The UK's bestLawn Scarifiers2022 Review

I’m a big fan of Hyundai’s garden products – I recently tried-and-tested their petrol lawn mower, and it’s the best I’ve ever used. So, I expected their 2-in-1 Lawn Scarifier and Aerator to also become a favourite. However, while it certainly has a few unique advantages, there were a couple of things that left me a little disappointed in its challenge for best lawn scarifier…

Let’s start with assembly – something that I never really enjoy doing. Fortunately, none of the scarifiers that I had already tested required too much work, until I came to Hyundai’s. Assembly took about 30 minutes in total. This isn’t a huge amount of time, but keep in mind that I have a fair bit of experience assembling scarifiers. For someone who has never done this before, it’ll likely take much longer, especially considering that the instruction manual was very little help.

However, once assembly was out of the way and I had a good look at the machine, I was instantly impressed. It comes with five height settings, from -12mm to +10mm (most other scarifiers have just three or four), and there’s a single lever to adjust the height. You can adjust the height of the handles too or fold them away to easily store the machine. Being a 2-in-1 model, this product comes with two interchangeable rollers; one for scarification and one for aeration.

With a sizeable 1500W motor, this machine is pretty powerful. It feels faster than the others I reviewed, and it’s also noticeably wider (36cm instead of the standard 32cm), which means that it won’t take you quite as long to scarify your lawn. Not only will it save you time, but it does a great job too – find the right height setting for your lawn and it’ll pull up moss and thatch without damaging healthy grass. It doesn’t leave the lawn quite as churned up as some of its competition, yet it effectively removes what it needs to.

The aerating roller works just as well. You may find that you don’t actually need to use it once you’ve scarified, but, if you do, you’ll be happy with the results.

Whether you’re scarifying or aerating, this machine is comfortable and easy to use. It’s not self-propelled, but the blades pull the machine along, making the job pretty effortless. It’s slightly heavier than the other scarifiers I’ve used (11.4kg), but this also gave the machine a sturdiness that the other scarifiers lacked. It’s worth noting that this machine is a little louder than the others that I tested, but not significantly so.

Now to touch upon the product’s main flaw – its grass collection bag. At 45 litres, it’s an adequate size, but that’s where the praise ends. It feels quite flimsy, it’s awkward to insert and remove, and it doesn’t fill fully. However, many people don’t actually use a collection bag when scarifying, preferring instead to get the job done first before raking or mowing the discarded thatch up. If this is what you plan on doing, then the issues with the collection bag won’t really matter.

Hyundai’s garden products are often priced higher than the competition, and this lawn scarifier is no exception. It may cost a little more, but, unlike many of the cheaper alternatives out there, this really is a machine that can effectively scarify and aerate – its 2-in-1 claim isn’t just a marketing ploy.

If your garden is on the small side or if you’re only seeking a lawn scarifier, rather than a lawn aerator too, then it probably wouldn’t be worth splurging on Hyundai’s 2-in-1 Lawn Scarifier. However, for medium or large gardens, I would consider this is machine to be the best lawn scarifier and aerator combo. So long as you’re happy to do away with the collection bag, it’ll get the job done much faster than other similar scarifiers, giving you a thicker and healthier lawn the following season.

Nobody wants to spend a fortune on a separate scarifier and aerator, especially considering that it’ll only be used once, or twice at most, a year. That’s what makes the Einhell GC-SA 1231 Electric Scarifier and Aerator so instantly appealing – not only does it promise to scarify, but it has been designed to aerate too, and it boasts a pretty reasonable price point to match.

However, let’s start at the beginning – the grand unboxing. It’s always a bonus when garden tools need minimal assembly, and this scarifier definitely fell into that category. Assembly only took about 15 minutes. All that needed to be done was assemble the handles, clip the cables into place, and swap the aerating roller that was already inserted with the scarifying roller.

