Always the last to mow?

If you hate cables but aren’t ready go full robo-mower just yet, here are our top cordless lawn-fettlers

Kärcher LMO 18-33 What’s the story?

We kick off with one of the most compact and affordable mowers on test. The price includes the battery and fast charger, but if you already have these with another Kärcher tool you can buy it battery-free for just £180.

There’s a safety key to prevent small people deciding to ‘play’ lawnmowing unattended, a choice of four cutting heights, and the option to swap the grassbox for a mulching plug (supplied) that reroutes clippings to the lawn. This mower folds up nice and small for storage.

Is it any good?

Setting up involves clipping on the handle then using a pair of bolts with wingnuts to add the folding part. There are three handle height settings, and it has foam padding, but we didn’t find it especially comfortable to push around. At least it’s easy to lift the mower one-handed when it’s folded down.

The battery has an LCD display so you can see how long it’s got left, while a flap indicates when the grassbox is full. Lowering the cutting height is easy but raising is a bit harder, as you need to lift the mower with one hand while adjusting the control with the other.

Mowing leaves a good finish (and gets to 5cm away from a brick edge) but it lacks power: the mower sometimes stalls on over-long grass and is also a bit loud. This is lightweight, manoeuvrable and good value but lacks oomph.