Scotts 2000-20 Classic Push Reel Lawnmower

Mowing season is upon us, and for anyone with a small enough yard, there’s no need to break out some noisy, polluting, cantankerous powered mower every time you want to trim the grass. Instead, enjoy a little peace and quiet in the sunshine — not to mention burn a few calories — with a reel mower like the Scotts 2000-20.

It’s totally human-powered so there’s no need to worry about expensive gas fillups, oil changes, weird smells, or any of the other pitfalls of owning a motored mower. It also cuts grass in a 20-inch-wide swath, which means you’ll finish the job that much sooner over its 14- to 18-inch competitors. And, as Wirecutter notes in their review, the Scotts 2000-20 offers a high-quality cut:

When our lawn experts were going back and forth with the mowers on a variety of grasses and lengths, they noticed that the Scotts model would leave a swath of totally trimmed grass with each blade snipped evenly across, no ragged edges to be seen. In contrast, the other mowers would leave a bunch of blades sticking up like chimneys after a house fire, requiring the testers to back up and go over the area again. The Scotts mower also never jammed up during testing, whereas all of the other mowers did.

The only real maintenance you have to do is oil the blades at least once or twice a month (although before and after each use is ideal) and sharpen them a few times a year. You get a lot of utility in return for such little input, which is exactly the sort of thing that appeals to me.

Get this awesome reel mower for $131 on Amazon.