We’re starting to see more and more battery powered push mowers as more manufacturers look to cash in with the residential market. One of the relative newcomers to the battery-powered landscaping game is Redback, a company coming out of Colorado. One of their claims to fame is that their lawn tools are “designed by mountain men for mountain men.” Well, we’re fresh out of mountians in Florida, but we just got the 107478 Redback 40V Mower to test out anyway. And, what we lack in interesting topography, we make up for in robust Bahia grass and weeds.
Key Features
Cordless Convenience
Obviously, cordlessness is the defining characteristic of any battery powered mower. It might even seem a little ridiculous to list it as a key feature, but I’m going to do it anyway. As opposed to gas combustion engines, battery power is quick, clean, convenient, and quiet. Of course, there are some tradeoffs you make with power and runtime when you switch from gas power, but for those that don’t have to deal with Pro demands, battery power can provide a preferable option to gas power.
Options
The Redback 40V mower gives us three discharge options. We can bag our clippings, we can mulch them, or we can send them out a side discharge chute.
Steel Deck
Rather than opting for a composite deck, Redback goes with a steel deck for the 107478 model. While this does add some weight, the durability improves considerably. This should especially interest folks who deal with sandier yards, as sand will wear down composite decks after a few years.
What’s Missing?
- Self-Propulsion: We really like a self-propelling push mower, and wish Redback had included it here. Of course, this feature will jump the price up, sometimes considerably.
- Easily Adjustable Handle: The handle is adjustable, but it takes a fair amount of unscrewing bolts and sliding the handle around to get it where you want it. In the grand scheme of things, we consider this a minor annoyance; the chances seem pretty good that you’ll set it and forget it anyway.
Ergonomics
We found mowing with the Redback 40V mower a pretty comfortable experience. Kenny stands 6’2″, and had no trouble with standing up straight while pushing this mower around. I’m 5’10”, and found the handle height comfortable as well. We should note, however, that we had the handles set at the lowest position. We can foresee this not jibing with shorter folks very well.
And, speaking of handles, these feel pretty comfortable. Redback hasn’t redesigned the wheel or anything here in terms of ergonomics, but the grips feel soft and cushioned. The activation bar sits in an unobtrusive postion when in use.
Additionally, the Redback 40v mower has a one-hand height adjustment that adjusts the height at all the wheels at the same time. We’re seeing this style of height adjustment on more mowers, and it works simply and effectively.
Cutting Power
We don’t have a whole lot of complaints about the Redback 40V mower from a power perspective. However, we did experience a few times that, when running through a thicker patch of grass, the motor seemed a little slow to react to the change. We needed to go over these patches twice to maintain consistent cut quality.
The takeaway here is that you probably won’t want to let your lawn get out of control, because this mower might struggle a bit in the thicker stuff. Still though, for users who keep up with regular mowing, this model has adequate power to keep things maintained pretty well.
Runtime
The vast majority of what we cut during testing could be considered a light maintenance cut; none of the grass was out of control when we cut with the Redback 40V mower. We ought to note, however, that most of it is the thicker Bahia grass.
With one of the two 40V batteries that came in the kit, we were able to mow about 4,806 square ft in 19:40. Using both batteries that come in the kit, we can double the square footage to 9,612 sq ft, and just under 40 minutes of runtime. This translates to roughly 0.22 of an acre.
With all that said, the Redback 40V mower ought to handle a 1/4 acre lot with a home on it, assuming that the lot in question is both kept up with and doesn’t have the thick, green, shag carpet that we’re working with here. For the thicker stuff, you’ll likely get less runtime.
Value
The Redback 40V mower comes with two 40V 4.0Ah batteries and a charger, and it retails for $499.99. In the grand scheme of things, the pricing here seems competitive with comparable mowers. We’ve found some cheaper models, but we also know of plenty brands that run more expensive. The value, with the Redback’s 107478 model, is that it comes with a second 4 Ah battery. It also comes with a 3-year limited warranty on the mower, and a 1-year warranty on the batteries.
The Bottom Line
Redback has made a solid 40V mower for the homeowner. It’s comfortable to use, has decent runtime between the two included batteries, and offers a few bagging or mulching options. While we did experience a couple hiccups in the power department, we feel like this would be a solid option for residential use.
Redback 40V Mower Specs
- Model Number: 107478
- Motor Speed: 3300 rpm
- Deck Width: 19″
- Cutting Height: 1″ – 3″, single point height adjustment, 7 positions
- Grass Catcher Capacity: 1.7 bushels (60L)
- Wheel Size: 7″ rear, 6″ front
- Weight: 52 lbs without battery
- Battery: 4.0 Ah (included with kit)
- Charger: 2.0A (included with kit)
- Warranty: 3-Year Limited Warranty; 1-Year on Battery
- MSRP: $499.99
For more information about the 107478 Redback 40V Mower, visit the Redback USA website here .
