We’ve already given you a roundup of some of the best cordless lawn mowers but now there’s a new player in the market. Gtech is a relatively new British company more known for their innovative and smartly designed vacuum cleaners.
They branched out into the gardening market a few years ago and have done well, putting their expertise of designing lightweight cordless appliances into the lawn keeping sector. Having now launched the second iteration of their lawn mower, it’s time to take a look at the latest garden tech from Gtech.
The Gtech Cordless Lawnmower 2.0 may have a name more suited to a computer mouse than a lawn mower but it’s a capable machine with an attractive design and some nifty features.
In this review we will take a look at the main features of this model, including ones which are good and others that don’t quite meet the mark. We will also compare the cordless lawnmower to its predecessor, the Gtech Falcon which helped kick off the whole cordless lawn mower revolution.
Finally, there’ll be a summary in which we let you know what we think of the lawn mower overall and if it’s a product we can recommend (spoiler alert: it is).
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The Cordless Lawnmower 2.0 comes with a 50L grass bag which is more than enough to collect enough clippings for a 400m2 garden (the area that this mower is rated up to).
This is apparently the largest grass bag they have ever used which doesn’t surprise us, it’s rare that 42cm mowers have grass bags this size with most being around the 40L mark like the old Gtech Raven.
This change is welcome as larger bags means that there’s less time spent carrying and emptying out clippings and more time spent taking a look around and appreciate the fruits of your labour. If that wasn’t enough then the bag also has a useful indicator flap that lets you know when the bin requires emptying (if you do somehow manage to fill it up).
This is a feature that isn’t always available on other models and so is much appreciated, although it would have been nice if they were able to go one step further and provide a viewing window for a completely hands-free grass-checking experience.
Removal of the grass bag is as easy as pie for you only have to lift up the flap and unhook it from the main body. There are handles at the top and end of the bag which help you with transport and tipping the clippings into the waste or if you want to do your bit for the environment, your compost heap. When you’re done for the day the grass bag folds for easier storage, this is the main benefit of bags over the more common bulky plastic boxes.
Gtech have given you a good amount of control over the cutting height of the Cordless Lawnmower 2.0. You can adjust the height across 6 10mm increments which is on the higher end of average in height adjustable lawnmowers.
Another thing that’s on the higher end of average is the actual cutting heights themselves, with the ranges cut being between 30 and 80mm. This feels like an odd choice as most lawn mowers tend to cut between 20 to 70mm.
For normal usage this change won’t really be noticed but when you’re doing the first cut of the season to remove all the dead ends of the grass it can be nice to be able to mow a bit closer to the ground (although in either case, you shouldn’t do this in one go, you should start at a higher setting and slowly reduce it to ensure you don’t damage the grass).
Adjusting the height has been made easy with a centrally located lever that is easy to find and operate, even if you’re wearing gardening gloves. This can’t be said of some models which have small levers which are hidden behind wheels and are fiddly to operate, with the Cordless Lawnmower 2.0 Gtech have made sure that you can simply reach down to the side of the mower and pull on the enlarged handle.
Interestingly, the lever has notches for each height level. This isn’t usually seen on most lawn mowers as they use a simpler linear movement but it’s good to see as it makes it less likely for there to be slippage from wear or vibrations which is an issue found in some cheaper lawn mowers.
Which this configuration you’re guaranteed a uniform height every time you mow and it’s easier to change the settings if you want to test different heights.
Gtech are very excited about their new blade technology with the Cordless Lawnmower 2.0 and it’s easy to see why. The mower contains a carbon steel single blade which allows the mower to cut through grass in a more efficient and effective manner than previously.
While it still isn’t able to slice through the toughest of grasses in one pass, it is perfect for normal use and maintaining previously cut grass. This is an unfortunate limitation of all current battery-powered motors rather than the blade itself so we can’t complain too much.
If tacking difficult patches is something you do on a regular basis, you probably have a petrol-powered lawn mower anyway.
The effective cutting width of the lawn mower is 42cm which is higher than most (battery-powered) mowers but still narrow enough to fit in some tricky spaces, which is exactly what you’d want for its target usage of small-medium gardens.
Having a larger width means that it doesn’t take as many passes to cover the whole lawn, so you get done faster which has the added benefit of meaning you are less likely to run out of juice.
To power the Cordless Lawnmower 2.0 is a 48V 2Ah lithium-ion battery and an unnamed electric motor that seems to be both powerful and quiet. To check how much charge is left, there is a handy LED indicator built into the battery that is visible and active when the lawn mower is in use.
If you want to see the charge state outside of the mower then there is also a button on the battery that lights up the LEDs. This is a feature that is weirdly absent in a lot of cordless gardening products so we’re glad that Gtech have seen fit to implement it here.
Charging the battery cannot be done inside the mower requires removal from the chassis, which is as simple as lifting the clear visor, disengaging a latch and sliding it out.
Once removed, the battery can be slid into the included fast charging stand (making sure the “G” faces upwards). The charge time on the mower is only an hour which is far less than any other electric mower we know of.
A lot of thought has been put into being able to store the Cordless Lawnmower 2.0. We’ve already mentioned the folding grass bag but aside from this there is also folding handles, carrying handles and the sheer lightness of the machine.
