Home & Yard
7 Reasons People Who Still Do Their Own Yard Are Switching to This 10-Pound Mower
Most people don’t stop mowing because of the mowing. It’s the pull cord, the weight, and the edges nobody gets to. Here’s what I found after my 74-year-old mother told me, “It’s probably just me.”
Advertisement from SEESE Tools. Diane Kessler is an illustrative composite narrator drawn from homeowner research, not an individual customer. Lifestyle images illustrate the story.
If you’re reading this, you probably still do your own yard. Or you’re watching someone you love try to.
My mother is 74. She has cut her own grass in Central Florida for as long as I can remember, and she has made it very clear she is not stopping.
Last spring I was down visiting and watched her pull the cord on her gas mower four times. On the fifth she stopped, rubbed her shoulder, and said, “It’s probably just me.”
It wasn’t her.
What worried me wasn’t the grass. It was how this usually goes. The mowing slides to next weekend. Then there’s a lawn crew in the driveway. Then somebody starts saying the house is getting to be too much. My mother would rather do the yard herself, thank you.
So I went home to Ohio and read everything I could find from people in their 60s, 70s and 80s: forum threads, product reviews, complaints about lawn services. Across more than 150 reviews and posts, one thing surprised me. More people wrote about not being able to start their mower than about not being able to push it.
Here are the seven reasons that came up most, the tool that answered all seven for my mother, and the honest limits, because it isn’t right for every yard.
It was never you. It was the pull cord.
Prime the bulb. Set the choke. Pull. Pull again. Four pulls on a good day. On a bad day it floods and never catches at all.
A pull cord asks for a hard, fast yank from the shoulder, every single time. That isn’t a test of whether you can still keep a yard. It’s a test of one awkward motion, and plenty of capable people fail it.
The people who wrote about it almost always defended themselves in the same breath:
“I just can’t pull cords and get those things to start… I’m not a wimp.”
Gardening forum post, Houzz
“I’m not STRONG but I’m not weak either. What is my problem?”
Ask MetaFilter
Her problem was the cord. So was my mother’s.
Ten pounds. And the wheels carry it.
A gas push mower can run 60 pounds. A 21-inch battery mower from a major brand weighed 62.5 in a hands-on test. On a slope, that weight is the whole job.
The SEESE weighs 10 pounds. And you aren’t holding those 10 pounds up. Two wheels sit under the cutting head, so the grass carries it and you steer. One person who switched to a light electric mower put it better than I can:
“It’s so light, it’s more like vacuuming than mowing.”
Ask MetaFilter
The telescoping shaft and adjustable auxiliary handle let you set up a comfortable working position. When you’re done, it goes up the porch steps in one hand and hangs on a single garage hook.
The edges finally get done.
This one I didn’t expect. On a forum for a Florida 55+ community, one homeowner put it plainly:
“I discovered the tougher part was the edging and weeding, not the grass-mowing.”
Talk of The Villages forum
Mowing, weed eating and edging usually means three machines and three trips to the shed. So the grass gets cut, and the other two slide to next weekend.
On the SEESE, you turn the head 90 degrees and it edges the driveway and the walk. Change the attachment as directed and it’s a weed eater for the fence line and around the beds. One tool. One trip around the yard. No bending down to edge.
Steel blades in the box. Not plastic.
If you’ve ever bought a cheap trimmer, you know this one. The plastic blades snap.
“Plastic blades supplied will break in 5 minutes.”
Review of a cheaper 3-in-1 tool, Walmart.com
“Don’t buy a strimmer with plastic blades.”
Gransnet forum
My mother has a rule about this: metal lasts, plastic breaks.
The SEESE comes with three heads. Nylon line for everyday grass. A steel blade for thick weeds along fences and beds. A saw blade for light brush and small saplings.
Two batteries in the box, so you’re not stuck halfway.
Battery worry is the complaint that comes up most in reviews of cordless yard tools. Nobody wants to run out with half the front yard left.
Here’s something I learned shopping: plenty of listings say “2 batteries” in the title and then default to one at checkout. In one check of 122 listings like that, 117 opened on the one-battery kit.
The SEESE comes one way only: two 21V batteries and a charger. Cut on one while the other charges. Front yard today, back yard tomorrow, or swap and keep going.
I’m not going to quote you a runtime. Your grass, your yard and how often you cut all change it. Check the kit against your yard before use. Runtime varies; the return policy does not promise a used-product trial for a change of mind.
It costs about one visit from a lawn service.
Published averages for a lawn service run $56 to $123 a visit, depending on whose numbers you use. Angi puts a full year at $2,000 to $4,000.
The people who still do their own yards do this math out loud:
“with the $65/mo. they wanted for mowing a corner lot it paid for itself in no time.”
Talk of The Villages forum
And the crew comes on their schedule, not yours. Edging and trimming are often billed separately. The SEESE is $67.99. Once. It cuts when you want, including the strip along the fence the crew skips.
