I like Makita gear.

I have their split shaft unit with edger, line trimmer, I put a PRS attachment on, and I have a pole saw... lots of power and easy to use as far as I'm concerned.

I have their mower and a couple blowers too and I like them.

I got their stuff because I like the Makita tools I have in my workshop, I think Makita had some of best impact drivers and other cordless tools. Nailers, grinders, router, sanders, drycut saw... I have a bunch of their gear. Great service from my local Makita depot too when I needed a part one time.

I'm not a fanboy, I have other types of gear too, but no complaints on my Makita at all.

 

I have Ego, but if I was doing it again today I would look hard at Stihl because I think they have a battery powerhead that works with their Kombi system attachments now.

 

Milwaukee seems to be gaining ground in their outdoor power equipment offerings too.

 

5 years ago everything I had was yellow (DeWalt). I'm probably 50/50 Milwaukee and DeWalt now with ALL of my outdoor stuff being Milwaukee. I want to be invested in Stihl, but I can't justify their battery costs.

 

I only own one battery powered tool. I don't think that it's the best that's out there. I only bought the Ryobi One+ mower because they appear to be committed to the platform. I can hope that, in five or ten years, I'll be able to get a new battery that will fit.

 

I have 3 Makita battery powered 18 volt. I just got the hedge trimmer and I am very impressed. I did lots of research on the Ego and found many forums discuss battery issues. I spoke to a rep at HD and they mentioned that is why Ego was dropped from their line of products….now they are sold in Lowe's and Ace.

 

I've been really happy with my Ryobi 40v stuff.

So based on the above, you can't really go wrong.

 

Milwaukee or Ego. I have Milwaukee stuff.

 

To me the EGO stuff seems like top tier along with Stihl. The only battery outdoor equipment I own is an EGO 650 CFM blower that I mainly use to dry the cars after washing and for small clean ups after mowing. Everything else I own is Stihl gas powered equipment which I love.

 

I have the Milwaukee blower and string trimmer and love both.

 

Ego for me. They are solely focused on the yard segment and the batteries are damn good. That being said I love the Milwaukee line of tools in general. High quality stuff.

 

I have Makita because I was already invested in Makita. I love their stuff. Have not been disappointed with anything other than their 18v inflator. Their outdoor equipment I have is great. Trimmer, blower, hedge trimmer...no complaints on any of it.
We have the self propelled mower at work, and I like that as well. Cut quality is good...only issue there is the rubber coming off one of the back drive wheels, and that is because the guy who runs it constantly rubs against the curbs.

I have the 60v Toro self propelled mower. I like that as well, but wish I would have just bought the Makita mower instead since I already have the batteries. I went with the Toro for the folding handle, which in reality was dumb because I only fold it up during the off season.

If you are already invested in a tool platform that can make the decision easier. Milwaukee is coming out with a battery mower now as well.

Keep in mind, Ego is part of Chervon, who also makes SKIL. Skil has a strong line of battery OPE as well. TTI is the parent of Milwaukee & Ryobi.

 

Checking in, very happy with my Ryobi stuff -- both [and especially] their 18V stuff, but also their 40V stuff [mower, blower, chainsaw].

 

I just want to throw this out there, because I feel it's worth mentioning The 40V Kobalt stuff, actually doesn't suck.

I have their original (2014-2015) time frame 40V weed eater, blower and hedge trimmer. I kept begging for them to die so I could buy shiny new brushless motor Milwaukee ones with more power. All 3 still to this day work, wife loves the weed eater because it's lighter then the Milwaukee.

When I needed a tiny push mower to mow directly between the pool and the fence, guess who makes one? Kobalt. Guess what, it's still on that same 40V platform, and it doesn't suck (It's a rotary mower so it sucks well, but....). If the Milwaukee one was out or when it comes out I may get it just because I'm a tool snob. That said, I have 4 different Kobalt outdoor tools spanning multiple generations of development and I can't kill the dang things. I've "upgraded" the three old ones all to Milwaukee ones (again tool snob) but we still have them.

They're not sexy, but they work.

 

Anything Ego except for their mowers. It bogs down too darn much. I'm much happier with the Toro 60v. All other lwn tools are Ego.

