Okay, Let's Be Honest About My Yard
I've got about a quarter acre of lawn. Not exactly sprawling countryside, but not nothing either. For years, I dragged out our old gas-powered beast — you know the kind, loud enough to make the neighbors glare, heavy enough to leave furrows in the soft spots, and complicated enough that I needed a manual just to figure out which lever did what.
Then I reviewed the Greenworks 16-inch cordless mower (model LMF417), and honestly? My relationship with lawn care changed a little bit.
First Impressions: Tiny but Mighty
When the box arrived, I have to admit — I was skeptical. The thing looks small. Like, comically small next to the 22-inch model I tested previously. The cutting deck is plastic, the wheels feel... lightweight, and there's no self-propulsion in sight.
But here's the thing: for a small yard, this might actually be a feature, not a bug.
I pushed this mower around my front yard and genuinely enjoyed the experience. No groaning, no leaning into it on uphill patches, no feeling like I was exercising more than mowing. The weight is low because the deck is plastic instead of steel, but honestly, that just means I could actually maneuver it around my garden beds without worrying about scraping paint.
The Basics — What You Get
This little workhorse runs on a 40-volt battery with a 4-amp-hour capacity. You've got two cutting modes: mulching and rear bagging. The height adjustment uses a single lever with five positions, ranging from about 1.25 to 3.375 inches.
The bag holds 1.3 bushels, which sounds like a weird measurement, but trust me — it's decently sized. It stretches nearly the full length of the mower body, and swapping it out is no hassle at all.
Price-wise, you're looking at around $350 list, but it frequently goes on sale for nearly $100 off. That's a solid deal for a battery-powered mower, especially compared to the beefier models I usually test.
The Not-So-Great Bits (Because I'm Being Fair Here)
No review is honest without the downsides.
The handle folding mechanism? Four different adjustment points. Four. It works, but it's clunky, and honestly, there's no reason to fold it unless you're storing it for winter or throwing it in a truck bed. Which brings me to another thing — you can't stand this mower vertically on end, so vertical storage is out.
And the bail switch — that lever you hold to keep the mower running — isn't the most comfortable thing over long sessions. But here's my secret: my mowing sessions aren't long. Fifteen minutes, maybe twenty, and I was done. Not a big deal.
Oh, and one quirk: the manual doesn't tell you what height each position actually is. I guessed on position three (thought it was around 2.5 inches), but I had no way to verify. A minor frustration, but a frustration nonetheless.
How Does It Actually Cut?
Here's where I was most curious — and most pleasantly surprised.
The battery handled my quarter-acre front yard plus the side of the house, leaving me with one of four bars remaining. Greenworks claims up to one-third of an acre, and based on my test, that's pretty accurate. If you're under that threshold, you're golden.
Bagging mode was a winner. Clean cuts, easy clipping collection, and the bag never felt too small for the job.
Mulching was... fine. Better in thinner grass areas. In denser patches, I noticed some clumps left behind. One particularly ambitious clump actually stalled the motor, which was startling. But a quick shake, a restart, and I was back at it. Just something to keep an eye on if you're a mulching purist.
Who Should Actually Buy This?
If you've got a small property — we're talking under a third of an acre — this mower is a genuine contender. It's simple, lightweight, quiet (seriously, you can have a conversation while mowing), and more than capable for the job.
It's also perfect as a supplemental mower for bigger properties. Got a riding mower but can't get into those tight spots around your flower beds? This little guy fills that gap beautifully.
But if you're pushing an acre or more? Keep looking. The runtime just isn't there for bigger jobs.
Final Thoughts
I went into this review thinking "small mower = small results." I was wrong.
The Greenworks 16-inch isn't trying to replace the beasts. It's doing its own thing — and doing it well, within its lane. Simple, lightweight, effective for small yards, and significantly more pleasant to use than any gas mower I've wrestled with.
If you're in the market for something compact and cordless, this might just be your next weekend upgrade.