Once the mower has been fully folded it’s about as compact as you could reasonably expect a full-sized lawn mower to be so for people with limited space this is truly a godsend.
Transporting the Cordless Lawnmower to your shed or garage should be no problem at all as the carrying handle is large and conveniently placed.
The mower only weighs 13.5kg so most people can lift it by hand but if you don’t want to carry it then the lawnmower is still easy enough to wheel about when folded. To finish this section, one thing we should say about the main handles is that they aren’t height adjustable.
The Gtech Cordless Lawnmower 2.0 has a removable safety key which provides additional safety, this is located on the body of the mower behind the carrying handle.
The machine won’t turn on unless this key is engaged and when you’re done mowing this key can be changed to the lock/off mode and removed by punching the sides together and pulling it out of the slot. This means that you can always store the mower away without worry, an invaluable feature if you have small children!
To prevent you from losing the key it is securely tied to the mower (although they can be replaced if needed for a reasonable fee).
Assembling the lawnmower is an easy affair that only takes around 10 minutes or so if you follow the instructions. Unlike with petrol mowers, there is very little maintenance to be had after assembly.
Instead of buying petrol, checking oil levels and changing filters, you only have to charge it, which we’ve seen is an easy process, and that’s it for maintenance (aside from perhaps occasionally sharpening the blade for more efficient cutting).
After the battery inevitably wears over time, it’s possible to replace it with a spare form the Gtech website as the battery isn’t permanently sealed in the unit like with some competitors.
While this is a cost many people would love to avoid, it’s an unfortunate reality when dealing with anything battery powered (as anyone with a smartphone can tell you). Thankfully the battery is easy enough to swap out although it will set you back a cool (approx) £160 when you do it.
As we said in the introduction, the Gtec Falcon was the company’s first foray into the lawn mower market and it helped kick off the whole cordless mower segment. We thought it would be interesting to see what changed between version 1.0 and 2.0 and see if the original still holds up.
There are many small differences between the two models, including some which seem like regressions in the newer model such as the Falcon having a 1cm wider cutting width (thankfully this shouldn’t make a real difference in day to day use but it’s still interesting to see).
A bigger change is the fact that the original model had height adjustable handles, which makes this omission on the Cordless Lawnmower 2.0 even odder. – especially when you consider that the starting price was raised by £100.
Overall, things have improved with the 2.0. The Falcon had a 36V battery which has been upgraded to a 48V one to provide more power. The new model has also gone on a diet, undergoing a 20% reduction in weight despite a 10L increase in grass box capacity.
Aside from this there are other changes like an improved safety switch, redesigned blade and new adjustable power delivery. The addition of fast charging is probably the most useful improvement, it takes the charge time from 5 hours to 1 which really makes a difference in convenience.
Adding all these changes together it comes to the point where we wouldn’t be able to recommend the original if it came out today, especially given increased competition.
1 x Gtech Cordless Lawnmower 2.0 (with connected activation key)
1 x Grass Bag
1 x Battery
1 x Charger
1 x Instruction Manual
The Gtech Cordless Lawnmower 2.0 is an impressive machine. It improves upon its predecessor in nearly every way while retaining all the positive attributes that made it such a brilliant product, most notably its hassle-free cordless operation.
Although there are more competitors around now than when the original model first launched, Gtech have still managed to produce a compelling product that is perfect if you have a small to medium-sized garden.
The 40-minute runtime is decent, although it is dependant on the grass conditions; Longer grass can increase the power usage and reduce the duration of time that you can use the mower, thus this lawn mower is not the best for those with long thick grass full of debris.
If that is the case for you and you still want to cut the cords then we would have to suggest one of the many great petrol mowers on the market.
One big selling point of the Gtech over its competitors is its fast charging. By only taking an hour to charge it means that you can use it, plug it in and have it fully charged all before your kids finish the latest Pixar movie.
The only real downsides of the product are that it can’t cut grass super short and the handle isn’t height-adjustable, although the last point should only be an issue for people on extreme ends of the vertical scale. Still, it would have been a nice feature to have given the price.
Speaking of the price, the Gtech Cordless Lawnmower 2.0 is priced to be on the higher end of the market. The listed price is more than many competitors and is about as much as you would pay for corded or petrol models that have additional features like rear rollers or mulching.
Whether you think these additional features are needed is a personal choice, but we still believe that the Gtech Cordless Lawnmower 2.0 is priced well given that it tends to do the basics better (and more conveniently) than its competitors.
It is also on sale often enough that the price doesn’t always have to sting as much as the usual listed one if you keep your eyes peeled.
Taking everything into consideration, we believe that Gtech have produced a brilliant piece of kit. It’s both powerful and lightweight and it completely removes the fusses of running extension leads through windows/avoiding cables you find with electric mowers or the noise/added maintenance of petrol ones.
The safety features such as the included key are great for that extra peace of mind and additional touches like the impressive stowing capability, fast charging and larger grass bag makes this a brilliant choice for anyone looking to keep their garden in tip-top shape.
Basically, if you’re the type of person who wants a decent, thoughtfully designed lawn mower that you can use anywhere at any time then Gtech has made this product just for you.
