Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #8358 in Home Improvement
• Brand: Mantis
• Model: 811104
• Released on: 2008-05-18

Features

• 5-Reel Blade Cylinder: Flame-hardened precision-ground steel blades are sharpened to one hundredth of a millimeter for a precise, clean cut! Adjustabel Cutting height from 1/2" to 1 3/4".
• Non-friction blades offer longer blade life - blades typically only require sharpening once every eight (8) years! Blade Cover: Keeps blade safely guarded away when mowing under shrubs or low-hanging flowers.
• Rear Spoiler Discharge: Reduces flinging or fly away grass cuttings. Ejects grass cuttings to the rear of the mower or directly into grass catcher bag.
• Padded Foldable Handle: Comfortable, form rubber, non-slip grip - bars fold for convenient storage or transporting - easily fits in the trunk of a car.
• Sealed Ball Bearings For longer life and eliminates need for oiling and mechanical maintenance.

From the Manufacturer
Now you can enjoy the smell of fresh air, the pleasant mechanical sound of the blades cutting the grass, and the ease of pushing a lightweight mower around your yard. Even better, mowing with a Mantis Reel Mower is so quiet you can start mowing early in the day... and you won¿t disturb the neighbors. Your lawn will benefit from reel mowing. Unlike rotary mowers which tear the grass blades, reel mowers shear each blade like a pair of scissors. A sheared cut yields a greener and healthier lawn, and is preferred by lawn care professionals. Reel mowers are convenient and economical. You don¿t need gasoline, there¿s no spark plug to change, and the blades seldom require sharpening. The fold-down handle makes it easy to store the Mantis Reel Mower just about anywhere. Perfect for smaller lawns. Today¿s Mantis Reel Mowers are lighter, easier to push and more effective than the old push mowers. Aside from the occasional drop of oil and blade sharpening, there¿s little maintenance required. These blades are made of hardened steel which do not require yearly sharpening. Why buy a more expensive gas mower when you can have a better looking yard, a much more enjoyable mowing experience, and take time to smell the grass.

Customer Reviews

Mantis 15 inch Reel Mower #811104
This item is model 811104. It does NOT come with a battery. It cuts grass using you're own muscle power. Even very small sticks jam the blades..so you must rake before you mow. (PIA)
Item was shipped loose in a plain brown cardboard box without any packing material. It was easy to put together by following the pictures. Written instructions/booklet is lame. If you want a reel mower, save your money and just buy one at your local store. This is nothing special and surely not worth the high $$$.

Guess what, this thing is battery powered!!
haven't even put it together yet, as I am still trying to determine if I want to keep it.

Read the item description. Read the item features. Look at the picture. Does it show a cord? Does it mention a battery?

I thought I was buying a push mower, but this one supposedly runs via a battery. The image shown on the page here is not the image on the instruction manual. What is not shown is the handle to turn on the mower.

It does look like a sturdy item, and it may wind up working well, but for now, there does feel like a little bit of duplicity.

***UPDATE***
The next day.
Put it together today. As the prior reviewer noted the instructions are pretty bad. The list of items included isn't entirely accurate, and the step by step instructions are rather horrible. But once put together it is a sturdy item and works fine.

It is indeed battery operated, or at least capable of being operated with the battery. However, it does work as just a push mower, which is what it looks like it is advertised as. It works quite well on flat surfaces, but any little bump or dip does sort of slow it down. and anything thicker than grass or other cellulose based weeds or stems will jam it up instantly. We have a large pine tree in the yard, and the pieces of the pine cones will stop this thing short. However, other than that, it seems to work like a charm.

Still leaving it at three stars, but it is a fine product and seems to work once you get through the parts that are unclear.

Impressed - A Good Deal
I just received this today, and my initial impression is that this was well worth the price. The 1st pleasant surprise was that it came with a grass-catcher - don't bother buying one. It was easy to assemble, but the instructions rely heavily on images/diagrams (its origins are European, it is a Brill that has been repackaged). Take a moment to look them over, and you shouldn't have a problem putting it together. Unit is light, but not flimsy. Grass-catcher attaches easily (take a longer moment with these instructions - the diagrams could be larger/clearer). Surprisingly easy to adjust the cutting height (which is in metric - Europe again). Easy to push, and it cuts quite well. You could pay $250 for a Brill without the grass-catcher... Only reason that it doesn't get five stars is that I haven't used it enough yet. I will revise after some heavier use.