Both of these mowers will serve you well, expecially considering the small size of your lot. Should only be about a 30 minute job each mowing. Since you are at Sears, I would also recommend another mower, at a slightly cheaper price, a Craftsman brand that has a Honda GCV 160 engine. It is presently on sale for $289.95, and appears to be identical to my Craftsman-Honda purchased in 2000.

I have an hour meter on this mower, and it is up to 490+ hours right now, and the engine still does a one year, 60+ hour oil change interval without using a drop of oil. It is on its' second set of wheels.

I have a .5 acre lot, which I am already having to cut twice a week this year, and I use the mower year 'round, cleaning up leaves and yard debris through the fall and winter.

If I were in the market for a new mower, it would be a hard choice as Sears has so many on sale in the $300 price range, including rear wheel drive models that many on this board find more desirable. For myself, I would choose between the Husky with the Kohler or the Craftsman with the Honda.

I have been considering the very same choices and for what it's worth, reviewers on Sears.com report what I would consider to be a significant number of problems with the Huskies, so I have ruled those mowers out. On the other hand, reviews of the Snapper at Sears are fairly consistent.

With any Craftsman, quality seems to be hit or miss. There seems to be lots of variability of quality for each model with some people liking them and others not. Be aware that sometimes Sears.com may not show that there are any reviews for a mower, but they may really be there and if you click on the reviews link they will appear.

By the way, I've included the Toro recyclers in my deliberations, an option you don't have since you're limited by the Sears card.

You may want to consider buying a used mower. I bought a 2006 Huskie 6.75 Briggs, rear bagger, multiple speed rear drive, composite deck for $150. Have mowed wet grass with it twice and it has performed well. Some dealers allow trade ins and sometimes you can find a deal. One benefit is that you can operate the mower before purchasing it.

I just bought a used Snapper commercial mower for less than $300 with an aluminum deck that will outlast any of the ones you are mentioning. Look for a good used mower and most of the new front wheel drives have plastic gears that will strip out in no time. Beware most new mowers are designed to be replaced in short order. That is why they make them cheap in order to be replaced again in a few years.

I just used the Snapper 37121 to cut a 1/3 acre. Its an extremely well built machine. As an insider, Sears is lucky to get the Snapper specifications at that price.

Also the 37121 does NOT have an issue with the mower blowing grass through the back while using the mulch feature. That was one compliant I saw with this mower, but it has been addressed.

Also the Snapper with the briggs engine has many more American made components than the Husky with Kohler engine. Don't waste your time overpaying for a Honda. If its the same price as a briggs or kohler, you know the mower (not the engine) is sacrificing quality.

So in the end, Kohler vs. Briggs, both quality engine mfg. that perform as well as Honda but are less expensive.

I would definitely take the Snapper mower specifications over the Husky.

And Again, Snapper, Briggs and Kohler are American companies. Husqvarna and Honda corporate are overseas.

Honda GCV 160 engines are NOT more expensive than B&S engines. At least, they are not more expensive at these various small engine replacement companies. They can be had for, in some cases, less than B & S 6.0 to 6.75 vertical models. I would suspect that mower manufacturers pay about the same for them, too. That Honda/Craftsman I mentioned above is cheaper than the Briggs/Kohler engined machines.

The workers making the Honda engines are in North Carolina. Corporate may be in Japan, but the important money, that going to actual workers, goes to North Carolina. Last I heard, Briggs had closed some U.S. plants and was sourcing some of their engines in Japan or China.

The key is assembled in NC.

I worked for a engine and equipment manufacturer and the cost of the Honda is more expensive (base engines - apples to apples). We used Briggs, Kohler and Honda as an OEM. We cut expense out of the mower to make up for the engine cost if a particular price point had to be met. We only supply Honda because the marketplace demands them. I can't bad mouth as they are of equal quality when you compare apples to apples vs. Briggs and Kohler. The only heads up I can give Honda is some models tend to be quieter than Briggs and Honda...that might be an advantage when it comes to Generators.

Yes Briggs closed a couple US plants, but still has I believe 6 plants throughout the US manufacturing OEM and Engine products.

The China plants are predominately suppliying product in Asia, they aren't importing them back to the US.

Yes, the Honda's are built right here in Swepsonville- Alamance County NC near my home, but i stll mow with a John Deere JX-75 lol

Snapper and B & S have been in buisness longer than Husky. Kohler are more of a commercial engine. It is kinda like using a back-hoe to till your flower garden.. I'd go with the snapper. I'm thinking about a remote control lawn mower myself.

Here is a link that might be useful: RemoteMower.com