I bought this Yard-Man at WalMart for $200 after doing some research and noticing that Consumer Reports rated this a "Best Buy". I have used a variety of mowers in my 35 years of mowing. I thought that beating my old early 80's era Snapper would be tough, but this mower is a good competitor. Things I valued in the Snapper were its light weight, excellent suction, maneuverability, and reliability; I've always regretted having sold the Snapper at a garage sale and they probably don't make them like they used to. While this Yard-Man mower is a bit heavier than that Snapper, it seems lighter than the basic cheap models made by Murray, Craftsman, and MTD. Suction seems to be very good, and its maneuverability is similar to the old Snapper. Reliability should be good, given the Honda OHV engine.

The Honda engine has a mechanical choke that seems to work very well. You slide the choke control and in the process tighten a spring that then uncoils slowly, gradually opening the choke. The choke release is activated when you squeeze the safety handlebar; if you wait too long (5 seconds or longer) between this time and starting the mower, you'll need to close the choke again; I did not find this to be a drawback. It starts for me with one pull. While I was initially very impressed with the engine's low noise level--it had been the quietest lawn mower engine I had ever experienced--it has become louder with use. I still think it is quieter than other mowers with non-Honda engines, but my initial enthusiasm on this point has waned. I did note though, with some distress, that the engine is uni-speed. I like to be able to control the speed of the engine, increase when I'm going thru thick grass, slow down when the grass is thin or already short--the mower emits less pollutants and noise that way, I save gas, etc. I was also a little disappointed that the 5.5hp engine slowed down in a patch of thick grass, but I suspect this slow-down was because I was in mulching mode and I would not have had this slow-down if I had been discharging. The gas tank on this engine is oversized--seems like it's at least twice the size of the gas tanks on other mowers I've used.

I had looked at the Toro Super Recycler self-propelled series, largely because of their aluminum decks, but chose the Yard-Man because the price (and weight) was about half of the Toro mowers and I thought it would be easy enough for my wife to push. Steel decks that are neglected will rust out eventually. And grass clippings that cling to areas of decks facilitate rust. I blow my deck off above and beneath with an air hose after every use, and wax the deck above & beneath on my mowers yearly, but noticed an area underneath the deck that tends to trap clippings. I'm still trying to figure out what to do to keep the clippings from catching there--maybe caulk it.

Mowing was a breeze, thanks to the quiet engine and easy maneuverability of the mower. I mulch, and mulching was very effective even though much of my grass was at a height in places that is generally problematic for mulching. As I noted above, the mower slowed down in a patch of very thick grass. If I had not mulched, I would have lifted the mulch plug in the side discharge and inserted the side discharge chute; this can be installed in less than 5 seconds, which is a vast improvement over my previous mowers. I haven't bagged with the mower yet, but the mower is a rear-bagger and a framed bag is included with the mower.

I thought the $199 price was excellent considering the Honda engine; I don't know of a less expensive mower that features this engine.

The mower comes with a 2 year warranty.

UPDATE AUG 2009: Mower is still running, 3 years later. Back in the good ol' days, a mower should last for more than 3 years, given diligent maintenance. I have maintained it well and operated it well, draining & replacing oil as scheduled, replacing spark plug & air cleaner, never hitting any hard object, yet the mower is clearly dying, judging from the increasingly loud engine noise and vibration. Reliability was not great; we had to take it into a shop to have the carb cleaned after sitting for just 3 months. The guy in shop said called this Honda GCV motor Honda's "Garbage Can Variety".

Mowing height is now extremely difficult to adjust at this point, now requiring 3 hands, a screwdriver, and a hammer! The deck seems flimsy, I guess due to weak metal.

UPDATE APRIL 2012: Still using it!  Having gone through several other mowers at my rental units, I now have a much greater appreciation for this mower.  It IS quieter than other cheap mowers. IT HAS STOOD THE TEST OF TIME.  I had to replace a couple of gaskets & the cracked insulator block behind the carb, but otherwise it has run like a champ.  Bottom line: when I next buy a mower, it will have a Honda motor, GCV or otherwise.

Recommended: Yes