If you’ve ever used an Einhell product before, you’ll be familiar with this product’s red and black branding. It immediately makes the scarifier look like a high-quality machine, and a closer look at its features confirms this. This dual-function machine boasts adjustable handle heights (the handles are also foldable for easy storage), three scarifying/aerating depth settings (plus an extra transport setting), and a working width of 31cm.

Once I turned the scarifier on, it continued to impress. Ok, to be fair, I was a little shocked at its brutality at first, but this is because I had the machine on its lowest setting. Once adjusted to the highest, the machine made light work of the small lawn that I was scarifying. It pulled out a large amount of thatch but didn’t leave the soil completely bare.

The scarifier did such a good job that I didn’t feel the need to aerate the entire lawn once I was done. However, I still gave the aerating roller a quick workout and it performed well. It didn’t aerate the ground as deeply as I thought it would, even on the lowest height setting, but, as I said, the ground didn’t seem to actually need anything more after the scarifier had worked its magic. Whether or not Einhell designed things this way on purpose or not, we’ll never know! If it did, we can possibly consider this to be the best lawn scarifier in terms of performance.

Weighing in at just 9kg means that this lightweight machine is easy to manoeuvre around a garden. Its wide wheels helped with this too, keeping the machine sturdy. The only drawback is the size of the collection bag – at 28 litres, you’ll find yourself stopping to empty the bag a frustrating number of times. My recommendation would be to do without the bag and either mow or rake away the surface thatch once you’re finished.

This scarifier comes with some good safety features – not being able to accidentally turn the machine on will be appreciated by those with pets or young children around! However, I was disappointed by the fact that the power lead was black – this made it much harder to see in the grass, which is quite a safety hazard.

That said, there weren’t many downsides to this machine, and none of them were deal-breakers. This machine offers great value for money – it does what it promises and it does it well. Although it’s powerful enough for a large lawn, its cutting width makes it better suited to small or medium gardens. If you plan on making scarifying and aerating an annual part of your lawn care plan, this Einhell machine is the best budget lawn scarifier.

VonHaus is loved by many for its eclectic range of home, kitchen, and garden tools. Thanks to their well-designed products, this brand has a loyal following, and it’s one that I’ve personally never had a bad experience with either. So, I had high hopes for their 2-in-1 Lawn Scarifier – a machine that both scarifies and aerates to give you a thicker and lusher lawn. 

Assembling garden tools often feels like a chore, so I always appreciate products that require minimal assembly. This is what VonHaus promises with their 2-in-1 electric scarifier, and that’s a promise that they’ve managed to keep. Assembly took about 15 minutes overall – you simply need to attach the handles and the trigger, before swapping over the aerating roller for the scarifier. The only tools you’ll need for assembling this machine is a Philip’s screwdriver and an Allen key, although the brand provides an Allen key for you to use. 

With its 32cm width, this machine is best-suited for small to medium-sized gardens. That said, it could handle a larger lawn too – it would just take you a little longer than if you were to use a scarifier with a wider body, such as the AL-KO. Its four depth settings make it even more versatile, and the fact that there’s just a single handle that you need to move to adjust the height definitely works in this product’s favour. 

Turn the machine on and the scarifier will continue to impress. I started off at the highest setting before working my way lower, and I was very pleased with the results. It pulled out a fantastic amount of thatch but didn’t damage healthy grass too much – it wasn’t quite as brutal as the Einhell scarifier I tested. 

However, where this machine falls short is with its aerating function. Unlike the other aerators I’ve used, this one doesn’t seem to actually aerate. Instead, the aerator roller does pretty much the same thing as the scarifier, except it’s much more severe. Remember all of that healthy grass I just mentioned that the scarifier left intact? Well, the aerator pretty much destroyed it all. 

Aerator aside, this machine is an easy one to use. It’s the best lightweight lawn scarifier on my list and manoeuvres well. Its only downfall is the size of its collection bag – at 28 litres, I found myself having to empty the bag every couple of minutes, which ended up wasting quite a bit of time. You can get around this by simply doing away with the bag and then either raking up or mowing over the thatch once you’re done. 

