a Hayter 18" lawnmower for nearly 20 years. Extremely reliable year-on-year, never needed servicing (I do look after my power tools), and not even so much as a new spark plug.However, tired of trips to the garage for petrol, storing fuel outside the shed for safety, and refilling the tank with the smelly stuff every time to cut our large lawns, I came across this Makita beast. I have amassed so many power tools - all Makita, and many genuine 5AH batteries, so knowing the brand well for quality and performance, giving this mower a shot had to be done.Having tried this mower for the first time this evening, I am entirely delighted and gratified with my choice. It's a solid construction clearly built to last, and the quality of cut is quite superb. Furthermore, it has a brushless motor with almost twice the torque and efficiency of conventional motors, and extensive digital features to manage power, temperature, and stall protection. I'd waited until Makita brought this machine to the UK market, at a sensible price.My partner wanted to have a go, and she'd cut 2/3 of our 400m2 front lawn in no time, leaving me to hoof and empty the large, enthusiastically-filled grass box when full. She used to use a light, mains electric mower for our rear lawn, but the convenience of clean battery-powered cordless has converted her as-well - despite the increased weight from her former mower.She did comment about the pull force required on the trigger bar, but she's of slighter build than myself and I don't even notice it. Maybe a little something to consider if you have large lawns and weak hands, but certainly not excessive and I don't notice it at-all.I was sceptical about the battery-powered performance, but needn't have been. Our front and back lawns done on a single pair of 5AH batteries and never looked so neat.On a final note, Makita offer free 3-year warranty on this machine if you register your product within 30 days of purchase. Notably, all petrol-powered products are excluded from this offer.I therefore have no hesitation recommending this particular Makita model, particularly if you already own Makita battery-powered tools to leverage shared batteries and charger(s), and another quality appliance worthy of your toolshed.

I've been fighting a battle with 50m of trailing mains lead for years when I mow our (laughingly misnamed) "lawn". It's not a big rectangle, but a meandering trail of green between many veg beds, flower/shrub beds and there's not a straight edge anywhere. I spend more time wresting the cable out of the way and trying to avoid cutting ot tripping over it than actually mowing. Hate trying to start my petrol strimmer. I'd always assumed a battery driven mower would be too weak and flimsy to do a good job in our jungle, but this machine is magnificent.I have a collection of Makita battery powered tools in the workshop, and I recently took a gamble on their 36v hedge trimmer, That worked very well indeed, making light work of a couple of long hedges and giving really good battery time, so I thought I'd try their mower. I went for this model as a review of one of the cheaper ones implied that one didn't have much grunt, and I'm well pleased. This one did the whole garden on just one replacement of the batteries (I already had four batteries and a double charger in place for the other tools) and it really ploughed through the weeds that had built up. I have a dodgy hip at the moment and being able to mostly just push forward and steer my way round, rather than the constant stopping and reversing out of corners with the mains machine, was a huge benefit.This is a heavy machine though, much heavier than my mains machine, which surprised me. Not a problem, but be aware of that if you have to carry it up and down steps. On the lawn, the weight is actually a good thing. Also, you will have to factor in the cost of batteries and a charge if you don't already have them. Four batteries (so you have backup ready charged) and a twin charger will cost around £300 from various suppliers here.Only used it once so far, but seems pretty solidly built and I would expect it to last as well as the rest of the Makita kit I've bought. Definitely a go-to brand for me these days.

Had to retire my 17 year old Honda Izzy and bought this instead. Is a bit wider and the rear axle wheels are further apart than the front which takes getting used to. The 2 batteries last much longer than expected.Seems about the same power as the Honda petrol (2.9 kW) but the rated power is only 1.4 kW.Incidentally it is quite difficult to find the actual power of these battery mowers - one German manufacturer's tech dept actually admitted that this is because most of them are very weak. Some even quote the power in Volts which is rubbish - you need the volts x amps for power.Update - I tried this mulch function - my previous mower didn't have this. So for the last 35 years, like a sucker, I have been lugging heavy grass bags to the waste recycling bin. Now it just seems to disappear like magic- amazing.

This is a quality product and I am enjoying not having an electric cord to worry about when mowing. It cuts very well and the mulcher works well too, leaving a very fine mulch that is not very noticeable at all.But this mower is really an industrial machine and it is just too heavy for my modest sized garden. It is far heavier than the petrol mower my father had in 1976! With hindsight, I wish I had bought something cheaper. But the reviews of most of those were so poor that I bought this because it was the only cordless mower that I had any faith would work. When the enormous box arrived and could barely be carried by two large delivery men, I wondered if I had perhaps made a mistake. Now I keeping hoping will break do I can get rid of it. But there does not seem to be much chance of that - it feels like one something one might pass down the generations.It works great going forward in a straight line. But it is a pain to turn around. It does not much like going backwards either. Going around corners is difficult. Just holding the dead man's handle up is hard work and something I think some might struggle with. The effort makes my hands ache a bit after a while!I have not had any issues with running out of battery before finishing the job but the fully charged batteries do run down quite a bit waiting to be used the next week or so. That means one has to charge them before every use rather than having them prepped and ready to go. And that means a small amount of planning ahead must go into any decision to mow the lawn. Charging takes from a half hour to a few hours. A mowingjob cannot be put off then until the last ten minutes before sundown - the batteries will still be charging when it is dark outside!

I previously used their lightweight, plastic-base model. I had been really impressed by the cut, ease of use and its portability. BUT it was flimsy and the wheels and handle broke. So I have gone for the metal variety. Again impressed with the cut, its ease of use and how it cleverly recognises how much power to put into cutting grass when you go from short to longer. I was surprised how heavy it is, but I hope that this means it is sturdy and lasts a long time