I love the idea of the push mower, but is it much more difficult to push without the help of power?
-anna
chateausavoie.com

We've got a reel mower. They're not difficult to push. We've got a flat yard so that helps. If you let the grass get too tall, then it is harder to mow (the blades push it over instead of cutting it) but I can usually get most of it with a couple of passes. A grass whip is a great accessory if you've got a reel mower.

I have the Neuton mower and it's broken 3 times since I bought it 1 1/2 years ago. I am not getting it fixed again...just and FYI

We have a reel mower as well. They are easy to use (much lighter than the ones were in my Grandma's day!). You do need to keep up with the mowing since they don't do super high grass well. But I love that they are not noisy. Makes mowing almost relaxing.

We've had our Neuton mower for 5 years and love it. It is easy to recharge and then mow our small yard.

Woah, just read reviews for the Black and Decker. It's got an actual cord? Nope, nope and nope. Maybe when my gas mower gives out in a few years, an electric may be an option -- but a cord is not. I've got enough electrical cords cluttering up my lawn care routine now with the weed eater, edger, blower and hedge trimmer.

Our reel mower is easy to push - since it doesn't have a motor, it doesn't weigh nearly as much as a push mower. Ditto the others that you have to mow more frequently since they don't cut long grass well.

I have a Neuton and it's worth every penny. If you get one, make sure to charge the battery for 3 days before using. Any less and you're not getting the most out of your battery.

I have a new Earthwise electric mower, after having 2 (used) Black & Decker electrics that lasted about 10 years. The cord has never been a huge bother - I just swap out the mower for the weedwacker, then the blower. My biggest problem is having gas around my house - I don't know why, but it just makes me nervous. Perhaps it's due to my being a former smoker (2.5 years quit now!). I did everything with a butt in my mouth...sad to admit that.

I picked up the Lee Valley Tools mower this year and I friggin love it.
My husband works out of town for 2 weeks at a time and I have 3 sons to take care of, using the reel mower means I can safely mow while they play in the yard without worrying about noise or something flying out and hitting them. It also means that if I can't get to the lawn early enough my neighbours don't hate me for doing it at 9pm. It also means I don't reek of gas or run out.
The lady at LVT told me she's had hers for 10 years and has never had to sharpen the blades yet.

I've never been so excited to mow the lawn before, and it's one chore I've always enjoyed.

oops forgot to say that it's not really any harder to push than our 7 year old self propelled gas mower. It's not as heavy as it doesn't have the weight of the motor and full fuel tank.

We love our Gardenia push mower. As long as we don't let the grass get too long, it isn't difficult to push at all. There is some resistance, but we could all use a little more exercise!

Forgot to add - they're much more friendly on the ears. I can hear gas mowers running ten houses down, but my reel mower barely makes a sound!

Reel mowers are easy to use as long as they're properly sharpened (every spring is the best time to have it done) and lubricated - and they're much safer than power mowers, especially when they're being handled by youngsters/teens.

When I was a kid living on a military base, I had a reel-mower to mow the lawn with...
...and when we moved to CA and my folks bought their own house, Dad bought an electric mower with a long extension cord for me to use - Really wasn't difficult to use at all and no more difficult to keep from running over the electrical cord than vacuuming the house.

I have a reel mower and actually enjoy using it. Kind of like kariwk said - it is almost relaxing to mow the lawn, at least until I pull out the weed eater. I also have a gas mower that sits in my garage and takes up space so in this case it definately is a matter of preference. The reel is no harder to push than the gas mower unless the grass is really long. It is at least as easy as the gas mower if not easier to push I think. It has an adjustable cutting height which my gas mower did not and I don't have to worry about gas, cords or batteries.

we had a neuton mower for awhile...but we have a decent sized yard & we got sick of how incredibly small the deck is. Switched to a bigger gas model & we're much happier not having to spend twice the time mowing. In our Kansas heat, staying out of the 99degree weather is most important

we have had both the earthwise-corded and neuton-battery mower.

the earthwise (thru amazon = amazingly cheap) is very powerful and durable... however, the cord is most unfriendly and -- for me -- it took longer and was more frustrating to pull it all out than it takes to actually mow... but it's powerful and does a great job at bagging.

the neuton seems like a toy by comparison (CE5), but the top handle folds in for easy storage and it's a quick-and-easy job from storage, to mow and back to storage. we got the edger attachment, too, and edging the yard is a simple one-pass operation... however, it does not bag the grass -- it gets clogged immediately at the port. we have to mulch (or rake) the grass which is a bit of a downer... however, the ease outweighs anything else.

both mowers were very quiet, which was quite nice.

We love our reel mower. No smells or noise. Not difficult to use. Does the job.

I wish we had a reel mower, but I can't talk my husband into it, and he's the mower. I guess if I want one, I'll have to be the one to use it...

"Really wasn't difficult to use at all and no more difficult to keep from running over the electrical cord than vacuuming the house."

thing is: you can vacuum with one hand fairly easily (whereas it's hard to mow with one hand -- especially when you have to keep your hand on the safety switch) and there's far less risk should you run over the cord...

We have a reel mower and I would never go back! I can't believe that people use the other noise/air polluting kinds now that I know how wonderful it is! I guess if you had a huge lawn and needed a riding mower it would make sense but otherwise I find the human powered kind much nicer to use and it is better for your grass! And there is NO noise. And they are cheap.

I like my reel mower, but I find it doesn't whack down weeds like dandelions as well as I'd like. If I had it to do over again, I'd get a cordless electric mower.

I honestly don't know why we went to gas mowers... sure, the reel mower I have doesnt get every blade every time, but it sure beats pushing a monstrosity and disturbing the neighbors at 8 am or 10 pm... I've got into the habit of mowing at night and the neighbors cant complain, they might wonder what the whirring noise is though... and its a lot more green... electricity still primarily comes from coal plants in the US...