GreenerGreenGrass Organic Lawn Care Blog

I prefer to use a reel lawn mower for a number of reasons: they produce no emissions, they provide a better cut for the lawn, and they are much quieter than gas mowers.  However, they can be a real pain in the neck….

If you wait too long to cut the grass, reel mower blades can jam pretty easily.  If you have a fence, you have to do the edging with a different tool because the tires get in the way.  If you don’t feel like getting a workout, the lawn might not get mowed in a timely manner – those suckers are hard to push!

The Fiskars Momentum reel mower has some innovative features that help mitigate the negative aspects of traditional manual reel mowers.  (All of these technologies are patent pending and the names are trademarked.)

• InertiaDrive Technology – This is the coolest manual reel mower invention I have seen.  They have made the mowers easier to push by storing energy and giving an extra burst when you need it, similar to a flywheel.  This helps reduce those times when you’re trucking along with your reel mower and suddenly you come to a dead stop because there is a thicker stand of grass (or weeds).
• StaySharp Cutting System – Unlike other reel mowers, the blades don’t touch each other, so they stay sharper longer and have a longer life.  They also come with a 4-year warranty, which is pretty remarkable.
• VersaCut Design -  The cutting reel is positioned forward of the wheel base.  This allows you to set cutting lengths between one and four inches, which is a larger range than any other reel mower.   It also solves the problem of not being able to cut under the wheels, so you can get closer to edges.

Fiskars has also paid a lot of attention to the ergonomic design of the Momentum reel mower.  The padded handle (finally! a reel mower that won’t give you blisters from the hard plastic grip) is height adjustable so every member of the family can comfortably mow the lawn.  The cutting height is easy to adjust with a simple one-touch solution, and the clippings are thrown forward, so you don’t cover your shins and shoes in grass clippings.  This feature also helps to further mulch the clippings, which provide nutrients to your lawn if you don’t rake them.

You can buy them online at Ecomowers and they’re currently offering an end of summer discount.