 

Does anybody on here have any of the Toro Flex Force 60v tools? Been researching it some and was curious if anybody has any of it and if so how do you like it?

 

I chose greenworks since they have 80v systems for mowing, blowing, and trimming. That was 4 years ago though when there was less competition.

 

I have Makita because I was already invested in Makita. I love their stuff. Have not been disappointed with anything other than their 18v inflator. Their outdoor equipment I have is great. Trimmer, blower, hedge trimmer...no complaints on any of it.
We have the self propelled mower at work, and I like that as well. Cut quality is good...only issue there is the rubber coming off one of the back drive wheels, and that is because the guy who runs it constantly rubs against the curbs.

I have the 60v Toro self propelled mower. I like that as well, but wish I would have just bought the Makita mower instead since I already have the batteries. I went with the Toro for the folding handle, which in reality was dumb because I only fold it up during the off season.

If you are already invested in a tool platform that can make the decision easier. Milwaukee is coming out with a battery mower now as well.

Keep in mind, Ego is part of Chervon, who also makes SKIL. Skil has a strong line of battery OPE as well. TTI is the parent of Milwaukee & Ryobi.

I've been happy with my Makita XML03 18" mower, but I'm considering a 21" mower - I see there are 2 self propelled Makita 21s (and 1 non-self propelled) which one have you used?

Any more details you can offer on your time with it? Does it leave anything to be desired vs. your Toro?

Any insight is helpful as there aren't a lot of people with experience with these mowers.

I like the simplicity of an electric mower, but if I don't get a Makita battery mower again, I'll probably get a gas mower, I'm committed to the platform.

 

I was Ryobi for a long time but they just have an overall cheap feel about them. Ive since switched to Craftsman and feel like its quite a bit better. The auto feed head on my old Ryobi would always seem to either jam up or it would feed out line to the point of being wasteful. Ive now got a Ryobi V20 trimmer/edger that works great. Ive also got a Craftsman V20 blower that works great, although it chews though batteries fast.
Ego is certainly an option but the batteries are stupid expensive.
Another good one that no one seems to ever bring up is Toro. They make some pretty impressive battery tools now.

 

Thank you all for the input! I've listened and also been doing more research. I'm leaning (heavily) toward Milwaukee for the following:
Great reviews on their M18 blower and string trimmer; the options for hedge trimmer, etc. and, their sprayer (though expensive) has great reviews plus the option of using two tanks that won't cross contaminate. Uh, certainly not the least expensive set of lawn tools, but I think it will pay off in the long run.

Thanks again!

 

I have Makita because I was already invested in Makita. I love their stuff. Have not been disappointed with anything other than their 18v inflator.

My father and myself are big fans of Makita as well. We've had countless other brands and nothing has held up as well as Makita. That said, im talking about power tools and not lawn equipment. Last year he wanted a battery compressor that he could easily use around the house and take to his vacation house without having to lug his pancake around. Almost pulled the trigger on the 18v inflator but passed because of the reviews. Sounds like I made the right decision :lol:

 

@BurtMacklinFBI Yeah, I have had it for a year and only used it once or twice. At the same time I need to remind myself I will not get the same performance as an air compressor. Little things though, like having to hold the trigger down the whole time instead of it having a trigger lock also disappoint me.

 

@BurtMacklinFBI Yeah, I have had it for a year and only used it once or twice. At the same time I need to remind myself I will not get the same performance as an air compressor. Little things though, like having to hold the trigger down the whole time instead of it having a trigger lock also disappoint me.

Zip ties often make up for engineering oversights and this is no exception. :lol:

 

@MasterMech that is exactly what I do lol.

 

I am invested in the EGO line of outdoor power equipment. But I am in the market for battery garage tools, things like impacts and ratchets, and woodworking tools.

Milwaukee vs Makita
I tend to lean heavily towards anything that Obsessed Garage YouTube recommends, and he heavily pushes Milwaukee on his channel. BUT, the Makita track saw gets such good reviews that it makes me also consider the Makita line of tools. I can't really imagine getting the Makita tracksaw and Milwaukee impacts.