Best Lawn Care Tools From Our Tests and Evaluations

The expandable garden hoses we tested didn’t perform nearly as well as the standard garden hoses, but the ⅝-inch XHose Pro was the best of the lot. Though it showed a middling flow rate, it made up for it with top marks in flexibility, strength, and kink resistance. Weighing only 2.2 pounds, the XHose Pro is made of polypropylene and features brass connectors, an on-off valve, and a five-year warranty. It isn’t safe for drinking water, and the company doesn’t claim it’s lead-free. It’s available in 50-, 100-, and 150-foot lengths and doesn’t come with a nozzle.

This ⅝-inch black vinyl hose did well in our tests. It’s flexible and resistant to kinking, making it a great option for people whose hoses need to snake around building corners or patio furniture. It doesn’t have better flow than the other models we tested, but at 4.2 pounds, it’s somewhat easier to cart around the yard if necessary. It has aluminum connectors with brass inserts and doesn’t come with a nozzle, so you’ll probably want to supply your own. It is claimed to be lead-safe for drinking water and comes with a five-year warranty.

This hose nozzle impressed over all others at the most important metric: flow rate. The Melnor Thumb Control 8-Pattern had the strongest, highest-volume flow among the multipattern models we tested, which means the time you spend watering your plants will be significantly reduced. But it also had powerful performance on its shower and wash (aka jet) settings. Its one flaw was lower flow in mist mode, but that’s less of a concern.

The Dramm wand nozzle has nine patterns, one more than our other recommended wands. It impressed with its jet setting, but it had a lower flow rate than other models in the shower setting and mediocre mist performance. At almost 19 inches long, it’s longer than our other recommended wand models. It comes in a variety of colors—berry, blue, green, yellow, orange, and red—and for greater reach, it’s also available in longer lengths.

The 21-inch DeWalt DW12AVP2R3739 is a gas self-propelled mower that gets top scores for cutting evenness, mulching, and side discharging. It earns impressive scores for bagging and handling. Like most gas mowers, it is loud to the ear. The DeWalt earns near-perfect marks for predicted reliability and midrange scores for owner satisfaction in our surveys.

The Toro 21311 is among the best gas push mowers in our ratings, and it’s reasonably priced, too. It earns top marks for mulching and side discharging, though its bagging performance is only adequate. It handles nicely and provides an even cut, too. As a brand, Toro earns stellar marks for reliability for its gas mowers and midrange scores for owner satisfaction.

The 21-inch Stihl RMA 510 earns top scores for cutting evenness and mulching, as well as for reliability and owner satisfaction. It also gets our top rating for battery run time. The mower performs capably at bagging, though its side-discharging chops are just so-so. The RMA 510 is part of Stihl’s AP 36-volt battery platform, which also includes string trimmers and leaf blowers. The warranties for both the mower and the battery itself are three years.

For more options: Best Walk-Behind Lawn Mowers

The 21-inch Ego LM2123SP-2 battery self-propelled mower comes with a spare battery; if you swap batteries midway through the job, you will get an average of nearly 2 hours of operation. The batteries need just an hour to charge. This mower outdoes in all of our evaluations except bagging, where it still performs capably. The batteries come with a three-year warranty. Ego battery self-propelled mowers received middling predicted reliability scores but earned top-notch owner satisfaction scores in our latest member surveys. This model is part of the Ego Power+ battery platform, which includes string trimmers, leaf blowers, and pressure washers, among other tools.

For more options: 10 Best Battery-Powered Lawn Mowers

For the money you’ll invest in the John Deere Z530M, you’ll get fantastic performance from our highest-rated gas zero-turn-radius lawn mower. It looks and feels like a professional mower, and it shines in everything from evenness and side discharging to mulching and handling. Like all gas riding mowers and zero-turn mowers, it suffers in testing of noise levels nearby and 25 feet away.

For more options: Best Riding Lawn Mowers

The Ecovacs Goat O1000 RTK impresses in all grass-cutting tasks in our tests. This model included safety features similar to those of other models, including a security code, a lift sensor, and blades that stop immediately. But testers found the mower’s outer shell to be less durable than those of other mowers. The mower can handle lawns under a quarter-acre, according to the manufacturer.

For more options: Best Robotic Lawn Mowers

The Milwaukee 3016-21ST gets top marks for trimming and edging, and it impressively tackles tall grass and weeds. It’s also able to handle different attachments, meaning you can swap out the string trimmer head for other tools, like a pole saw or hedge trimmer. This model gets midrange scores for ease of use, and our testers found the handle difficult to adjust. At more than 12 pounds, it’s also one of the heavier battery-operated models in our ratings. Even so, the Milwaukee 3016-21ST gets outstanding scores for reliability and owner satisfaction. It’s part of Milwaukee’s M18 battery platform of power tools.

The Makita XRU23SM1 is right up there with the brand’s top battery-powered string trimmers. It aces every single performance test, including edging, trimming, and cutting through tall grass and weeds. It also has top-notch handling and an average score for ease of use. It uses just a single 18-volt battery and thus may not last as long as the XRU15PT, which uses two of those same batteries at once. However, it’s also one of the lightest battery string trimmers in CR’s ratings, at just 7.3 pounds, largely thanks to its ability to run on a single 18-volt battery.

