EGO 56V Select Cut Self-Propelled Lawn Mower Review

Impressed by both the original EGO 56V cordless lawn mower and the new EGO Peak Power lawn mower, news of a third-generation mower quickly caught our attention. When we found ourselves able to test it on a nearby sod farm, we jumped at the chance. The EGO Select Cut lawn mower features an improved 1000W brushless motor and all-new blade design. EGO pulled out all the stops on this mower, designing it to cut powerfully, bag efficiently, and mulch effectively. After testing it over two days on literally acres of pristine (and tall!) Floratam grass, this mower seems to be the new top performer.


Pros

  • Twin cutting blades increase mulching and bagging performance
  • Powerful brushless motor cuts through St Augustine
  • Improved self-propel mechanism and speed control
  • Cuts up to 3/4 acre on a single 56V 7.5Ah battery (light load)

Cons

  • Optional mulching blade reduces run-time
  • A premium mower comes with a premium price

EGO Select Cut Lawn Mower Features

The easiest way to convey the new features of the EGO Select Cut lawn mower comes by way of comparison to the previous model. One of the most visible changes includes a new raked back battery insertion angle that lets you see the 6-segment charge indicators on newer EGO 56V batteries.

EGO Select Cut battery insertion

Like the model it replaces, the EGO Gen 3 lawnmower kit includes a 56V 7.5 Ah battery pack and 60-minute rapid charger. You also get a new dual-blade design for superior mulching and bagging out of the gate. Not to be confused with a side-by-side cutting system, this blade design looks like a narrow “X”. The two blades work together to lift and cut grass into very fine pieces.

EGO Gen 3 lawnmower mulching blades

How fine? It exhibited no clumping underneath the deck and did a great job bagging. Aside from the Ryobi (which practically vacuumed up the grass) and a $1,200 commercial mower, it captured more St. Augustine grass than other mowers we tested on the farm.

EGO Tri-Cut Blade Included

Not content to stop there, the 3rd generation EGO Select Cut lawn mower also includes an additional Tri-Cut blade that you can swap out to deliver even better mulching. This “gator-style” blade has a higher lift and teeth that shred grass even more completely when using the mulching plug. It captured a similar amount of bagged grass as the standard blade, but with finer pieces.

The only downside comes at the expense of some run-time. In our testing, the mower lost around 12-15% overall. For those interested in better mulching, this trade-off could be well worth the benefits.

EGO Gen 3 lawnmower gator mulching blades

The new third-generation EGO Select Cut mower has the same 21″ cutting deck as the prior model (using a 20.25″ blade). They just seem to do more with it.

Sod Farm Run-time Testing

Testing the EGO Select Cut lawn mower occurred at Gulf Kist Sod in Vero Beach, Florida. We couldn’t think of a better way to test the new Gen 3 mower than by running it on acres and acres of pristine Floratam (a St. Augustine variety).

Floratam St Augustine grass Gulf Kist Sod farm
Days like this really make us love our jobs!

Start Your Engines

EGO made starting the mower even easier than before (if that’s possible). Instead of completely recessing the power-up button on the handle, you can now access it more naturally with your thumb before pulling back the bail bar. The front LED lights are activated from the handle as well—no more leaning down to turn them on.

EGO Select Cut self-propelled lawn mower

Updated Self-Propelled Mechanism

The updated self-propelled drive mechanism on this mower also works really well. Instead of a lever, EGO now features a center-mounted speed dial. It sits smack-dab in the middle of the handle and sets the desired pace. It’s much more visible, easier to adjust, and has a more tactile feel when you’re using it.

EGO Power third-gen self-propelled lawn mower
EGO 3rd generation bagging quality

To actually engage self-propelled mode, however, you simply grab the handles as you naturally would. A top grip or side grip works equally well. Twin buttons on each side of the handle naturally push in when you grasp the handle. Either or both buttons will engage the self-propel system.

Reviewer’s Note: Using this new mechanism for the first time seemed a tad uncomfortable. I felt I had to apply constant pressure to the buttons vs the former drive bar. I then realized I had the handle set too high for my height. Once I lowered the handle, my arms formed a more ergonomic 90-degree angle. At that point, the buttons for the self-propelled system engaged very naturally. If you feel you have to expend any energy keeping the drive buttons engaged—check to see if you might have a similar issue.

I rarely used the maximum drive speed except when putting away the mower. It’s quick—EGO rates it around 3.1 MPH. The minimum speed sits around 1.1 MPH. We often find that the grass height and variety also play a determining role in optimal speed selection. Similar to the previous mowers and the Peak Power model, a rear-mounted brushless motor gear-drives the left rear wheel.

EGO third generation mower wheel treads traction

EGO Select Cut Lawnmower Power and Traction

Regarding the wheels—EGO keeps the same great treads. We’ve found them to give lots of traction when dealing with inclines, wet grass, etc. That matters more than you may think—particularly when you cut higher grass or go for a more aggressive cut. Several other mowers spun their wheels during our heavy-load testing.

In that power testing, we found we could drop the mower deck down to 2.125-inches when mowing Floratam. That’s really short and represents a very difficult, if not impossible, cut for many self-propelled lawnmowers.

More of the Features You Know

Many features present on existing EGO mowers also exist on the EGO 3rd generation mower as well. The EGO Select Cut is IPX4-rated to handle water from any direction. Also, check out the evolution of EGO’s twin dual-LED headlights across their mowers:

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