Heed this advice, if you are putting in a new lawn or your current lawn has lots of rocks, don't buy a good lawnmower - buy a cheap one like this MTD Yard Man. I found this at KMart for $150 four years ago and it has done its job well.

My brother-in-law gave me this advice. I moved into a house where they didn't put in a foot of top soil for the lawn, and rocks were everywhere. I knew it was going to take a couple of years to get rid of all those rocks, via lots of raking them out, but the grass was already getting tall as my wife and I were moving in. He said "Let a cheap lawnmower hit those rocks, high roots and anything else. By the time the lawnmower has seen its last days, you'll have your lawn in pristine condition for a high quality mower." Those, my friends, are words to live buy.

So I bought one of the cheapest lawn mowers available and started cutting. I will admit, I've hit very few rocks and roots, but I do go across the lawn a little faster knowing I don't care if something happens to be in front of the mower or not, something I wouldn't do with a $400 mower.

Ease of Use
One of the greatest things since sliced bread are lawn mowers fully assembled out-of-the-box. I had this MTD running within five minutes of getting home and I still haven't read the directions. Just pull the handle into position, add gas and oil, then pull the starter cord and you're running.

Power
Equipped with a 5hp Briggs & Stratton engine, this mower doesn't slow down in the tallest of grass and I usually use the mulching feature so I don't have to bag. It has a big gas tank and needs it, I use almost the entire tank up on my 12,000 sq. foot lawn.

Versatility
Being a relatively small mower (20" blade), it is a very nimble machine - easy to push and easy to maneuver around trees and gardens. I do wish it had a 22" blade, this would cut 10% off my mowing time of 90 minutes.

Reliability
After four years this mower has needed about one cup of additional oil and gas. Nothing else.

Quality
Not a bad machine in terms of construction, not a lot of vibration to the hands and ease of starting. But it doesn't give a really even cut. I admit I will get down on my hands and knees after mowing and look at the lawn, and you can see some blades higher than others. I've also noticed when in mulching mode, some of the tiny bits of grass are clumped and not evenly distributed. I tried using the mower without mulching once in deep grass (about 6" high) and it very poorly distributed the grass clippings - forcing me to rake some sections of the lawn.

Safety
Like all mowers today, there is a guard in the back of the mower to keep small rocks and sticks from kicking up into your face, as well as the small handle that must be held to the main handle to start the mower and keep it going.

Quietness
The engineers of this mower didn't even bother to make the MTD quiet. This is one of the loudest mowers I've heard, outside of some twenty year old machine some of my neighbors still use.

Conclusion
This mower has fulfilled its job and then some. I plan on using it for a couple more years, but I will not buy another one. There are better mowers available that have wider blades, are quieter, cut better and distribute grass clippings more evenly. I like this mower, but it isn't a keeper.



Recommended: Yes