Scotts Classic reel lawn mower package

I bought this mower after my 2nd gas powered mower broke down and joined the collection of non-working yard equipment in my garage. I love this mower. It’s quiet, it’s clean, and it cuts wonderfully. It will miss weeds and such that have grown up past a couple of inches, but once you pull those up the first time you mow, they aren’t a problem. This mower is worth every penny.

I got this mower over others because a review I saw noted it was made in the USA. Ends up that it is made in China.

This is a good mower, but if you are looking for made in USA, this isn’t it

Otherwise, works fine on flat, more difficult on bumpy areas, sometimes have to go over the same area from a few different directions.

I’m a happy camper!

I’m a new homeowner, and purchased this mower on this site a month ago. My new reel lawn mower came to my house in three days. This mower works wonderfully. It’s quiet enough to mow without bothering neighbors, it even makes neat stripes in the lawn. It’s light weight and easy for me to manuver. They work better when you walk faster. The gas sucking engine lovers in my family are amazed by how well it works, and get such a kick out of it they have all tried it out, even though they shook their heads when I ordered it. I like knowing that by cutting my grass I’m not polluting. My only gripe is that I wish the handle were a bit more sturdy, it seems week at the point where the handle screws together. Buy this mower, you won’t regret it.

I researched Reel Mowers a little on Web. Although marketed by Scott’s, the Classic is mfg’ed by American Lawn Mower. It clearly states on the Scott’s carton - Made in USA. I bought mine at HD and very pleasantly surprised. Pretty EZ to push, manuevers and cuts grass far better than my "fossil burner". Actually, did lawn quicker, taking into consideration "fuel, oil, move truck out of garage, etc". Quite pleased. And, no oily grit or clippings on you, no exhaust smell. So far, so good.

I wanted to so badly to like this Mower. It has an excellent cut quality but a very poor build quality. It is very easy to assemble but, as other reviewers have noted, there is no way that this mower’s handle is built for the long haul. It appears to me that flat washers (supplied by you, the new owner) straddling both sides of the handle prior to e-clip insertion should cut down on the twisting and imprecise feel but I didn’t keep the unit long enough to find out. The unit was much harder to push than anticipated with a much higher noise level than anticipated but I believe that to be due to the contact design. I assume the non-contact (more costly) designs to be superior in this regard but unfortunately, I have yet to find one that offers the same 20" cutting width as the Scotts. The higher push effort seemed specific to the right wheel drive assembly. I disassembled the drive wheel assemblies, verified adequate lubrication and re-assembled them to no avail. I assume the issue to be a mild misalignment in the bearing pocket. Based on the noticeable wobble in a couple of the blade holder disks in the welded reel assembly and a very rough appearance in the left side bearing retainer, imprecise welding and/or assembly is the likely culprit my mower’s disappointing attributes. Great concept. Great price. Great cutting width. Great cut quality. Cheap handle. High push effort. Poor noise quality. After three cuts, it’s back in the box and on its way back. Too bad.

I bought this lawn mower earlier this summer. It is very easy to use and it takes pretty much the same amount of time to cut my yard with this compared to my 6.75HP gas mower.
One con is that the cut is not as neat as a gas mower, but in a day or two you would not see the difference. Highly recommended.

This is the single best purchase I have made this summer. Not only is it easy to use but my lawn looks great. I am saving money by not getting my lawn cut by someone else, getting healthier from the exercise, and not adding to the pollution. All in all great. Highly recommend it.

Like another reviewer, I want to like my Scotts, but can’t. And you may as well write down the part # for the handle (31098-3 www.reelin.com) because you’ll need a couple soon enough. At least they’re cheap, $7.05 - but that’s because they really are cheap. The business end of he mower does well-enough, but the handle is simply a mistake.

OK, the mower in action. I’ve got about 1400 sq. ft. in back – not small; not big and I hate gas-powered mowers blah-blah-blah . . . the usual. I got a "big" Brill first. If I had a golf green, it might be OK, but the low height of cut coupled with the narrow width - you have mow twice a day if you get any rain at all. Nice machine, but honestly, I don’t know what the German’s mow with those things. It certainly isn’t American grass. I gave that up after a couple of years. Got the Scotts.

The Scotts works well enough - I guess - but between the weight and the wheels pushing down the grass, you always end up with a quilt-work look. It does the job, but there’s no pride in it when you get done. It looks coarse and rough, and un-mowed stripes are impossible to avoid, or do anything about, even if you do a 2-pass criss-cross. When I’m done, I don’t stand there admiring my work . . . I just grumble and put it away. Not much in the way of job satisfaction – especially if you have to blame your tools.

By the way, I gave my power mower to my neighbor when I got my first reel mower and occasionally I have to borrow the thing back. As much as I hate to say it, a fast pass with the power mower ends up looking a lot better than being careful and methodical with the Scotts. The wonders of suction pulling up the grass and the wheels being inside the cutting circle.

I don’t think I’m dumping on the Scotts. It cuts the grass and if that’s all I cared about, it would be OK – as long as the handle held out. And it’s probably better than most of the other unpowered alternatives. But I think I’m done with it. Next time, I’ll probably get a cordless electric mower and hope it does a better job. I hope.