One of my favorite subjects. Lawn-Boy first fielded this aluminum deck on the 10795 'Insight' premium mower. Later they used it on the 22271 commercial. Great mower. Even though the Toro doesn't have the commercial engine and steel ball-bearing wheels, function is the same. This deck design is the Lawn-Boy 'Insight' hi-dome deck that was steel in the lower levels of 'