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Cylinder mower vs rotary

Updated: October 2026

You are not sure the Gardena you need is a hand reel. A cylinder mower vs rotary choice, for this brand, is a choice about the grass you actually have: already short and fairly even, or long, damp and full of dips. The four amazon.co.uk listings on the [Gardena lawn mower comparison](/hub/lawn-and-garden-equipment/gardena-lawn-mower) are all hand cylinders, priced on 22 October 2026. Peter F. set those files beside the RHS mowing guide and Gardena’s UK rotary pages. There is no amazon.co.uk price here for a PowerMax, because those models are not ASINs in this folder. A qualifying purchase can earn us a commission at no extra cost to you.

You are not sure the Gardena you need is a hand reel. A cylinder mower vs rotary choice, for this brand, is a choice about the grass you actually have: already short and fairly even, or long, damp and full of dips.

Our top picks

Gardena Gardena Classic 330

Best overall

Gardena Gardena Classic 330
8.8/10about £124.29
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Gardena Gardena Comfort 330

Best value

Gardena Gardena Comfort 330
8.8/10about £101.95
View offer
Gardena Gardena Plus 400

Alternative

Gardena Gardena Plus 400
7.0/10about £139.00
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.Two ways Gardena cuts grass
  2. 2.When the hand cylinder is the one
  3. 3.When a rotary is the Gardena you need
  4. 4.Cable, battery, and noise
  5. 5.What this page will not rank

Two ways Gardena cuts grass

A cylinder mower carries a reel that shears each leaf against a fixed blade. On fine turf the RHS describes that as the finest finish, including stripes. A rotary spins a blade in a horizontal plane and copes with grass you have left and with ground that is not a bowling green. Where a listing in this set is coherent, the cylinder runs from 12 mm to 42 mm. Gardena’s PowerMax pages run from 35 mm to 65 mm. The reel goes lower than the rotary.

When the hand cylinder is the one

Buy one of the four when the lawn is already short, you can mow often, you want a quiet pass, and you do not want a cable across the hall. The 33 cm models are titled for up to 150 m². The Classic 400 is 40 cm, titled for up to 200 m². The Plus 400 is 40 cm, up to 250 m², and the style line includes a catcher. None of them is self-propelled. The condition is the weekly cut. A short front lawn is the small-lawn case. Gardena’s 2016 instruction says grass longer than about 12 cm is outside a clean cut.
Gardena Gardena Classic 330

Testsieger

Gardena Gardena Classic 330
8.8/10about £124.29
View offer

When a rotary is the Gardena you need

If the grass has got away, the ground dips, or you will not mow every week, a rotary is the Gardena that matches the job. The maker pages name a PowerMax 32/1200 G2 as a mains rotary at 1,200 W, 32 cm, 35–65 mm and up to about 300 m², on 230 V, and a PowerMax 37/36V P4A Solo at 37 cm, the same height band and up to about 500 m². Those figures are Gardena’s, not amazon.co.uk prices. Solo means the battery and charger are a separate purchase. The mains model brings a lead you do not have with the hand reels. The RHS puts most domestic lawns and uneven surfaces on the rotary side. The pass, if you stay with the reel, is on the how to mow page.

Cable, battery, and noise

The four cylinders have no plug and no pack. UK mains, when you do buy a powered Gardena, are 230 V at 50 Hz. Cordless on the Comfort and Plus titles means there is no lead. The Noise Emission in the Environment by Equipment for use Outdoors Regulations 2001, Schedule 3, set a 96 dB sound-power ceiling for a powered lawnmower up to 50 cm wide. That ceiling is not a reading for these hand reels. The Environmental Protection Act 1990, section 79, can treat noise as a statutory nuisance in England and Wales. A quiet reel is not a national Sunday statute.

What this page will not rank

This page will not invent an amazon.co.uk price for a PowerMax. Those models are named so you can see the type. It will also not review a SILENO. Robots belong on the Gardena lawn mower robot comparison, where the boundary wire and the dock are the subject.

Common questions

When is the hand reel the better Gardena?
Choose a hand cylinder when the lawn is already short, fairly even, and you will mow often. The four listings are that reel: 33 cm models titled up to 150 m², and 40 cm models at 200 m² or 250 m² on their own rows. You get no cable and no battery to charge. UK reviews of the Classic 330 describe a quiet push. The condition is the weekly cut, not the brand name on the handle.
When do I need a rotary instead?
Choose a rotary when the grass gets longer than about 12 cm, the ground is uneven, or you will not mow every week in the growing season. The RHS puts most domestic lawns, longer grass and uneven surfaces on the rotary, and keeps the cylinder for the finest cut. A PowerMax is the Gardena rotary named on the maker pages. This folder has no amazon.co.uk price for one.
What is a PowerMax, in maker figures only?
Gardena’s pages describe a PowerMax 32/1200 G2 as 1,200 W, 32 cm, a 30 litre box, 35–65 mm, up to about 300 m², on 230 V. They describe a PowerMax 37/36V P4A Solo as 37 cm, a 45 litre box, 35–65 mm, and up to about 500 m². Those heights start higher than the cylinder’s 12–42 mm band. The figures are the maker’s, not a test scored here.
Does Solo include a battery?
No. On the PowerMax 37/36V P4A Solo, Solo means the battery and charger are a separate purchase. A cordless title is not proof the pack is in the box. The same caution applies to the Comfort 330 and Plus 400, where cordless means there is no cable and the power source is your push. UK mains for a powered Gardena are 230 V.
Will a cylinder stripe, and will a rotary?
The RHS describes a cylinder as the finest cut, including stripes, on fine turf that you mow often. A rotary is the machine for most domestic lawns and for longer, uneven grass, and it does not give that scissor finish. Stripes still depend on a lawn that is already even and cut on a regular pass. A bumpy monthly cut will not stripe because you bought a reel.

Related pages

Gardena cylinder mower buying guide

Gardena lawn mower

Best Gardena lawn mower from these 4.4 review lines

How to use a Gardena cylinder mower without scalping

Gardena mower for a small front lawn, 33 cm or 40 cm

Sources

Public UK sources listed below, plus the amazon.co.uk listings in this comparison, gathered on 22 October 2026.

  1. Gardena UK: cylinder lawn mowers (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  2. Gardena UK: rotary lawn mowers (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  3. RHS: how to mow a lawn (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  4. Environmental Protection Act 1990, section 79 (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  5. Noise Emission Regulations 2001, Schedule 3 (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  6. GOV.UK: Supply of Machinery (Safety) Regulations 2008 (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  7. Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 9 (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  8. GOV.UK: accepting returns and giving refunds (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  9. amazon.co.uk listings for the four ASINs in this comparison (retrieved 22 October 2026)