Being a relatively quiet machine makes this scarifier suitable for urban settings – you won’t have to worry about your neighbours complaining about the noise it’s making, and ear defenders are definitely not needed. I also appreciated the machine’s safety features, from its bright orange lead that remains visible even in dark grass to the button that needs to be pressed before the machine can be turned on. 

In my opinion, VonHaus has priced this scarifier pretty fairly. It costs around the same as many of its competitors, although the fact that you can’t really use this machine to aerate does let it down. 

If aerating is your main goal, then look elsewhere – Hyundai’s electric scarifier does a much better job. However, if you only plan on scarifying, then this VonHaus model will get the job done well, and it won’t cost you too much either. Granted, your lawn may look a bit of a state once you’re done, but it’s not as brutal as some of the other scarifiers out there – it won’t leave quite as much devastation behind, but still cuts deep enough to remove all moss and thatch.

While its width makes it a contender for the best lawn scarifier for small and medium-sized gardens, I would highly recommend this scarifier for larger lawns too – so long as you remove the collection bag so that you’re not having to constantly start and stop, its powerful motor will cope with larger areas without any issues.

Bosch is a brand that just about everyone is familiar with. I’ve personally used several Bosch products in the past, from garden shredders to leaf blowers to cordless strimmers, and have always been happy with how they have performed. I’m clearly not the only one that thinks so – even though it may come in at a higher price than its competitors, the Bosch Universal Lawn Rake 900 is a popular choice in the world of electric scarifiers, and I was excited to find out why.

Bosch products are usually pretty easy to assemble, and this electric lawn rake and scarifier was no exception. It was faster to assemble than any of the other scarifiers I tested making it the best lawn scarifier for ease of assembly – it only took around 10 minutes for it to be up and running once I had unboxed it.

From its colours to its design, this is very clearly a Bosch product. Yes, it’s made from plastic, but it still feels strong and durable. With a width of 32 cm and four different height settings (+10mm to -5mm), its design gives it great versatility.

There are a couple of design features that make this the best lawn scarifier compared to the others that I reviewed, with the first being its drum. Unlike all of the others, which come with removeable drums that can be interchanged for aerating rollers, this one only had a scarifying option, and this was built into the machine.

The Bosch scarifier also comes with a collection box, rather than a bag. Not only was this hard, plastic box much more robust than the fabric bags that most other scarifiers come with, but, at 50 litres, it was almost double the size too.

In terms of performance, Bosch claims that the Universal Lawn Rake 900 will effectively lift moss and thatch from a lawn, and it definitely does this. However, it doesn’t cut quite as deeply as some of the others that I reviewed, such as the Einhell. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, as not every lawn needs an intense scarification. If maintenance is what you’re after, rather than a complete do-over, then the Bosch will produce great results.

Even better, the machine is so easy to use. It’s lightweight at just under 10 kg, and the large collection box saves you from having to stop to empty quite as often.

When it comes to safety features, the Bosch Universal Lawn Rake 900 has everything you could need, from its easily-visible bright red power lead to the safety button that prevents the machine from accidentally turning on. It’s not a noisy machine either – in fact, it was probably the best lawn rake in terms of noise levels.

Now onto what would be the deal-breaker for many; price. There’s no getting away from the fact that this scarifier is priced significantly higher than its competition. In some ways, this is surprising, because it doesn’t offer quite as many features. However, in other ways, it’s to be expected – Bosch products usually do cost a little more, with the reasoning being that you’re paying for a machine that’s been built with quality in mind.

That said, spare parts for Bosch products also come with the same high price tag. While it’s a bonus that the individual tines on this scarifier can be replaced if one breaks (as opposed to you having to buy a whole new drum), those replacement tines aren’t cheap. With that in mind, Bosch provides two spare replacement tines with this scarifier – treat them well and you hopefully won’t need to buy any extras.

