Best Outdoor Power Equipment of 2025
Consumer Reports tests lawn mowers, snow blowers, string trimmers, and more to keep your lawn fresh
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It can take an army of outdoor power equipment to keep your property looking its best—and that’s only if you invest in efficient tools that can handle the task. But how do you choose between powerful tools that are really helpful and those that are duds?
That’s where Consumer Reports comes in. We employ an array of test engineers, market analysts, and statisticians to bring the best outdoor power equipment to the screen in front of you.
Best Snow Blowers
We test six types of snow blowers: single-, two-, and three-stage gas snow blowers, and single-stage and two-stage battery snow blowers. We also include power snow shovels in our tests. We test single-stage electric snow blowers, too, but don’t recommend any.
Best Chainsaws
Chainsaws come in a range of sizes, and we have recommendations for all of them, from small electric models—some with cords, some with batteries—to hefty (and lighter-duty) gas-powered models for heavier work.
Best String Trimmers
When it comes to string trimmers, we evaluate both gas (curved and straight) and electric corded string trimmers, including the battery-powered variety.
Best Leaf Blowers
The best leaf blower for you depends on the work and your preferences. You can choose from gas, corded electric, and cordless electric (battery-powered) leaf blowers. And there’s a variety of styles, from handheld models to backpack blowers to wheeled varieties.
Remember to wear goggles and a dust mask while using whichever leaf blower you choose. They’ll protect your eyes and lungs from fine particulates blowing around, especially in dusty, dry conditions.
Best Lawn Mowers
Your options for a lawn mower range from more cost-conscious gas and battery push models to midrange gas, gas wide-deck, and battery self-propelled mowers to lawn tractors, battery-powered riding mower and zero-turn mowers that can cost upward of $6,000.
Best Pressure Washers
Electric pressure washers—which include battery-operated pressure washers—perform nearly as well as their gas-powered counterparts, though we’ve found that gas pressure washers will clean about 50 percent faster. That said, we don’t currently recommend any of the gas pressure washers we’ve tested.
