The equipment that grabbed us at Equip Expo 2026 addressed familiar work problems: flat tires, heavy material, hard-to-reach grass, and costly labor. After Carlstar VPO Tires invited us, we took two days away from the shop to attend the 2026 Expo in Louisville, Kentucky.

If you run a mowing business, another mower brand doesn't necessarily make your day easier. We wanted to find useful new capabilities, so we spent our time looking at equipment that changed how a job could get done, starting with a surprisingly interesting chain sharpener.

For Ferris, the main update was a redesigned Z1 stand-on mower in 32- and 36-inch sizes. The smaller chassis fits through backyard gates, while the operator platform is 15% wider than before.

We asked whether the wheels beside the platform accounted for the increase. The representative clarified that the extra width was in the platform itself. Ferris also discussed Kohler and Briggs engine choices across much of its lineup, with an exception for the 32-inch setup.

At Viper, we stopped to appreciate what a fellow mower-shop owner from Sarasota had built. He started with mini skid loaders similar in concept to a Dingo, then developed a mower line and brought it to Louisville.

He did all that in a short amount of time, and we were proud to see it. As competitors, we could still appreciate the ambition it took to get there.

Across the mower displays, we also liked seeing more open frames that make components easier to reach. Service access matters to us, and we wanted room to get our hands into the machine.

Tough Jug tackled a familiar fueling problem. A traditional utility jug's top handle works well for carrying, but pouring can feel like an awkward exercise in hugging the container.

Venting creates another complication. With the vent closed, flow slows down; opening it creates another place for liquid to escape. The jug can also block your view of the tank.

Tough Jug's design uses a side handle, internal venting, and a spout that shuts off when the liquid reaches the bottom. The representative said the setup could pour five gallons in under a minute.

We also tried the Ripper cap, which the representative highlighted for zero-turn mowers and other equipment with top-mounted fill openings.

You can turn the jug upside down before placing the spout in the tank. Pressing down opens it, and the demonstration put its flow at roughly five gallons in 30 seconds.

We checked how much pressure it took to operate. It didn't take much, which made the cap more appealing than a mechanism you'd have to fight while holding a full jug.

MEGA Attachments also showed a lightweight dumping wheelbarrow attachment that doesn't require hydraulics. Different mounting arrangements let it connect to mower brands such as Toro and Bad Boy.

The appeal was straightforward: use the powered machine you already own to move material. You don't have to buy a dedicated machine for a task that might come up during spring or fall cleanup.

We liked that the attachment could come off when the seasonal work was finished. At the show, we were already talking about carrying it.

The same conversation brought up MulchMate, another product we appreciated for its approach to material handling. There is a lot of lifting and lugging in this business. Equipment that takes some of that work away gets our attention faster than another familiar mower with different styling.

Flat tires are another routine problem that equipment manufacturers can address. VPO made our running list of standout products because it targets downtime caused by flats.

We viewed Carlstar's VPO tire technology as a practical solution. Plenty of brands compete for mower sales, but a tire that addresses an everyday interruption has a different kind of value.

Later, we spotted VPO tires on a new Hustler mower. Seeing the technology on a machine at the show reinforced why we wanted to highlight it.

We also took a brief look at Hustler's 104, but the VPO tire solution was the part of that stop that best matched our search for products solving a specific problem.

The AeroMaster was one of the machines we most wanted to operate. Its design looked simpler than we expected, and that simplicity was part of the attraction.

Instead of a large conventional fan assembly, it uses a turbine connected to a 35-horsepower Vanguard engine. At the booth, the airflow claim was roughly 30% more than competing units.

The outlet directs air left, right, or forward. Controls at the steering handles let the operator change direction, including angling airflow forward instead of blowing only to the side.

We were impressed by how easily it moved through those positions. After we started it, the output backed up our excitement. The AeroMaster was a show demonstration, though, not a leaf-cleanup comparison on a property.

We also tested the folding mechanism. Our rough measurements put it at around 52 inches front to back and approximately 4 feet, 2 inches wide.