You have 30 days to request an eligible return.
My mother has one more rule: never buy anything you can’t send back for free.
That alone rules out most of this aisle. Of 84 return policies I read from stores selling this kind of tool, only 2 paid the return shipping.
You may request a return within 30 days of delivery. A change-of-mind return must be unused and in original condition. Eligible returns have no restocking or return-shipping fee. Contact SEESE first for authorization; damaged, defective or incorrect items are handled under the refund policy.
What I found when I went shopping
Most of what I found fell into two piles.
The first pile: small trimmers around 3 pounds, with a 6-inch head and plastic blades, mostly sold off Facebook ads. Reviewers have a phrase for those: “It’s a toy and not a tool.”
The second pile: battery push mowers at the hardware store, $214.99 to $649. Not one of the ones I looked at trims or edges.
The SEESE sat right in the gap. A 13.7-inch cut on wheels, a full-height shaft, steel blades, two batteries, and a button instead of a cord. So I checked it against my mother’s list.
Mom’s list
Starts without a pull cord
Light enough for the porch steps
Does the edges too
Metal blades, not plastic
A spare battery in the box
Cheaper than the lawn guy
Free to send back if it isn’t right
It checked all seven.
Where it isn’t the right tool
Big lots. It’s built for small and medium yards, the kind you walk in a few laps. On a half-acre or more, keep the riding mower and use this for the edges.
Grass that’s been let go for weeks. It keeps a yard tidy. It isn’t made to clear a field.
Clippings. It throws them the way a weed eater does. Short grass falls in like mulch. Let it get tall and you’ll want a quick rake.
Real brush. The saw blade handles light brush and small saplings, not small trees.
I’d rather you know that now than find out in your yard.
The tool
SEESE Cordless Lawn Mower
In the box
- The mower, with support wheels and auxiliary handle
- Two 21V batteries
- Charger
- Nylon line head, steel blade and saw blade
What the same jobs cost elsewhere
My mother’s last rule: a fair price is a stated price. So here it is.
$67.99
One payment. Free shipping. Two batteries included.
Get Mine, $67.99Secure checkout by Whop, our payment processor.
How returns work
Request a return within 30 days of delivery. Change-of-mind items must be unused and in original condition.
If it isn’t right, email seese@seesetools.us.
Eligible returns have no restocking or return-shipping fee. Contact SEESE first for authorization; the refund policy sets out the conditions.
Buying this for Mom or Dad?
The question I kept seeing from sons and daughters was whether a parent would take to something new. The SEESE is simpler than what they have now, not fancier. No gas to buy. Nothing to start in the spring. One switch and one trigger. At 10 pounds, they can carry it up the steps themselves.
Put their address in the shipping box at checkout and it goes straight to their door.
Not ready to give up your yard? You don’t have to.
Picture a Saturday morning before it gets hot. The battery clicks in. One squeeze. The front yard, the edges along the driveway, the strip by the fence. One tool, and nobody had to come help.
Choose the kit for your next yard-care routine. Delivery estimates are listed in the shipping policy.
Get Mine, $67.99Free shipping · 30-day returns · Two batteries included
Questions people ask first
Is this a real mower or just a trimmer?
Both, and an edger. The 13.7-inch cut and the support wheels mow small and medium lawns. Turn the head to edge, swap heads to trim. It is not a replacement for a riding mower on a half-acre.
How long does the battery last?
Two 21V batteries come in the box, so one charges while the other cuts. Runtime varies with grass, workload and conditions. Check suitability before use. The 30-day return policy applies; change-of-mind returns must be unused.
Do I have to pull a cord?
No. Press the safety switch, then squeeze the trigger. No cord, no primer bulb, no gas.
Will it cut thick weeds and brush?
The steel blade handles thick weeds along fences and beds. The saw blade handles light brush and small saplings. Nylon line is for everyday grass. All three are in the box. It is not made for small trees.
Where do the clippings go?
It throws them the way a weed eater does. Short grass falls in like mulch. If the grass gets tall between cuts, plan on a quick rake.
Is it hard to put together?
Follow the supplied assembly instructions for the head, handle and wheels. Use the specified tools and fasteners.
How tall does the shaft go?
The shaft telescopes and the auxiliary handle adjusts. Check a comfortable working position before use; an exact height-fit range is not specified here.
Why does checkout open on Whop?
Whop is the secure payment processor SEESE uses. You pay $67.99 once. Your order and any return are handled by SEESE.
Can I send it to someone else?
Yes. Put their address in the shipping box at checkout.
What does shipping cost?
Shipping is free. Faster shipping is offered as an optional add-on at checkout.
Do the batteries fit other SEESE tools?
Do not assume cross-tool compatibility. Use the supplied batteries and charger with the mower, and check with SEESE before using a battery in another tool.
Standard shipping is free. Estimated total delivery is 10–23 business days, not guaranteed. Shipping details · 30-day return policy and conditions.