Push Mowers Reviews

This summer (2004) I purchased a Husqvarna 7021CM from Northern Tools. I happen to live near one of their stores so I did not have to pay shipping. The reason I chose the mower was for the engine and the price. This mower has the same engine as the "expensive" Toros. The engine is very powerful and very smooth. I like rear bagging mowers since the bag stays out of your way when you are trimming around trees/bushes/swing sets...
The bag can hold a LOT of grass too.

Pro's:
1. excellent engine, plenty of power
2. built very solid
3. large rear bag - mounting and dismounting of bag OK
4. excellent air filter system
5. Husqvarna's excellent service/support

Con's:
1. There is a gap between the engine and the deck, I am told to allow air flow to help bagging - this causes the mower to be "dirty" - grass clippings and dust get on the deck while mowing (I just blow mine off with the leaf blower after mowing)
2. Not a very agile mower. If you have a hilly yard or don't like to push, spend the extra 30-50 dollars and get the self -propelled model. I'm young and my yard is flat. (I need the exercise too as well as being cheap ;-)
3. The rear "flap" to protect the operator from rocks/debris flying out from the back of the mower easily goes under the mower when pulling backwards on the mower. If you mow your grass short, the blade can actually put a cut in this guard.

Now - where to buy. My experience with Northern Tools was less than stellar. As I pushed the mower in the garage, I could tell one of the wheels wasn't quite round (it had a flat spot on it). Don't read me wrong, the wheels are very sturdy and have nice bearings in them. So at the end of the mowing season I took the mower back to Northern Tools to have them look at the wheel. They did nothing and wanted to charge me $38.00. When I pushed the mower out of the store, I could tell it was still bad so I turned around and asked them to please fix it again. 3-4 days later, I picked up the mower and it was "better" but I could still feel the flat spot. They said they put a new wheel on it but it sure doesn't look new. Oh yeah - they tried charging me again. Yeah, right.

So - I went to Husqvarna's web site, submitted a question to their support about the wheel. I RECEIVED SOME OF THE BEST SUPPORT EVER FROM HUSQVARNA. (No, I don't work for Husqvarna or one of their retailers) After a few e-mails back and forth, (They had me check the spindle on the mower) a new wheel arrived UPS in a few days. WAY TO GO HUSQVARNA. I will definitely be considering your products in any future purchases. The wheel still has a slight bump (Only felt on a very smooth garage floor) but I am definitely willing to live with it.

We bought one of these mowers to use a rough mower for our lawn business. It wasn't very expensive so if I ran over a rock or something while mowing an alley or lot and broke or bent the shaft I wouldn't be out as much money. Well we liked it so much we use it for all of the mowing we do to the point that we're not using the self propelled mowers that we own. We plan to buy another one or two when our local Husqvarna dealer gets some more in.

First, I have a shipping related tip. Since I was going to buy this mower I checked Northern's cost to ship and it was $93, the cost to ship through Amazon was $51. Use Amazon to save some money on shipping. Also, I received the mower in 5 business days after ordering it and Yellow Trucking did a good job about delivering. About the mower, I have only used it a couple of times but I was impressed from the first time I started it. The Briggs Intek (OHV/OHC, important if you live on a large hill) is the smoothest and the strongest engine I have ever had on a mower. The engine is fairly quiet for a 7 HP as well. The deck, wheels, and their mounting brackets are all very well made. The discharge,mulching,and bagging system is simple and works nicely.
I haven't used the bagger and probably never will, so I don't know how convenient that aspect is. The Husqvarna is every bit the mower that Toro, Snapper, Honda, and Lawnboy are.

I've used this electric mower for 3 years now and couldn't be more satisfied. I have several rental properties in an urban envirnonment. The lawns are all less than a quarter acre, some sloping off fairly dramatically. Light weight and good battery life make this cordless mower the perfect solution. I only need one mower for all the properties because its collapsible and fits easily in the trunk of my car and weighs very little when the battery is removed. The battery removes easily and since I purchased a couple of additional batteries I can easily do three properties in an afternoon. I don't use the bagger so I can't comment on that and I tried the optional edger and was not impressed so I returned it. One more thing, its very, very quiet and you don't have to wear a mask to protect yourself from fumes like you have to with a gas mower when your out mowing for several hours.

For small lawns, you cant beat this mower. I havnt found anything it cant mow through (with a charged battery of course). Im usually able to mow the front and back lawns and edge on one charge. If the lawn isnt too high the next week I can mow the entire property again on the same charge. This is for a 7000sqft property, so your mileage may vary.

The edger attachment works great for edging along sidewalks and trimming around most areas... but I still get out the trusty weed-whacker for more stubborn areas.

