SHOP PRODUCTS
Houzz Logo Print
ann13820

steep hill, bumps & holes, 50-year old woman

ann13820
16 years ago

I have a real challenge for you!

You're going to say: "hire a service," but let's put that one aside for a minute. We're pretty rural and I can't get anyone reliable. Plus, we're pretty broke. Also, forget the "get the man to do it" part! He's allergic to grass.

For starters, I think I've read every post in here about mowing on steep hills.

This is not a tradional "lawn." There is a 30 degree slope with ruts and places where you can't turn around (let mower go down slope, pull it backwards up the hill over some deep ruts). Plus, we're not Chem-Lawn types and I end up mowing a lot of dandelions. On top of that, with me working two jobs, it ends up getting too long.

I'm not THAT weak, but I AM a 50-year old woman. My 10-year old Murray that just bit the dust was a bit of a struggle, but it was light and highly maneuverable. I could take it part-way down the side of a ditch and pull it back up. It took a LOT of abuse.

I bought a Troy-built something at Lowes last week but it literally made me cry because I couldn't pull it backwards up the hill. It was almost 100 lbs! By the way, there IS a reason for high wheels. The behemoth I got from Lowes had 8" wheels and got stuck in my ruts. I was VERY grateful for Lowes' return policy. They just gave my money back with no hassle.

This yard isn't that big (LIGHT!

Extremely maneuverable

Easy to start (my shoulder can't take the pulling anymore)

Did I say LIGHT (preferably much Go figure - I'm also worried about the environment and I'd prefer electric or cordless, but I don't know if any of them have enough umphh for these conditions.

The Black & Decker 19" MM100 is too heavy at 78 pounds. The Bully gets horrible reviews.

I've been thinking a Flymo might make sense, but I can't seem to find anything but the gas-powered one in the US.

Plus, I don't understand how the "hover" part works. It seems like it would be hard to hold up and more tiring than a push mower. Would I be able to go a third of an acre with this?

I've spent literally hours on the internet now looking for a solution. I know I have a lot of variables. Thanks for thinking about it.

Comments (8)