When it comes down to it, you could either save money and go for a cheaper machine that both scarifies and aerates, or you could spend a little extra on this machine that specialises in aerating. It’s easy to assemble, simple to use, and has been made to last – it may not be up to the task of scarifying a large lawn that has been neglected for years, but it’s exactly what you need if you’re looking for a way to maintain a small or medium-sized garden. Unlike some of the other lawn scarifiers I reviewed, this one really does make scarifying feel like an effortless task, and this, in my opinion, makes it the best lawn scarifier overall.

A brand that has built its reputation on quality and innovation, AL-KO garden products are a favourite among both domestic and professional users. They usually go above and beyond their competition in more ways than one, so I was expecting nothing less of their Combi Care 38E Electric Lawn Rake and Scarifier.

Things started off well, as this lawn rake and scarifier only took about ten minutes to assemble. Although the instructions that come with the machine aren’t great, it’s easy enough to figure out what goes where – simply attach the handles, plug in the power lead, and you’re good to go!

This machine is a strong contender for best lawn scarifer in terms of design. To start with, it has five heights to choose from, along with a 38cm working width, which is wider than all of the other scarifiers I tested. The height of the handles is adjustable too, or you can easily fold them down if you need to store the machine.

My favourite design feature? The twist dial at the front of the machine that you can turn to adjust the height. Every other scarifier that I have ever used has had a lever, rather than a dial – not only does the dial make height adjustment easy and convenient, but it also gives the machine a more upmarket feel.

My opinion of this AL-KO lawn rake and scarifier kept improving after I started scarifying my mossy lawn. It didn’t take long for the machine to pull all of the moss and thatch out, and its large 1500W engine prevented it from overheating when it was used for longer stretches.

This lawn rake and scarifier is advertised as a 3-in-1 model, but this is really just some clever marketing. It has two main functions; scarifying and aerating. As mentioned, it scarifies well, and it’s also very easy to swap the scarifying drum over for the aerator. However, I wouldn’t bother doing this again, because the aerating roller works in pretty much the same way as the scarifier – it’s not very effective at actually aerating the ground.

There were a few other points that let this machine down. The first was its weight – at 17kg, it’s definitely not light. So, it surprised me that, even with this extra weight, the machine wasn’t able to stand up on its own once there was some thatch in the collection bag. Instead, it would tip over backward each time I let go of the handles.

Speaking of the collection bag…at 55 litres, it’s larger than the bags on all of the other scarifiers that I tested, which should be a good selling point for those who hate having to constantly stop to empty a small bag. Unfortunately, since the bag doesn’t seem to fill to its full capacity, the extra size doesn’t make much of a difference. Sure, you can use the lawn rake and scarifier without the bag, but you’ll need to prop up/tie back the rear guard before you do so. If not, the machine won’t be able to properly release the thatch that it has pulled up, which will soon lead to a blockage.

Although the fact that the machine tips over instead of standing upright could be considered a safety issue, AL-KO has taken other steps to make this machine as safe as possible. It’s the only lawn rake and scarifier I tested that has a special light to tell you if the roller isn’t inserted correctly, and it’s also equipped with a safety button that needs to be pressed before you can pull the trigger. That said, the safety button and the trigger are spaced so far away from each other that you’ll need to use two hands each time you want to turn the machine on, which is pretty awkward.

This wasn’t the most expensive lawn rake and scarifier that I tested, but it still has a higher price than the majority of its competition. For small gardens, it’s not worth the splurge – you’ll be paying for its sizeable motor and increased width, neither of which a small garden needs. It’s also not worth its price if you’re hoping for an efficient lawn aerator.

However, you’ll likely find that once you’ve scarified with this machine, you won’t actually need to do much aerating. Its width also makes it much faster to scarify larger lawns, making this model the best lawn scarifier for those with a larger garden. Granted, the issues with the collection bag are a little annoying, but use the machine without this and you’ll quickly appreciate just how speedy and effective it is.