Mountfield HP41 Petrol Mower2022 Review

All of the lawn mowers that I tested required assembly of some sort, but this took longer with the Mountfield HP41. To start with, the bag needs to be assembled by pulling the fabric over the frame – let’s just say that this isn’t an enjoyable task. 

Next, you need to assemble the handles and then clip the cables to them. It takes a while to work out what goes where, and I wasn’t impressed with the quality of the instructions either. 

Once everything was put together, it was time to add in the oil. While some of the other mowers that I tested came with oil, the Mountfield didn’t, so you’ll need to purchase this separately. 

The Mountfield took longer to set up than the other mowers I tested – about 45 minutes in total. That said, this still isn’t a huge amount of time since you only need to assemble it once. 

While the colour of a lawn mower makes no difference whatsoever to its performance, I have to say that I love the colour scheme that Mountfield chose for this machine. The red and black is striking yet sleek – it fits in perfectly with the brand’s own colour palette. 

All of the lawn mowers that I’ve used in the past have had a steel deck, but the Mountfield HP41 is made from polypropylene (a strong but lightweight plastic). I have to admit that this does make it feel a little cheaper and less robust, but, on the plus side, it won’t rust! 

The mesh grass collection bag for this lawn mower is relatively small at 40 litres. However, since this mower was designed for small gardens, this is adequate enough. 

I was disappointed that this mower didn’t have adjustable handle heights. Being petite, it always helps when I can lower the handles to make the mower more comfortable to push, but this model isn’t designed with that option. That said, the handles fold over easily, making it convenient to store the mower. 

I was also intrigued to see that the dead man cable for this mower crossed over the deck/engine. None of the mowers that I have used before, including the others that I tested, were designed in this way – instead, their cables ran neatly up one side. It’s not something that’ll affect performance in any way, but it’s a design element that I couldn’t quite understand – it made it feel as though the design of this mower hadn’t been thought out quite as thoroughly as it could have been. 

The Mountfield HP41 has a 123cc ST120 Autochoke engine, which runs on 4-stroke petrol. This is pretty powerful for a mower designed for small lawns – some of the mowers that I tested that were designed for medium to large gardens had engines of a similar size. 

As was expected, the power of this lawn mower didn’t disappoint – not only can it cope with a fast walking speed, but it’ll also continue to cut well if you decide to run up a hill with it!

The Moutfield HP41 started up first time whenever I pulled the recoil start cable. The cable wasn’t stiff either – it was more of a gentle pull, rather than an almighty tug. 

I ran the mower over short and dry grass to begin with. It left a relatively clean cut (not quite as fine as some of the other machines I tried, but still at an acceptable level) and filled the bag fully each time. There’s nothing more frustrating than a mower that chokes when its bag is only half full. 

Thanks to its varied cutting heights, the Mountfield HP41 copes well with long grass too, even when this is on rough and uneven ground. However, once I moved onto the damper parts of my lawn, it started to choke. Blockages are easy to clear, but with the amount of times it choked on slightly damp grass, I didn’t end up trying it on anything wetter. 

Overall, the Mountfield HP41 performs well, but only if your grass is dry. It wouldn’t be the mower to choose if you have shadier and damper areas in your garden. 

Thanks to its plastic deck, this lawn mower is the lightest machine that I tested, weighing in at just 19kg. This also means that it’s extremely easy to manoeuvre – it swings around corners with ease and, like I mentioned, is light enough to run with, even when it has a full bag! 

The brand promotes this mower’s grooved wheels, which help with traction, and I would have to agree that these do seem to give the mower a good grip on the lawn.

The Mountfield HP41 offers cutting heights between 25-70mm, at five different height settings. In theory, this sounds great. In reality, once you realise that each wheel has its own lever that needs to be adjusted in order to change cutting heights, you probably won’t make the most of that range. It’s easy enough to adjust each wheel, but you shouldn’t really have to, and, if you go with any of the other mowers we’ve reviewed, you won’t need to. 

The 39cm cutting width of the Mountfield HP41 works well for small gardens. It won’t take long to get the job done, which is always a good thing! 

One feature that’s lacking on this machine is a rear discharge option, something that many of its competitors offer.

The safety features were pretty standard across all of the lawn mowers that I tested. Just like the others, the Mountfield HP41 has a dead man lever that needs to be pulled in order for the engine to continue running. 

The machine is also plastered with safety stickers that warn of any potential dangers and advise on the safest ways to use the machine.

On its own, without considering any of the other petrol mowers that I tested, the Mountfield HP41 just about offers value for money. It’s powerful yet lightweight – two important qualities that are worth paying a little more for. This is also a brand that people trust – they’re known for their exemplary customer service. 

However, compare it to other similar lawn mowers and your money could possibly be better spent elsewhere. For just a little more, you could purchase a mower with several more features – one with a rear discharge option or one that doesn’t require you to adjust each wheel individually to change cutting heights. Of course, if those features don’t matter to you, then the Mountfield will provide everything that you need, while saving you a bit of money. 

It’s worth noting that the Mountfield HP41 comes with a two year warranty that covers faulty parts or workmanship.

Sometimes, simplicity is all you need from a lawn mower. After all, why pay more for features that you know you’ll never use? If you’re looking for something basic for a small garden, yet still need your chosen machine to be capable of cutting long grass and performing on rough ground, you’ve found it.