Pros:
Lightweight (try hanging YOUR gas mower on the wall!)
QUIET: I mow the lawn at dusk sometimes... the neighbors dont hear it!
CLEAN: No Pollution or fumes
Powerful enough for any lawn (IMO)
Great support from the manufacturer
Charge lasts a long time
Edger attachment works very well
Safety Key to keep the kids from using the mower

Cons:
Small cut diameter - so not for everyone's acre. Works great for my 7000sqft lot.
Small bag - many stops to empty catcher (use the mulcher)

This mower used to be made by Agri-Fab, but they stopped producing it. I have one and it is awesome. The blade spins freely, so it doesn't have resistence when pushing. All the other Great States / American Lawnmower Company mowers that I know of have contact blades, which dull quickly and make the mower difficult to push.

This is perfect for a small lawn. Like all other push mowers, it can't handle the grass when it gets too tall, so make sure you mow often. The great thing about this mower is that it is light weight. I put mine in the basement and it's really nice that it's easy to carry it around. It was extremely easy to put together, I think it only took 2 minutes. Hopefully the blades stay sharp. If you haven't ever used a push mower, you should know that you are the motor - it's harder to mow your lawn with a push mower, but you don't have to use gas and you get good exercise.

Nicely engineered mower. I have had Husqvarna Chain saws for years, but this is my first experience with their other power equipment. I wanted a good reliable self propelled mower, but didn't want things like blade brakes, etc... Before purchasing I looked at mowers ranging from $275 to $550. Performance/value, not price, is my deciding factor when I buy tools or equipment.

Very easy to start with self opening choke. Honda engine is very smooth with very light pull start effort. Power is more than adequate.
The rear wheel self propelled drive is excellent with infinitely variable speeds. I like the top end speed, which is very brisk. The drive control is convenient and easy to use for operators with large & small hands (my wife has no problem using). Drive mechanism is accessable and easy to clean. Mower is very easy to maneuver both when the drive is engaged or not.
I especially like the single lever mowing height adjustment (note- mower deck is counterbalanced with a spring so adjustment is effortless).
Very easy to change mower from mulching to bagger or to side discharge. No tools, just easy plug in's.
The mower deck pulls a very strong vacuum. I have been using it to clear heavy, wet leaves and it doesn't leave anything on the grass. This mower is superior to any leaf vac that I have ever used. Plus, it really shreds the leaves using the standard blade. Note: The vacuum is so strong that I cannot start the mower on my gravel driveway, it literally sucks the stones up, this is not an exaggeration.
The bagger is very quick & easy to install and empty. It is 2.5 bushels. I do wish the bag was bigger (3.5-4) for leaf collection. The normal bag is fine for normal grass cutting operations. Normally I mulch the grass.
Mulching is excellent. I tested the mower on some overgrown sections of the yard and it performed very well leaving very finely cut grass clippings without bogging down.
Note: The mower deck is stamped 14 gauge steel, very nicely powder coated. If you are used to a cast mower deck, this one will be a little louder as it will "ring" (typically of stamped decks) when you hit twigs or other debris (i.e. driveway gravel).
Shop around on price, my local dealer gave me an end of season deal at $350. After using this mower, I can't justify spending more money

Unlike Murray baggers, the Husqvarna baggers are made of thick plastic, that can stand up to a beating. Only tool needed to installed this thing is a wrench, (to replace back bolts on frame to install the bagger frame). Everything else snaps into place. The three bags (as I call them) have handles on each one to pull out when it gets full. It is a must have!!

This Yard-Man mower does an excellent job in mulch mode. Lightweight, easy to maneuver. Great value for the price. I replaced a Toro Personal Pace that crapped out after less than 3 years of use. This Yard-Man outperforms the Toro hands down!

I wanted this item! And I wish Amazon can do better packaging and listen to the customer. The first shipment has a cracked wheel, amazon acknowledged the warning, and was asked to do better packaging. The 2nd shippment was no improvement on packaging; the wheel broke off! So I decided to refund it... Maybe it's not for me :) I'll pick different one up locally....

I put this together in a few minutes with a 1 year old strapped to my back. I was very impressed with the mechanism-it seems that it would be impossible to hurt someone with it, with the back roller and front guard. My 13 year old was able to carry it up and down our steep hill to our flat yard. Easy to manuever, easily adjusted blades (golf course lengths easily done), no more trips to the gas station.

This lawn mower is AMAZING! My husband is a merchant marine with the US Coast Guard and is away for months at a time, leaving me with the task of lawn mowing. This is way better than our noisy old gas guzzler. Without the combustion motor, it is light and easy to push, doesnt require gas (which is at an all time high price right now), and doesnt let off emissions. The scissor like blades cut the grass into such small pieces that I dont use a catcher. Leaving the clippings behind is the best because they go back into the soil, producing organic fertilizer! I've been getting them and giving them as gifts to all my friends and family from sunlawn.com.

