Craftsman
The Craftsman shares several chassis features with the Homelite and the Yardworks machines, including the excellent height-adjustment system that features a large handle, good leverage and definite stops. Siedlaczek and McDonald both liked the system of hooks for attaching the bag. However, both found that the size of the opening in the bag seemed to contribute to clogging when they tried to empty it. McDonald says it was “frustrating when emptying the bag to have to reach into it to clear the mouth.” I thought that the larger-diameter rear wheels made the mower the easiest to turn on a spot when lifting the front wheels off the ground, and also made the Craftsman the easiest to roll up or down a few steps. The Craftsman does offer a good indicator on the charger and another state-of-charge indicator on the mower itself. One design flaw did become obvious very early on: the rubber flap attached to the rear of the mower can be struck by the blades if it slips under when the mower is pulled backwards. (The flap was destroyed after two uses.)
Troy-Bilt
The Troy-Bilt was the only mower to run on 48-volt current. The manufacturer says that more torque is available to spin the blade, but for the most part we found it to perform about as well as the other machines. Ergonomically, I liked that the safety bar on the handle could be held down with either hand, and its shape was popular with McDonald too. But we all thought a little cushioning on the handle would have been nice. McDonald liked its manoeuvrability, suggesting that it felt “very lightweight and was easy to steer with one hand.” We all agreed that this machine probably had the best bag, with Siedlaczek commenting that it was “very convenient to remove, empty and reconnect.” A large opening for the clippings to pass through eliminated clogging. The Troy-Bilt also had one of the best combinations of battery indicators of any mower in the test, with a state-of-charge indicator on the mower deck that was bright enough to be visible in sunshine and a good charging indicator on the charging transformer as well. It was also super-quiet: you could almost talk over it.
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