Fiskars 6201 Momentum Push Reel Lawn Mower review
13.5 years ago lawn, product review, push mower, reel mower, Uncategorized
Last weekend my old gas mower finally gave its last breathe of exhaust and so it was time to get a new mower. Provided I have a relatively small yard and a very cramped garage I decided to give a manual push lawn mower or more well known as reel lawn mower. After some research on the reel mowers on the market I finally ended up buying the Fiskars 6201 Momentum Push Reel Lawn Mower.
Though at a retail price of $199.99 you could easily get a gas powered lawn mower for the same price, but you also have to consider the maintenance cost on a gas mower which I estimate I normally paid out $25-30 a year between oil, air filters, spark plugs, and gas (with fuel additives). As a side bonus a push mower also produces no emissions so it is a much more environmentally friendly option.
What finally sold me on the mower were the two features that seemed to be lacking from the cheaper reel mowers. First was the ability to adjust cutting height from 1” to 4” this is important for a couple of reasons. First you should only cut 1/3 of your grasses length or this can stress your grass causing damage to the roots. If you grass is 4 inches tall and you mower has a static height of 2 inches this is not possible. Second I like to keep my grass cut at around 3 inches to help shade out the weeds that may be trying to poke up from below so with the other models this was also not a viable option for me.
The next thing that I liked about this mower is its construction, I am a pretty strong guy and looking at the design of some of the other models I could easily see myself barreling through some thick grass and have to end up bringing the mower back to the store in a couple of pieces. With this bad boy weighing in at just over 50 lbs it has some solid steel construction which should easily be able to withstand my man handling.
Upon opening the box the mower took about 5-10 minutes to assemble which was basically attaching four bolts to put the handle together and attach it to the main part of the mower. After adjusting the height to 3 inches I headed out to try the mower out. My lawn was about 4 inches tall and I was able to easily mow through my yard with minimal effort. Though the clippings were not as small as my gas mulching mower would create they still created a small enough mess that I didn’t think raking was necessary. To put the mower through its paces I moved the level down to 2.5 inches, this time it was a bit more of a workout to get through the grass and they size of the clippings were a bit larger (as expected) compared to when I was mowing at 3 inches but still at a reasonable mess to avoid raking. I also was impressed on how the mower easily cut through the few dandelions that I hadn’t pulled by hand yet without any problems.
Overall I was impressed with the Fiskars 6201 Momentum Push Reel Lawn Mower and did not experience any buyers remorse after my first use on the lawn. Overall the effort to push this around was not much different than a typical push gas mower when mowing 1” of grass, though can provide but of a workout when it exceeds that amount, but it is solid and has no problems barreling through the grass and weeds.
Disclosure: This review was conducted with no association or compensation from Fiskars or representatives.
13.5 years ago
I have one of the older Scotts reel mowers, and it works well enough as long as you don’t let the lawn grow too long… This definitely looks to be better made.
Though now I use a Craftsman electric mower (The 48 Volt model) that I got at Sears at the end of the model life, so it was about the same price as this fiskar. It’s another good option for emissions free mowing.
13.5 years ago
I use electric too. So my question is why a reel and not electric?
13.5 years ago
Aaron, an electric lawn mower was also a great option, personally I chose the reel over the electric since I get frustrated enough maneuvering extension codes around the obstacles in my yard is frustrating enough with a weed whacker and the battery powered lawn mowers were just a little too high in price considering I would have to eventually pay for new batteries down the road.
13.5 years ago
When I read the specs on your new mower it brought back memories. When I first started my lawn mowing business at maybe nine or ten years old I had a push mower. I had six lawns to cut and I eventually moved onto a gas one bought on time through Western Auto with a deal I worked out with the manager there. Good luck and it looks like you are being green.
13.5 years ago
Fiskars has such great products. This one looks pretty awesome.
13.5 years ago
I hear you about the price. I traded some electrical work to get my neuton cordless mower and would have ruled it out for price otherwise. But they’re a great product if anyone is in the market. When I’m mowing as often as I should, one battery gets me through my whole 7800sqft (60×130) lot, but even when I let it get bad it never takes all of the charge on my spare.
13.5 years ago
I am also looking in the market for a reel mower with an adjustable height over 2″ for my clients who have tall fescue and zoysia grass yards. Do you do your own sharpening or hire it out? Great review
13.5 years ago
TLGL, That is a stock photo. Wish my lawn looked that good. As for sharpening, with proper care you shouldn’t have to sharpen the blades…not sure if they assume that sticks never get in your way with that claim 🙂
13.5 years ago
Ps. Your yard looks really green, from the picture it looks like you have a variety of tall fescue, fine fescue or bluegrass which one is it? Also are you fertilizing regularly and if so organic or chem?
13.5 years ago
Beginning to think the gas mower is just a con people have bought into when most people have lawns that could be easily done with a push mower and no gas and tech involved.
These new versions are different then the 50’s versions I’m guessing and more advanced and easy to use.
I just think that people could be using less, but have been suckered into believing they need something more for their small yards. It ju…st drives me crazy that people could be using a product that uses no spark plugs, no gas, no filters, no electricity, doesn’t leave you smelling like a tailpipe, or need an engine, but instead have been brought up never questioning that all this added technology could just be a waste and profiting a system for those that have interest in this machinery and sells these products.
I’m guessing that the gas powered or electric power mower is overdoing it and with today’s push mowers all you need is a push and a mower…nothing more.
Reminds me of the electric car dilemma. With an electric car you don’t need, oil filters, spark plugs, gas, gas additives, fuel injection cleaner, oil…… there is a system that controls the paradigm of what we use and if the general public knew that a push mower would be all they needed for their small suburban yards..many industry and corporate interest would be very upset.
13.4 years ago
Nice rant, Red Baron, considering your name is an icon for a government that gassed millions.
12.6 years ago
This is an awesome mower. I posted a review at http://www.diyspirit.com/2012/04/fiskars-momentum-push-reel-lawn-mower-review-its-not-the-50s-its-the-future/
I highly encourage everyone to do it. You have an acre and a half? It’s more fun than the gym.
8.6 years ago
I only know about reel lawn mower briefly, I am very thankful to read this article, the design is quite simple. Appreciated
Alexander James