Ryan vs. American Lawn Mower | 08/16/2010

by Ryan Larson

Who likes mowing? Not many would be my first answer. It’s hot. It’s typically loud. It’s typically smelly. It’s typically heavy. I have found a solution this problem. Well the latter 3 anyway. A reel mower is a push mower that relies on people power instead of gas and oil. The mower uses your pushing power to spin the reel and turn a tumbler of blades to snip the grass. This mower is light, agile, and requires little care.

Reel mowers are the original mower. The American Mower Company has been manufacturing reel mower since 1895. With over 115 years of practice making quality products, I trusted them to deliver a product worthy of my time and efforts. American is still a family owned company out of Indiana. They are the biggest dealer of reel mowers in America.

My first impression of the mower was “Wow. That’s a lot smaller than I thought it was going to be.” The mower stands approximately 4½ feet tall and weighs in at 19 pounds. It has a cutting length of 14 inches and can cut at two different heights. Its very easy to move and the blades turn with only a light walk.

The Good:

The mower is quiet, light, looks great, and will earn more than a few stares from people ranging in the “I remember those,” to the “that guy is crazy using that crappy old mower.” It is economical in price and will save you money later since it uses no gas, oil or engine upkeep. It’s good for the environment as it produces no noise or air pollution and gives you good exercise since it is smaller, forcing you to take a few extra trips. It’s easy to use on hills since it is light and cuts very well on regular grass. Also as a bonus, as the blades turn and it rubs on the cutting surface it makes a tsk tsk noise similar to the noise of Wolverine’s claws being extended, which I think is awesome.

The Bad:

It has a very small cutting length. I wish I would have gotten a 16 inch mower or a bit bigger. Since it doesn’t have a spinning blade, but relies on a pinch and cut method, like scissors, sometimes the blade has a hard time cutting through taller grass or grass that has taken to seed and sprouted tall. It also is a bit slower that using a gas mower so you will have to endure the heat for a bit longer.

To me, the benefits of the mower out do its pitfalls. I enjoy big able to quietly mow my lawn, which allows me to mow at night should I choose to dodge the heat that way. Also it’s nice knowing I’m doing a little something for the environment. I believe that if we all took action to minimize where we can, we can make a huge difference for the earth. Also I enjoy knowing that I can take care of the mower and it will last a really long time. It’s not unheard of to be able to use a reel mower upwards of 50 years. I look forward to many more mowing years ahead of me knowing that I have a mower that is clean, easy to use and can be powered from a glass of water and some fruit.

Photo Courtesy of Mark Neuenschwander/9 Art Photography

out of 5

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Tags: "Ryan Larson", american lawn mower, enviormental, lawn care

Post Details: This entry was posted on Monday, August 16th, 2010 at 5:20 am and is filed under Biaka@hellodestroyers.com, BLOGS, Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.