That compact footprint prompted plenty of trailer-loading discussion. Compared with a machine that takes up a large section of a trailer, the AeroMaster looked easier to fit alongside other equipment.

The projected MSRP discussed at the show was $14,900. We speculated that fleet pricing might put it below $12,000, but that wasn't a confirmed selling price.

December was the expected availability mentioned during our visit. We immediately thought about New England crews, because that timing would miss much of their leaf season.

Toro's 32- and 36-inch HDM Plus models offer a different take on the compact lineup, with larger tires, more horsepower, an FX engine, and a lower price point than the 36-inch model we had discussed.

The rod steering stood out. It replaces the cables on the older 36-inch setup, and we preferred its smoother feel.

The front tires looked oversized at first glance. We read the size as 13 x 6.50-6, and they were solid tires.

We liked that the hydraulic components sat underneath instead of crowding the upper area. The layout looked cleaner and kept more equipment away from the operator's space.

An early specification listed the machine's length as 68 inches, which concerned us. On the floor, it looked shorter than expected; our rough check came closer to 66 inches with the platform down.

As Toro dealers, we already know the brand, but the fit and finish still stood out beside other displays. The controls and construction looked carefully thought through, with simple arrangements where they helped and substantial parts where we wanted strength.

Bad Boy and ECHO offered two different blower stories during our grounds-care stops. Bad Boy's stand-on blower reminded us of the Scag Windstorm in its general concept and layout.

We looked at the nozzle's lift movement, then tried to understand how the head turned. The cable routing and a small control button raised questions about long-term durability, though we didn't test either one.

The dual exhaust fit Bad Boy's approach to styling. Whatever you think of the appearance, the company knows how to make its equipment stand out on a show floor.

At ECHO, we stopped at the PB-9510 HT backpack blower and read its specifications on display. The engine displacement was 79.9 cc, air volume was listed at 1,200 CFM, blowing force was 56 Newtons, and weight was 28.2 pounds.

The weight caught our attention alongside the output figures. We didn't run it during that stop, so we didn't come away with a hands-on assessment of comfort or clearing performance.

Toro's electric compact equipment suggested a useful combination for indoor demolition.

We looked at an eDingo alongside an electric Ultra Buggy with a telescoping lift. The buggy could lift high enough to dump over the side of a standard dumpster.

That opens up a workflow we could immediately understand: use one machine indoors to remove material such as tile, then use the buggy to carry it outside and dump it.

Because the machines are electric, they don't put engine exhaust into the indoor workspace. The lifting height also means the material can go into a dumpster or dump trailer without someone manually transferring the load.

The important part was how the machines worked together. Breaking up material is only one part of demolition; getting it out of the building and into a container is another substantial job.

John Deere's wing-deck diesel ZTrak had been big news at the previous Expo. During this visit, the representative told us it was in production.

The 998R has a 100-inch cut and a turbocharged, three-cylinder Yanmar diesel. Its center deck uses a mechanical drive: a PTO shaft runs into a gearbox, which drives the deck through a belt. Electric motors power the wing decks.

You can mow with the center section alone, the center and one wing, or all three sections. That flexibility stood out because the machine doesn't require every deck section to stay down while cutting.

We also inspected the substantial center-deck belt. It looked much heavier than the mower belts we usually handle.

On the related diesel machine beside it, we tried an air-ride seat with adjustable air pressure and damping. The representative explained how the damping could provide more support on rough terrain or allow more movement.

The control levers felt substantial, too. The representative tied that feel to the integrated parking-brake arrangement and the deliberate movement needed to bring the sticks inward.

A painful sciatic flare-up meant more sitting than planned during our trip. That seat was one we were happy to spend time in.

Toro showed a fully autonomous commercial 60-inch mower that was already on the market. We were told demand was outpacing production.

The system uses lidar, GPS, and LTE signals. Once a property is mapped, the saved information can support later visits. Another compatible Toro machine can also use the original map.

That matters because the value extends beyond getting one mower around one property once. The saved setup can become part of a repeatable route.

