Best Reel Mower Reviews of 2020

The Fiskars 18-Inch StaySharp Max Reel Mower is a reel mower that has a reversible grass chute that can be set up to either direct the grass clippings forward or direct them backward—depending on your preference. It also has inset wheels that allow the blades to extend across the full 18-inches of this mower’s cutting width, allowing for better edging. And its height can be easily adjusted from 1-inches to 4-inches. This reel mower also has precision ground blades that are supposed to stay sharper longer and a chain drive system that’s supposed to make it much easier to push than conventional reel mowers. All nice features but what really matters is how well it cuts the grass.

Out of the box, this mower was fairly easy to assemble. I would say it was only a few minutes before I had it all assembled and was ready to tackle the job of mowing my lawn. So I took it outside and starting mowing with it. My first impression was that it was really easy to push and that the blades didn’t grind against the casing like some reel mowers do so it didn’t make that scraping sound. I also noticed that I could get pretty close to the driveway in my front yard. While no one will ever mistake this mower as an edger, it does come as close to edging as I have ever seen a reel mower do.

Pushing this mower around my yards, I noticed that it cut the grass very well. Even though I have a side yard that contains an impressive mix of grasses, it still managed to cut all of them quite well. The only thing it really had problems with are tall, thin weeds. You know the type I’m talking about. This mower just kind of pushed them over and I had to go cut these lone lawn survivors down with my weed whacker. It’s not a big deal but something that does need to be mentioned.

One thing that I will give this mower some extra credit for, is the fact that it did a pretty good job handling the hills in my yard, as well as some of the uneven terrain. All things considered, I think that it is a great reel mower, but I did spend a little more than I would’ve liked to have spent on it.

Today, I’m going to review the Fiskars 17-Inch Staysharp Push Reel Lawn Mower. While I don’t usually use reel mowers very much, at least not on a week to week basis, I have used them enough to have some familiarity with them. So let’s not waste any more time; let’s jump right into this review.

When I received the mower, I took it out of the box. It did require a few tools to put together, but that wasn’t a big deal. I was able to assemble it in a few minutes and was ready to mow. I then proceeded to put it work on my property and that’s when I got a good feel for how this thing operates.

One of the first things I noticed was that it was pretty quiet. Some of the reel mowers I’ve used in the past made sort of a scraping sound and this one didn’t. It wasn’t as quiet as some of the electric mowers I’ve used recently, but it’s still quieter than most of the reel mower I’ve used in the past.

Trying to cut my property, however, I ran into a few hiccups with the Fiskars 17-Inch Staysharp Push Reel Lawn Mower. First, I realized that there was no way I would be able to use this mower to cut my grass. And there are a couple of reasons for that. One, my property is way too big. Reel mowers are really made for smaller yards that are a ½ acre of smaller, especially ones with this cutting width. Two, my property has a lot of hilly areas with a lot of maneuvering that has to be done to ensure that it’s cut. Three, there was some tall grasses on my property that frankly, this mower couldn’t cut. It would just push it down. It’s really meant for grass that hasn’t gotten too high or isn’t full of a lot of tall dandelions.

However, I still wanted to get an accurate review of this thing, so I packed it up and took it over to my friend’s house to accurately assess it. My friend has a nice little house with a smaller fenced yard that had some nice Zoysia grass growing – grass that wasn’t short but wasn’t too high either. Just perfect to test this reel mower out on.

This mower has some really nice blades that seem to be to be thicker than other reel mowers. I easily pushed the mower around the yard and I noticed that it did a really good job of cutting the grass. Instead of basically tearing the grass, like so many electric and gas mowers do (especially ones with dull blades), this mower cut them nice and evenly. Kind of like the grass had been cut with a pair of scissors.  Now I see why so many people choose reel mowers. This one really does a delicate job of cutting the grass.

This reel mower was also fairly easy to push and did manage to power over the twig or two that I came across. And it is more environmentally friendly than a gas mower. After all, it requires no spark plug, gas, oil, filters or belts. Which also means that it is cheaper and easier to maintain than a conventional mower as well.

Overall, I think that if you use the Fiskars 17-Inch Staysharp Push Reel Lawn Mower in the way it was intended to be used, with a flat, smaller-size yard that can be cut in straight lines, then this mower is probably a good choice.

The Gardena 4023 15-Inch Reel Lawn Mower is a cylinder mower that has a classic design. In fact, it kind of reminds me of the old Worchester reel mowers from the 1940s, except the handle on the Gardena is shaped differently and is much more colorful. Of course, it is also a more modern cylinder mower that features a 15-inch cutting width and has high-quality steel blades. The one I bought also came with a pretty big price tag, so I decided to put it to the test and see what made it so costly.

