The type of mower you choose depends on your specific requirements and intentions for it.
We’re talking about things like:
- How big is your lawn?
- Does it have significant slopes?
- Does it have narrow areas or is it expansive and spacious?
- Does it have a lot of corners, trees, or other obstacles to mow around?
- Are you mowing lawns as a business or just mowing your personal lawn?
Answering these questions helps you hone in on the best mower for you. But before we get too far ahead of ourselves, let’s go over the main types of lawnmowers.
Zero-Turn Mowers
Zero-Turn Mowers offer several benefits over traditional riding mowers. The most obvious benefit is that they are highly maneuverable. This is achieved through a fully hydraulic drive system, which gives them the capability to have a zero-degree turning radius.
The result?
You can turn on a dime and mow around obstacles incredibly easily.
For instance, if your property has a lot of trees, flower beds, or other lawn features that are a headache to mow around, a zero-turn mower helps you maneuver around them in no time! This makes it easier to mow tight spaces and intricate patterns, which can be difficult with a traditional lawn mower. As you might guess, this makes them the most popular choice of mowers by commercial landscapers and many homeowners.
But the benefits go beyond a zero-degree turning radius.
With their expansive decks and robust engines, zero-turn mowers are designed to mow large areas quickly and efficiently and can cover more ground in less time. Their ability to turn quickly allows you to mow with greater precision and accuracy, ensuring that every inch of your lawn is mowed evenly and neatly.
Most zero-turn mowers also offer ergonomic seating and controls, which can reduce fatigue and strain on your back and dramatically increase comfort. Zero-turn mowers are most commonly used by commercial landscapers, but you can also find zero-turn models specifically designed for residential use.
Regardless of what you need it for, there are zero-turn mowers on the market to match your budget and requirements.
Stand-on Mowers
If you’re a commercial landscaper and don’t like sitting all day, or if you’re a homeowner and don’t like sitting down more than you need to, a stand-on mower might be exactly what you need!
Stand-on mowers have many of the same features and benefits as a zero-turn mower, including a zero-degree turning radius, but they are designed with a platform to stand on instead of sitting down as you do on a zero-turn mower or traditional riding mower. They’re highly maneuverable and are popular with landscapers for their increased efficiency and ease on your body.
Stand-on mowers also offer improved visibility, giving the operator a better view of the mowing area, which can help improve safety and accuracy. They also have better weight distribution and a lower center of gravity than riding mowers, giving them improved traction and stability on hills and uneven terrain.
Their compact size makes it even easier to maneuver around tight spaces and obstacles, giving them an edge over any other riding mower on the market, even zero-turn mowers. Stand-on mowers are very popular among commercial landscapers and homeowners with big yards.
Commercial Walk-behind Mowers
Commercial walk-behind mowers are another popular choice for landscapers and homeowners with big yards. They are similar to stand-on mowers, but as the name suggests, they are designed to walk behind rather than ride on them.
With all the controls at your fingertips and a smaller footprint, commercial walk-behind mowers are ideal for tight areas and mowing around obstacles and on hills and uneven terrain. Like the zero-turn and stand-on mowers, commercial walk-behind mowers have a zero-degree turning radius. Since you don’t ride on a commercial walk-behind mower, the operator naturally has an increased awareness of the surroundings and terrain.
Lawn Tractors
Lawn Tractors, also known as riding tractors, garden tractors, or front or rear-engine mowers, are the most common type of riding lawn mower.
Most Lawn tractors feature a hydrostatic transmission and a regular steering wheel, which makes them less maneuverable than zero-turn mowers. However, due to their basic design, they usually cost less than other riding mowers, making them a popular choice for homeowners with smaller lawns and tight budgets.
Residential Walk-Behind Mowers
Due to their convenient and easy-to-use features, residential walk-behind mowers, also known as power mowers or push mowers, are by far the most popular mowers on the market.
They are more maneuverable than riding lawnmowers or commercial walk-behind mowers and easily mow in tight spaces or around defined edges. They come with multiple features, including an engine that propels the blade, giving your lawn a pristine cut.
Most power mowers come with the option to conveniently alternate between three options for your grass clippings.
- You can choose to have the clippings discharged from the side of the deck and distributed throughout your lawn.
- If you don’t want grass clippings ending up in places like flower beds, patios, or walks, you can choose to mulch your grass clippings. In this case, the mower blade thoroughly cuts up the grass clippings and lays them straight back down on the lawn.
- You can also conveniently bag the grass so no clippings remain on your lawn.
While some power mowers need to be manually pushed, the majority have a self-propelled feature, where all you need to do is pull a lever, and the mower drives itself forward. Although they’re less affordable than reel mowers, walk-behind mowers are still budget-friendly.
