Ego Power+ LM2102SP Review

The Ego Power+ LM2102SP is one of the top-scoring mowers in the class, and for good reason. This mower cuts a wide swath in a wide range of heights and does so for a period of time that allows you to get the job done so you can get on with your day rather than twiddling your thumbs while you wait for a battery to recharge. This puppy will mulch or bag, run fast or slow, it will self-propel, or it can be manually pushed. Moreover, it is easy to use and a cinch to fold up and store for later use.

Performance Comparison

Mowing

When you're on the hunt for a battery-powered lawn mower, we think that the mowing performance is pretty darn important. At 35 percent, we weight this metric to account for the lion's share of the product's overall score. The components of this metric are an assessment of the mowers' range of cutting heights, the width of the cutting deck, and the motor's ability to keep the blade efficiently cutting at a variety of grass heights. We should say that we measure the cutting deck differently than the manufacturers who list the outside deck width. Conversely, we make a more practical measurement between the front wheels as this is generally the maximum amount that the mower can cut without leaving an uncut strip of grass between one row and the next.

The Ego crushes the mowing metric tests. Its six settings cover a huge range of cutting heights from 1 3/8" to 4 1/8". The inside wheel width allows for ~18" of cutting rows. Finally, the 56-volt power source provides a staggering amount of power, such that the blade showed no hesitation mulching knee high weeds.

Battery

One of the features that sets the LM2102SP apart from the competition is its beefy 56-volt, 5 amp-hour battery. The assessment of batteries is distilled into two tests, the combined outcome of which is weight to account for 25% of the total score of the machine. The first is how long the battery will deliver power to the motor. We call this runtime. The second is how long it takes to recharge a fully depleted battery. Due to complications in assessing runtime uniformly while actually cutting grass, we run these machines without a load. What this means is that the motor is on, and the blade is spinning, but no grass is cut. We then take the loadless runtime value and use it in a model that estimates the total square footage that the mower will trim. While the model's accuracy will vary depending on the length and density of the grass (to name just a few variables affecting outcomes), the relative differences between mowers will remain reasonably accurate.

The LM2102SP will cut an estimated 14,275 sq. ft. of grass. This square footage estimate is exceptional and is only distantly approached by push mowers that do not use a significant portion of their power to propel the mower. Further bolstering this mower's performance is the rapid recharge time of 57 minutes. While much of the Ego's runtime performance can be chalked up to the size of its battery, the size of the battery makes the recharge time all the more impressive. Many mowers with far shorter runtimes don't come close to this one's sub-one-hour recharge time.

Handling

Having gained a firm grasp on the mowing and battery characteristics, the next obvious question to answer is how well these machines handle. In an attempt to solidify the ambiguity of this concept, we narrow the handling metric down to how easy it is to push, follow, or otherwise maneuver the mower, how comfortable the bail is when gripped, and finally, how well the starting mechanism functions.

This analysis is where the Ego Power+ LM2102SP's near-flawless showing stutter-stepped a bit. While the start button works just fine and the motor starts without hesitation, our testers found that the self-propulsion of the mower caused some issues when in tighter terrain, such as corners. The rub here is that the slowest setting on the mower's drive control is still a bit too fast. When the testers resorted to manually pushing the mower, they found that the drive system presented some resistance. Additionally, the bail spring is a bit stiff, producing a bit of discomfort. That said, this mower performs as good or better than the majority of the competition.

Ease of Use

Where the handling metric captures the practical functionality for the mower, the ease of use metric addresses those extra features that, when all else is satisfied, shape the user's experience.

The battery life indicator is located on the top of the battery compartment, which makes it easy enough to read while mowing. Despite the bulk of the battery, the removal of the cell is a cinch. Finally, when it comes time to fold or unfold this machine, the Ego continues to shine. The designers of this mower should really give themselves a pat on the back because they pretty much nailed this configuration.

Noise

One of the key benefits of purchasing a battery mower rather than gas-powered is the reduction in noise. At 71 decibels of sound for the user, not only is the LM2102SP substantially quieter than any internal combustion engine model that we've tested, it's also one of quietest battery mowers.

Should You Buy the Ego Power+ LM2102SP?

The Ego is an exceptional lawn mower. It's no exaggeration to say that this model is a standard setter in most metrics. While it is a beefy machine that thrives when put to the tougher tasks, it does well on run-of-the-mill tasks as well. Moreover, the Ego will fit in most people's shed or garage as it folds up and neatly stands on end, effectively minimizing the storage footprint. If you want a do-it-all mower and don't want to get a haircut in the process, look no further than the Ego LM2102SP. The investment is your hard-earned cash. While the price of this mower is not trivial, we think that one gets an above-average return.

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