I purchased a similar 16" reel mower by Great States because I have a very small lawn and didn't want the hassle, cost, noise and environmental problems from the gas mowers I grew up with.

It took about 30 minutes to put together, with some detergent to slip the handlebars on and some elbow grease to get the nuts and bolts fastened.

When I started cutting with my mower for the first time, my neighbor saw what I was doing and rushed over saying, "you'll rip the blades of grass with that thing. You can borrow mine (big, gas-powered rear-bagger) until you can afford a REAL lawn mower."

I politely declined as he went into the house shaking his head, thinking I was nuts.

The mower cut pretty good - I had to do a few spots over again, because the cut was uneven, and it does a poor job of edging. I cut the tall grass around the tree in front of my house and edged around the sidewalk and my garden with a pair of hand shears. That took about 15 minutes.

When I was finished, I hung the mower up in my garage.

Using the reel mower was an adjustment after growing up with a big gas mower at my parents' 1960s suburban home, but my lawn is small, and I hate the hassle, noise and cost of the gas mowers (not to mention the environmental issues), I'm planning on keeping the reeel mower, but I would also recommend a good weed whacker and some grass shears.

I have a small patch of lawn for a front yard, and a large patch for a backyard. I just HATED dragging out the big noisy gas mower for the front.

I am still a bit taken aback at the price on reel mowers... but after using it, I understand.

This is no flimsy hunk of aluminum and plastic. This is a nice heavy chunk of metal. The blades will stay sharp for years. It made short work of my lawn and was NOT tedious to push around. The reel spins smoothly and is pleasant to listen to... compare it to the din of gas mowers.
I've already had a neighbor ask me where I got it.

I gave this mower only 4 stars instead of 5 because:
1. The T handle was difficult to attach to the reel. I had to whack at it with a hammer to get it into the correct position on the reel.
2. It does NOT work well on taller grass. Anything too tall just gets rolled over. (Incentive to keep the lawn in check.)
But these negatives do not outwiegh the positives.

Overall, I'm glad I got it!

I have used conventional, gas-powered, walk-behind rotary mowers my whole life. Having just recently moved to a townhouse with a smallish lawn that is in relatively good condition, I decided to experiment with a reel-type mower.

I was not expecting much, but was EXTREMELY pleased with the results. I believe this type of mower can give you a BETTER cut than you can get with your common gas mower.

On my lawn, at the 2 1/2 inch height setting, pushing the mower takes little effort. The sound this machine makes is sweet and satisfying: a sharp, whispery, snickering sound. Cutting with this instrument feels more PRECISE than with the common gas mower. You are manicuring your grass, not just ripping it to a shorter height.

The other benefits are just gravy: it costs next to nothing, it hangs in your shed, it is very light, it is safer, it takes no gas, requires no starting, and you could mow at night were you so inclined.

There is a certain simple sophistication about this kind of mower. If you have the right kind of lawn situation, getting this machine is a no-brainer.

After I couldn't acquire parts for my 19 year old Lawn-Boy mower, I decided to buy another. I did a lot of research before deciding to purchase this Insight model.

This Lawn-Boy is a fine machine despite some flaws. The engine usually starts on the first or second pull, but not always. Once it's running, it's a relatively quiet engine, and the pollution is far less than previous models. One of the best things about this mower is the way it looks. Fab design.

However, the biggest downfall of this mower is its ridiculous weight. I'd like to know why somebody at Lawn-Boy/Toro thought a 70 pound push mower was a good idea. Because it's not.

My old Lawn-Boy was a svelte 35 pounds, so I wrote to Lawn-Boy to ask why they did not make an aluminum mower this year.

Their customer service informed me that they used a steel deck instead of their older, better aluminum designs. They said the aluminum decks were not ready for the 2006 season, but provided me with hope that they will be available next year.

SO, if you can wait until next year, I suggest putting your money towards an aluminum mower. If not, this one will work fine, as long as you don't mind working a lot harder to push the darn thing.

I bought this mower for our house over a month ago. It's been used 5 times since then (once by my wife). Set-up out of the box was simple, it was ready to go, the toughest part was attaching the pull cord to the ring that holds it in place. A pair of pliers made quick work of that.
Once I added the gas and oil, it started on the second or third pull. Our lawn is less than a quarter acre with a slight incline but plenty of trees and fences to maneuver around. My wife and I have had no problems with missing any spots because we couldn't get the mower into tight quarters.
Possibly my favorite feature is how simple it is to put the bag on and take it off. The bar that forms the opening slides onto a little ledge. There's nothing to hold open and the bag fits through the opening of the handle bar, even when full.
I changed the oil after the second use as per the instructions and that went smoothly as well. I haven't fussed with the air filter or spark plug yet, but they seem to be pretty straight forward.
I grew up with my father's Lawn Boy and it worked fine for him for at least 10 years. I would be in heaven is this one also lasted that long.