When I first unboxed this mower, I noticed that it was very easy to assemble. In fact, there wasn’t much to it. In only a matter of moments, I was set up and ready to take this mower out on her maiden mowing. And that is when I learned some very interesting things out about this mower. For instance, I learned that it was very quiet. I could barely hear a sound as I pushed it around my yard. This is due to the no-contact blades. Another thing I noticed is that this mower is pretty light; It was even light for a push reel mower. Which makes it perfect for just about anyone to use.

Of course, nothing is without its flaws and the Gardena 4023 is no exception. While it did a pretty good job cutting most of my grass, it did struggle with some of the tougher grasses in my yard. On those grasses, I had to take 2, or sometimes 3, passes to get it all cut. It also seemed to refuse to cut tall weeds. For those, I had to break out my weed whacker. And as far as the edges of my lawn—well, it certainly isn’t an edger and doesn’t pretend to be. The blades don’t get close enough to the edge. For that, I had to break out my edger to give the lawn the nice clean look I prefer. When I was done with this mower, it was easy to store and put away. All I had to do was loosen the handles and it folded up nice and neat. And since it was so light, I could easily carry it to my shed and put it away.

I do think that this reel mower is a high-quality product. It’s sturdy, well made and should last a lifetime. However, while it’s a quality product, I’m not sure that it’s worth its high cost. Especially considering its lack of features. I suppose that will be something that each individual will have to decide for themselves. Personally, I think there are better cylinder mowers out there for a more reasonable price.

The Great States 415-16 is a push reel mower with a 16-inch cutting deck, a T-style handle, and sharp heat treated blades. Great States also makes different variations of this reel mower with slightly different configurations and blade widths. For example, the 304-14 also comes with a T-style handle but only has a 14-inch cutting deck. The 815-18 comes with an 18-inch cutting deck but with a conventional handle. However, the push reel mower in this review is the Great States 415-16.

When I unpacked this mower, I realized that it was not only easy to put together but also fairly lightweight. Within a few moments, I had it all assembled and was ready to begin mowing. It was when I got it out into the yard though that I really learned a lot about this mower. And one thing that I learned was that it was a high-quality product that seemed to be manufactured with pride. Everything seemed durable and should last the user for quite a long time, if they treat it with care. It has a handle with a powder coated finish, heat treated blades, and ball bearing 10-inch wheels. It looks and feels very durable.

How well the mower cuts grass is the real test of whether it’s worth its salt or not, so I put it right to work. I soon found out that while it did a good job cutting ordinary grass, it didn’t do as good of a job on tougher grasses or tall weeds. For those type of grasses and weeds, I either had to take a second pass at them or I had to use my weed whacker on the stray weeds. Another problem I encountered with this mower is the fact that the wheels are wider than the blades—which means that it doesn’t get close to edges or fence lines.

The last thing that I noticed about this mower is that the blades are mounted on a standard cutting system. This means that the blades make contact with the rear cutting blade to cut the grass. This scissor-like quality produces a beautiful cut but it also means that the blades are going to have to be sharpened more often. That’s not a big deal to me but it may be for someone who doesn’t want to have to sharpen the blades more than once a year.

The American Lawn Mower 1415-16 is a push reel mower that has a 16-inch cutting width, a 4 spider and 5 blade ball bearing reel system and 10-inch composite wheels with radial tire tread on them. It’s a mower made by a company that has also produced other good manual push mowers such as the 1204-14 and 1304-14 with 14-inch blade widths and the 1815-18 with 18-inch blade widths. The American Lawn Mower 1415-16 is similar to these other mowers but with its own set of specs. Let’s check it out

After taking a few moments to put it together, I took it out into the yard to see what it could do. The first thing I noticed was that it’s 4-spider 5 blade ball bearing reel system spun really quickly with just a little bit of a push. It produced good effort for just a little bit of torque. And it did do a fine job cutting grass, as long as the grass wasn’t too thick or too tall. With extremely thick grasses, I had to make several passes with this mower. With tall grasses, I also had to make additional passes to get it cut. However, it would eventually cut these tough or tall grasses.

I also noticed that the blades made slight contact with the bed knife blade. This not only gave it a little bit of a whoosh sound, but it also cuts blades of grass in much the same way a pair of scissors would. Which delivers a great cut to most grasses, as long as they aren’t too tough or tall as I said earlier. However, it also means that you will probably have to sharpen your blades more often than systems that use blades that don’t make contact with one another. And since the wheels are wider than the blades, this mower also doesn’t get close to fence lines or edges.

All things considered, I think this is a good mower. It’s lightweight, well made and environmentally friendly. While it’s not the best reel mower on my list, I think that under the right circumstances it could make someone really happy. Is this the right mower for you? The only thing I can tell you is that is up to you to determine if this mower is best for your particular lawn.