Great States 815-18 18-Inch 5-Blade Push Reel Lawn Mower, 18-Inch, 5-Blade, Grey

Awesome lawn mower! I am thrilled to go back to basics and get rid of the loud gas mower that is hard to start! This one runs on my calories and is nice and quiet, meaning I can mow any time without worrying about making noise early or late. It is also much easier to move round from front yard to back yard. One time I even carried it through my house for a shortcut! Ha! Yes, it has a hard cutting tall grass but I find that going more slowly, and maybe doing half the blade part on the tall grass and half on the cut grass makes it more doable. It is not heavy but in thick grass going uphill it is a little bit of an effort. It also does not like any form of twigs or clusters of thick grass, and it can't get close to the edges, so you may want to use an edger or weedwacker. I have a small handheld electric trimmer I use for edges. My lawns look so good now, and it will be easier to mow next time as long as I don't let the grass grow too tall again. Assembly of the mower was a little confusing. I could not tell if the handle part was to slant down or up. Drawing in manual was not good. Also, put the lower part of the handle on the wheel part first! That was not easy, but it would have been harder if the rest of the handle was attached to that part. The tricky thing is to get the bottom part of the handle squeezed into place between the wheels. I have arthritis and it was hard to use enough strength to squeeze it so it would snap into place. No screws required there. A few other screws to secure the handle parts, but that was easy. I am super pleased with this mower. It reminds me of my dad mowing with a manual mower like this back in the 70s. Yeah, maybe a little harder but it has so many advantages, too. Sometimes we need to go back to basics. Big, loud,heavy, polluting lawnmowers are gross when you think about it. I see more and more neighbors use these old school mowers. Love it. And you can buy a blade sharpener for this mower, which I plan to do, so we can use it for a loooong time. I think it will last. Great quality. Just avoid running the blades into rocks and branches.

My Uncle had one these long ago. It took my whole body to try to move it. He left it in the rain and it was covered in rust and so friggin heavy. I hated the thought of getting one of these for my own yard. All my life I've had gas lawn mowers. As my latest expensive gas self propelled was breaking down, I thought I'd try one ofthese as I was getting tired of the hassle of gasoline engines. I also thought I could do with the exercise. I was amazed but apprehensive on how light the box was. Very easy to put it together. Five minutes I think. I was kind of expecting to pack it up after giving it a try. I was laughing at how simple the thing is. Laughing even more on how it cut so well and was so easy to push. Kind of reminds me of a kids toy. But I'm amazed how well and easy it works. I have a small yard. Total time would take half an hour. With this it took twenty minutes. Because I'm not messing with the gas and trying to start the engine. There was something weird that happened after cutting the lawn with my new mower. I looked around and thought, "that's it?" Because before it felt like such a monumental task to cut the yard. The smell of the exhaust, the weight of the gas mower made it feel like cutting the grass was such a monumental task This is easier to push than my self propelled gas lawn mower. I wish I bought one of these long ago.It really does feel like a toy. Not saying it's cheap. It seems sturdy and well built. But because it was fun to cut the grass this time. I did give it a test by cutting some brambles and large weeds. It chewed thru them. As long as there are no rocks or sticks, I think this is a keeper.One thing, buy a can of WD-40 to spray the blades to prevent rust.

I love this thing! I don't have a big yard and it's pretty flat but I live in the country so it is not smooth or even, my grass is not good quality. This mower does a very good job at cutting it. It's easy to maneuver. Definitely nice to be able to pop it out and just do a bit at a time. It does make a swishing type sound but way better than the road of a power mower. I got the 18". I think a smaller one would not work as well for me. I will be sharpening the blades soon though. It does not cut up leaves and you need to avoid sticks, they get stuck.