The well-priced Ryobi RY41135 rates highly in CR’s tests as a capable corded electric string trimmer that’s easy to handle. Its two cutting strings make it effective at clearing tall grass and weeds, trimming, and edging, receiving top marks in all three tests. Ryobi corded electric string trimmers receive an above-average reliability rating and a mediocre owner satisfaction rating in CR’s member surveys.

The Greenworks 2212002 trims through the thickest bamboo effortlessly. Its 26-inch cutting bar may help save time and make quick work of larger shrubs. But at a shade over 10 pounds, it’s also slightly heavier. It uses the same 60-volt battery that powers other Greenworks tools. But note that many of the brand’s CR-tested mowers, string trimmers, and leaf blowers require either a 48-volt or an 80-volt battery platform, so the batteries aren’t interchangeable all Greenworks products. Double-check compatibility before you buy.

For more options: Best Hedge Trimmers

The Ego LB7654 delivers all-star performance across the board, adept at loosening and sweeping, all in an easy-to-handle package despite weighing 9.9 pounds. In addition, this electric blower comes with a generous five-year warranty. As a brand, Ego earns a very good reliability score for its battery handheld leaf blowers and a top mark for owner satisfaction in our latest member surveys.

The Toro 51624 is the corded model to beat, topping our ratings for this category. This handheld leaf blower is lightweight at 6.8 pounds and clears effectively, sweeping leaves with ease. It also gets a great score for power. It comes with a two-year warranty and does a solid job at picking up embedded leaf particles from your lawn. Drawbacks are that it’s loud enough that we recommend wearing hearing protection, and it lacks a vacuum function, so it can’t suck up and bag leaves automatically, as many corded models can. In CR’s member surveys, Toro’s corded electric handheld leaf blowers earn a midlevel rating for owner satisfaction and a near-top-level rating for predicted reliability.

This Echo PB-2620 gets top scores for sweeping, loosening, and power. It gets only a midlevel score for handling and weighs nearly 11 pounds. Like other gas models, it’s noisy and requires hearing protection while in use. It comes with a generous five-year warranty. Echo earns a midrange score for brand reliability but an impressive score for owner satisfaction.

The Billy Goat F602X takes the top spot for the best gasoline wheeled blower in our ratings. It offers terrific performance, earning impressive ratings for sweeping, power, and loosening leaves. And it garners near-top-level marks for handling and ease of use. This leaf blower is loud, however, and our testers recommend wearing hearing protection when using it.

The Ryobi RY40HPLB02K backpack blower excels at sweeping leaves and loosening embedded leaf particles. Our tests also show that it has a strong airflow and is easy to handle. On the downside, it can take quite a long time to fully charge the battery. The 40-volt battery is compatible with dozens of other Ryobi tools, such as chainsaws, lawn mowers, and string trimmers. The model comes with a five-year warranty.

For more options: Best Battery Leaf Blowers

This Black & Decker corded electric model is a solid choice if you need a suitable chainsaw for cutting smaller firewood. It receives a top-notch score in our safety tests, largely thanks to a design that minimizes kickback. It also performs well in other areas, such as cutting speed and handling. While Black+Decker corded electric chainsaws earn a solid rating for predicted reliability in our member surveys, they don’t get great marks for owner satisfaction. This saw comes with a two-year warranty.

For many people, the Senix CSX6-M is the logical choice when they want a midsized battery-powered chainsaw and don’t need to buy into a whole platform of battery tools. It has a 16-inch bar, packs plenty of power, and gets top marks for cutting speed, safety, and handling. At 14.7 pounds, it’s a tad heavier than some other saws of its size. We currently lack sufficient data to rate Senix battery chainsaws for predicted reliability or owner satisfaction. However, this model comes with a five-year warranty.

The Ego HPW3204-2 does a solid job of cleaning and delivers a satisfying amount of power (3,200 maximum pounds per square inch at 1.2 gallons per minute). The company claims up to 60 minutes of run time on a single charge with two included 6.0Ah ARC lithium batteries. But online users report much shorter run times. (CR doesn’t currently test that attribute of battery-powered pressure washers.) The handheld pressure control lets you choose from different modes—Eco, High, or Turbo—and you can check the battery charge status using a display built into the wand.

The Ryobi RY143011 performs very well in both cleaning and power, delivering up to 3,000 pounds per square inch of force. As a result, it’s very effective at removing stains. Like many other electric washers, this model is relatively quiet. It comes with six replaceable nozzle tips, an onboard soap tank, a 35-foot cord, and a 35-foot hose.

The Westinghouse WPX3400 offers a great balance of price and performance, with top-notch cleaning and the power to remove stains effectively. It comes with five nozzles and features a very wide spray angle, but it lacks an automatic trigger lock. Like many gas models, it’s noisy, too, so we recommend ear protection when using it.