Honda HRE 370 1300w 37cm Electric Rotary Lawnmower

I bought this as replacement for a 5-year old Bosch Rotak 43 whose motor burned out. The current Rotak 43 is a similar price to this Honda.The Bosch motor seems to have a life of 5 years if one researches experiences on the internet. I also found the Bosch to be an irritating design with lots of nooks and crannies so that lawn clippings end up everywhere in the shed no matter how much you clean the underside. Some say that all this insulating buried straw is the cause of the motors burning out! Honda have a good reputation for durability so I thought I would try but only time will tell if it lasts longer than a Bosch.My big complaint with the Honda out of the box is fixing the handles to the body (hence one star off). They give you self-tapping screws with hexagonal heads to fix them in a hole just next to the rear wheels. The problem is that there is not enough space to get a socket in there and using a spanner is a slow process as the wheels get in the way. I did (briefly!) think about taking the wheels off but these are so tightly (machine-?) secured that I decided getting them off and back on would probably be a worse experience than struggling with a spanner. Why oh why do Honda not use the same screw but with a Posidrive section cut through the head so that they can simply be screwed in without a spanner? Come on Honda! Prove you are better engineers than Bosch!Having moaned thus, the assembled mower is impressive.The pros:1. The bag is much more efficient at collecting the grass than the Bosch affair. There is less spillage and the Honda seems to avoid the Bosch problem of grass clogging up the entry to the grass-box before the box is anything near full.2. As a result the Honda's 35-litre bag seems to need to be emptied less often than the Bosch 50-litre box! Being a bag, it is much easier to carry and empty too.3. The underdeck of the Honda (above the blade) seems to be made of a better plastic than Bosch. The surface wipes easily so grass and mud does not seem to stick so readily as on the Bosch. But maybe the plastic will degrade over time and be no different.4. Despite lacking the special side gatherers of the Bosch, to my surprise the Honda seems to cut as close to a lawn edge as the Bosch does.5. The Honda does have a more solid metallic-like feel than the plasticky Bosch. Of course this does not necessarily mean it will last longer.6. The Honda does not have nearly so many nooks and crannies into which straw can fly, hide, breed and proliferate all over the shed/garage floor!The cons:1. The Honda is a lot heavier than the Bosch. I have to lug mine up steps so I feel it!2. For the same money the Bosch has a wider cut so in theory less work with less effort because it is also lighter.3. The height adjuster on the Bosch is easier to use. it is slightly awkward on the Honda and I have misgivings about changing it often; after only one prolonged mowing session the height notches show signs of wear.4. The bottom of the Honda bag is not fixed to the mower body. I was worried about this but in practice it is usually not a problem. However, if you hit a large hole or bump in your lawn (mine has lots!), there will be some spillage (but not much) out of the bottom of the bag. Always empty the bag before tipping or lifting the mower!5. The cable provided by Honda is comparatively stiff. This means it seems more awkward to tidy and stow. But maybe I just need to get used to it.Now to my pet grumps.Both Honda and Bosch demand that we consumers do not use their electric mowers in damp conditions. What planet do these guys live on? Apart from a couple of weeks in late June (if we are lucky) England is always damp. Cannot their engineers design for this? I guess Bosch designers living in the North German desert have some excuse for ignorance but Japan is just as wet as England. We get the impression this is a get-out clause for when things go wrong.Why does no-one design in a simple manual rotating blade to clear the bottom of the deck of mud and grass? I was forever cleaning out the underside of the old Bosch mower.I hate electric cables. Who does not? Neither manufacturer make life easier, although Bosch claim their new models provide a tidy solution (but the reviews say otherwise). Honda provide a funny sort of tag to hang from the handle. What one is supposed to do with it is anybody's guess; the manual is notably silent on keeping the cable tidy. Honda do not provide a battery option. But at current costs and battery charge life I am not convinced that paying an awful lot more for this luxury is worth it. Maybe in 5 years time (or longer if my Honda lasts) the technology will have improved and the costs fallen for it to be my next option. I will then at least save money from disappearing into Her Ladyship the Head Gardener's swear box!Update 25 June 2014.The original review above gave this 4 stars; I have now downgraded it because:1. Despite having a higher-powered motor than my old Bosch, this Honda struggles with long grass.2. I suspect part of the reason is that the blade is not so tough. After only half a season it looks blunt and as if it needs replacement.3. The lower handle for keeping the power on is nicely designed to nip your hand; a child could easily badly damage their fingers. It is easy to partly release this handle when turning the mower and then take a chunk out of your hand when you straighten up. Not good at all Mr Honda; I keep doing it!

Lawnmower arrived quickly with accessories missing contacted seller who said he would have them sent out still waiting for them 2 weeks laterLawnmower not good for my lawn wont cut high enough very small forever emptying the box to be honest wish I had never bothered not worth the money or hassle.

Lasted 4 years before the flimsy plastic arm that raises the cutting height snapped rendering the mower useless. So £45 per year to cut a fairly small lawn area. At the most used 10 times a year. Better than previous Flymo but not by much. Main pro: very effective cutout when clogged with cuttings so motor won't burn out like Flymo, cuts grass well. Main con: suspect height mechanism that would have snapped sooner with greater use.

In the past I have always had hover mowers, quite big ones. When my latest one died on me I decided to try something different and chose the Honda HRE370. It is slightly smaller that my last hover mower and lighter. The build quality is better though and it is much quieter than any of the hover mowers I have had in the past. It cuts right up to the edge and does it in style. It is very easy to handle and move around in tight corners too. I can honestly say that I wish I had bought one years ago. This is a really nice machine.

Great lawnmower. So go its my second one. 1st one lasted 11 yrs and just bought same make and model

Light but strong.

I've always had a flymo but i'm so glad i changed to this Honda mowerEven though the wheels are not power this mower is so easy to use and gives a great cutwould highly recommend this machine

Best electric mower I've used