Toro estimated the mower could pay for itself in about a year. Some early operators reported reaching payback in five months. Those were estimates and operator reports, not guaranteed outcomes. They don't apply to the separate Kress Voyager we visited later.

We expected to make more detailed videos about the Toro machine. At Expo, the main point was that commercial autonomous mowing was already a product customers were trying to buy, not a distant concept.

Toro's Multi Force is a stand-on mower platform that accepts attachments. We discussed snow equipment, a turbine blower, and dump beds.

That flexibility follows the same idea as the MEGA attachment: get more work from a powered machine you already own.

The Spray Master display also had a familiar connection. Its yellow-tank design resembled Toro and Exmark's Z-Spray equipment, though the displays used different tank colors and branding.

Toro's 8000 Series collection system drew our attention because we don't think enough people know the company makes it.

The deck has a central collection opening, and a heavy-duty metal impeller pulls clippings into the catcher. The deck also follows the lawn's contours instead of staying rigidly fixed to the machine.

We liked the quality of cut this design can produce. That's our opinion of the machine, not the result of a mowing comparison at the show.

One of the less dramatic-looking demonstrations was also one of the most useful to us: an interactive 3D product view.

We could rotate the machine, zoom in, flip it over, and examine components underneath. Then we zoomed toward an individual nut and selected it.

Traditional parts drawings can take time to interpret. This display let us approach the machine visually and work toward the part we wanted.

The representative also described feedback about its value as a technician-training tool. Someone learning a product could look inside it and understand how the components fit together.

Integration into the company's platform was still being discussed with IT. We liked the demonstration, but we weren't looking at a feature already confirmed as fully rolled out.

Bad Boy showed the Rough Trak, a tracked machine with a rough-cut deck for tall grass and brush. It had a Kawasaki FX1000 EFI engine.

We compared its general design with tracked slope machines such as Altoz, but wanted to see Bad Boy develop its own version. The Rough Trak was a clear departure from a conventional zero-turn and addressed a different kind of cutting job.

Ventrac's post mower tackled another specific challenge. Its cutting attachment reaches outward and swings around obstacles, with demonstrations showing work along highway guardrails and in vineyards.

The attachment handles trimming around each obstacle instead of leaving the remaining work for another tool. Scag took a different approach to large-format mowing with a 144-inch mower that used hydraulics.

Scag displayed its 144-inch mower, although it wasn't available at the time of our visit.

One feature we examined was the linked height adjustment. Turning it moved both sides together, so the operator didn't have to set each side separately.

The wing-deck drive differed from John Deere's approach. Deere used electric motors on the wings we had just seen, while Scag used hydraulic motors for its side decks.

We also noticed a couple of exposed areas that looked as though they might need substantial construction. Those were initial durability concerns based on the machine's appearance, not confirmed failures.

After trying the John Deere seat earlier, we preferred Deere's seating arrangement.

Scag also displayed the Jackal compact loader and an articulating wheel loader. The Jackal had a similar general purpose to the Toro Dingo TX 1000, but used a radial-style lift arrangement. We weren't sure whether either loader was available, so we treated them as equipment Scag had brought to the show.

STIHL had one of the busiest and most entertaining booths we visited. The FKA 160 remote-controlled felling tool stood out for its focus on safer work.

The tool fits into a prepared opening in the tree and uses a gripping surface to hold its position. The operator can step away from the trunk and control it remotely instead of staying beside the tree to hammer in a wedge.

We focused on the risk of overhead limbs falling while someone works beneath the tree. The ability to move back before applying the felling force impressed us.

We saw the FKA 160 as a safety-focused innovation with a clear purpose. STIHL also showed battery-powered equipment elsewhere in the booth, though we didn't conduct a tree-felling test during our visit.

STIHL's battery display also included a snow thrower, the BTA 40 auger, and a 14-inch battery concrete saw. The snow thrower had limited relevance to our Florida work, but it added to the range of battery equipment on display. The concrete saw caught our attention because it used one battery at a time, which could be swapped when depleted.

