what new walk-behind lawnmower would you buy today?

Question

i've narrowed it down to craftsman, toro, husqvarna. i'm currently leaning toward husqvarna.

i just bought a husqvarna with a honda engine. thanks for the input. except for the guy talking about a reel mower i don't think he ever used one!

Answer 1

I bought a Honda self propelled and am very happy with it. Has two blades and mulches very well. There are other brands that use Honda engines and Honda makes a non-self-propelled mower.YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR. Buy a Honda and follow the service intervals.You will get many years out of it.

Answer 2

Id of chosen a Murray pushmower or a Bolens, but Murray isnt manufactured anymore. My father still has the 3.5 Murray pushmower he bot years ago ( bot it new), use it for trimming, still starts right up after all this time. We also had a Bolens push mower- that thing was great! Mowed great, always started on 1st pull.
Husquavarna isnt too bad a brand, just get a basic model- our neighbor had one with the cable actuated self propelled, and eventually it froze up with rust. The 5HP Briggs motor still ran fine tho ( im a big briggs fan ). Cant vouch much for new Craftsman mowers ( i have an old Craftsman rider, still runs good) - Toro - same thing- have a 70 Toro tractorstill running, dont know aboot new ones) - im sure id choose between Toro and Husquavarna.

Answer 3

Ok, someone has to do this and it might as well be me, LOL...

How big of a lawn are we talking here? I'm thinking that if you are considering a push mower than your lawn can't be too large. I am not an uber tree-hugger or anything, but I am very into looking for green solutions so I would lean more towards a modern reel push mower. They don't take gas and they are supposed to be really easy to push. The gas fact alone is awesome because it is so expensive, pollutes, and it is a lot cooler temp wise operating your mower since there is no combustion. Anyway, here is an info link that I think you should at least check out:

http://www.reelmowerguide.com/

This is a random site that I pulled up to give you an idea of pricing. Oh, and maybe you should pick up some spiked shoes to aerate to! LOL...:

http://www.cleanairgardening.com/reelmowers.html

Answer 4

Check Consumer's Reports. I recently replaced a Honda that was really great (the "transfer case" failed) with a Toro that cost me $500. Frankly, it sucks. It cuts grass fine, but it is noisy, has a handle that's a bit too high (and very hard to adjust) and a feature called "Personal Pacer" that literally adjusts the speed of your mover as you walk. I don't like it. If you could maintain a precise walking speed I guess it would be OK, but lawns aren't perfectly flat so as you go up or down or slow up or speed up so does the mower. I'd prefer a controllable speed mower. I recommend the Honda.

Answer 5

Toro and Honda are probably the most popular. I've ran commercial toro's for 7 yrs now, I prefer toro. I bought a used honda hydrostat, it was a good mower but seemed very heavy. One thing to consider is who will service your mower and are they able to get parts. You dont want to have to wait for weeks for parts If you are talking about a walkbehind that is larger than a 21" mower I would definitely try the Toro t-bar steering as opposed to handle levers for turning, Your hands will than you for it. Much easier.

Answer 6

Get the cheapest mower with "ball bearings" not bushings on the wheels. If the manufacturer has enough faith in his engine the wheels will have bearings, enough said. RScott

Answer 7

toro-had one for years and love it! it starts on the first pull every time

Answer 8

we have a toro and we love it . I paid almost 300.00 for it and well worth it . starts like a champ every time and runs like one too .