Since last fall when I bought my new home, I've been borrowing my B-I-L's lawnmower, which he has not had need for until buying a new home of his own. Therefore, I'm in the market for something quality, but not over the top. First option is a gas mower, self-propelled model Toro or Honda ($275-350 range). I like these because they get the job done in my average sized yard without much hassle, have mulching capability, and are generally reliable. However, the cool tool side of me wants to check into the Fiskars new reel mower ($200). It's a new version of the old push mower, but with a flywheel to give more power, better height control, new reel blade design, and no need to maintain a motor or fight with empty gas tank or engine noise. I'll hang up and listen.
If you have a large lawn, you can't beat a Honda gas mower. However, if your lawn area is modest, consider a Black & Decker battery powered mower. They have a self-propelled unit that does a great job. They have other similar models, too. I suspect a reel mower would do better on fine-bladed northern grasses. St. Augustine and Bermuda are tougher to cut and might be too much for a manual mower, flywheel or not. Plus, mulching Southern grasses is necessary and you'd probably not get that feature in a manual reel mower.
Couple years ago I went to Sears and test drove both a Snapper and a Craftsman. Both performed well, slight edge to Snapper. I liked their overall selection better than HD or Lowes. Good thing about Sears is they always have an area of returns/warranty-repaired mowers out front of their garden area you can get a good deal on.
had a neighbor in Georgia who had a reel mower with Bermuda grass. He was very anal and had the blades sharpened often, but I have to admit, he had the nicest looking yard in a neighborhood where everyone had immaculate yards.
thanks for the replies. I had my mind all made up to look out for sales at the big boxes/Sears around 4th of July for gas powered, but then Uninformed went and threw a curveball at me. As fun as it would be to have the nicest lawn on the block, I've got a nerwborn baby at home, a general lazy attitude toward yardwork, no green thumb, and I detest running my sprinkler system more than bare minimum. So, that is probably a good sign that I need to focus on gas powered. But those reel mowers sure do sound cool, and quiet. And I've read that they make the yard look like each blade was cut with scissors instead of shredded with a metal blade.
