I think that any differences in mulching or bagging performance will be so minor as to be unnoticable unless you really look for them. If you are mulching 80% of the time then get the mower that is marketed as a mulcher...the Toro. Trust me the SR machines bag superbly. And I think you will find the Snapper will do a comparable job as well. It sounds like you favor the Snapper. Just get one and start mowing with the standard blade. Hold off on improving the blade until you find there is a problem with mower performance on your lawn.

I have a 22271 and it has been great. I would have to get the 22270 if I had that same choice. This deck bags so well that when Toro uses it on a residential mower they call it the 'Super Bagger'. Part of the great bagging is the rear discharge set-up that has a huge, short chute blowing directly into the bag off the blade ends. The bag is big, too, and the system is the easiest there is to dump the bag or change back to mulching. With the mulch plug in, you can open the side discharge port, hang the chute on it and be side-discharging in 10 seconds. Then you have the real goodies; thick cast deck, Honda commercial OHV 190cc engine and steel modular wheels with replaceable tires and sealed bearings. Toro now badges this mower as a Toro commercial, so there's no concern over parts availability. For that matter, the only real reason to grab the 22270 instead of the Toro might be the price, because the Toro lists higher than the LB did and the LB should be on special right now because its a close-out. I don't think there can be any comparison between this commercial mower and the homeowner Snapper. How good do you need bagging to be? No mower is perfect and they all will miss a leaf or two here and there, but I've never known mine to leave any grass clippings visible when bagging.

Andy, i have ised Snapper self propelled mowers, both professionally and on my own lawn, for over 30 years. I would not use anything else. I have used Toro before, however there seem to be too many working parts to mess up on the Toro mowers. A Honda engine is really good also. Snapper is currently owned by bridge and Stratton. unfortunately, snapper has also licensed MTD to manufacture mowers, using the snapper name, to be sold by big box stores such as Home Depot and Walmart. Both places sell snapper walk behind self-propelled mowers for anywhere from $300-$800. although manufactured by MTD, these big box Machines are built by the same plan as any snapper. Unfortunately however, many times the MTD mowers do not hold up or cut as efficiently as the snapper that you buy from a dealer.; and the prices from a big box store or a dealer are virtually the same, the only difference being that your dealer will not usually sell a more in the $300 range as well a big box store. So, that may be where your problem starts. snapper is known for its quality of cut, and they have never let me down. I am currently doing professional lawn work with a residential grade self-propelled walk behind mower, and it does a great job and has held up really well for two seasons. that said, there is one thing you might try. Snapper makes a set of small lift blades, about an inch and a half long, that bolt on to their regular mower blades. They actually look like little fins on the end of your mower blade. Generally, they run about $20-$30 a set. I have been using the same set for two years. That little thin on the blade creates extra lift on the grass. When you're cutting grass with really thin blades, these lifts work wonders. They literally suck the grass up so that the blade can cut. You can only purchase these little blades from a snapper dealer. That would be my next step. Past that, if you purchased your mower at either Walmart or Home Depot, you can take it back. If you paid $700 for that machine, you can get your money back and visit a dealer where you can, for the same price, purchase a mower that is actually manufactured by snapper. They do a much better job. 30 years ago, when I first started mowing lawns professionally, you never saw a bad review of snapper machine. Since the licensing agreement with MTD however, bad reviews have become quite common. Generally when you see a bad review of a snapper mower, including the rear engine rider, the more being complained about was actually manufactured by MTD and not by snapper. If you consult a dealer, they will tell you that very thing. That said, even the best companies can manufacture Elimon every once in a while. If you purchased your lawn more from a dealer they will make good on that purchase. They are required to do so by snapper, or find their dealership in jeopardy It might be worth consulting a dealer to have him check out what maybe going on with the mower. Often whatever the problem is they have seen it 1 million times and will recognize it the minute you tell them about it. Good luck. I hope this experience has not colored your view of Snapper machines too badly.

If you are worried about scalping, the Snapper RER's may not be for you. The way the frame pivots they are better for really flat properties. Also the front wheels push pretty bad on anything but the slowest turns, so the turning radius you will see is much larger than stated in literature. Also the small wheels will bounce you around if you have many bumps. The Hi-Vac is only available in 28" and 33". I am guessing most of the side-discharge models sold are the 42" model (they want the extra width).