We revisited the BRA 280, a blower already in our showroom. We liked its balance of power, low weight, and runtime, especially compared with a higher-output option that used batteries more quickly.

The MSA 600 was another standout. We described it as a battery saw with power comparable to the MS 661.

We also revisited the Centennial saw giveaway from an earlier video. At the time of filming, the drawing was still pending after an apparent surge of manipulated likes disrupted the original response.

At Milwaukee, we asked the booth staff to show us their favorite new product.

James, who worked on the marketing side, recommended the M18 broadcast spreader. He said it had launched about a month before the show.

We hoped to get a longer pitch from another team member, but the booth was busy. After waiting, we went with James' recommendation and took a closer look ourselves.

It struck us as a different product for the category. However, we didn't get a detailed demonstration, and our price discussion never settled on a reliable figure. The useful takeaway from that stop was the staff recommendation, rather than a full review.

The Kress Voyager was one of the autonomous products we most wanted to understand. It was a fully electric, commercial 60-inch mower with RTK, GPS, vision systems, and lidar.

The process began by mowing a perimeter around the property. After saving that boundary, the machine could work inside it and detect obstacles within the mapped area.

The maps remain available for repeat visits, so setup doesn't have to start over each time the machine returns.

Our microphone stopped working during this part of the visit, so we later explained what we'd been discussing beside the mower.

We expected autonomous equipment to change quickly over the next decade. Employees are difficult to find, and labor is a major expense, so a mower that works without continuous operator input has a clear business case.

That practical case was why the Voyager interested us. We weren't applying the payback figures discussed earlier at Toro to this mower, and we didn't complete a property-level test at the show.

At RC Mowers, we looked at a gas-powered tracked slope mower described as a 40-horsepower machine.

We remembered the company's earlier equipment as mower frames adapted for radio control. The machine at Expo looked like a substantial step beyond those beginnings.

The representative clarified that the mower wasn't fully autonomous. A person remained in control throughout the job, while remote operation kept them off the machine on hazardous terrain.

The interview focused on roadside embankments, steep slopes, mud, and areas near water. The operator could choose a safer place to stand instead of riding on the mower. The representative first mentioned a range of up to 1,000 feet, then used 2,000 feet in a later example. We didn't leave with one confirmed range specification.

Pricing started at about $68,000, with the final cost depending on configuration. That put the mower in the specialized commercial equipment category, rather than making it an ordinary replacement for a route mower.

At Gravely, the major business topic was the recently announced Yanmar deal. During our visit, we described it as Yanmar buying a portion of Gravely.

We knew Yanmar as a diesel-engine manufacturer, but it also makes tractors. We discussed seeing mowers in Yanmar's dark red and tractors in Gravely's orange-red branding. For Gravely dealers, the interesting possibility was access to tractors alongside mowing equipment.

We also noticed a rear-discharge deck, which we didn't remember seeing in Gravely's lineup before. Another machine used a flail head instead of a rotary deck.

The representative described it as remote-controlled equipment for hillside mowing and steep brush cutting, not an autonomous mower. We also briefly asked about Gravely's earlier relationship with RC Mowers. That stop brought together several recurring show themes: more equipment categories, specialized cutting systems, and ways to keep operators away from difficult terrain.

The show wasn't all specifications and controls. We ran into Willie from Duck Dynasty, and Stu took on the Mean City Mowers endurance challenge.

He held on for 1 minute and 31 seconds before his fingers gave out. After hours of walking and climbing onto equipment, that was an entertaining change of pace.

We also met Cameron from Monster Mow, a subscriber who came over to say hello. He told us he ran John Deere, and we joked about our own connection to Toro.

Then we followed him to make a separate reel about the mower he thought was the coolest at the show. Meeting someone who watches the channel and works in the industry was a good way to finish the trip.

Links to Main Street Mower

• Shop online: Main Street Mower
• YouTube: Main Street Mower on YouTube
• Facebook: Main Street Mower on Facebook
• Instagram: Main Street Mower on Instagram
• TikTok: Main Street Mower on TikTok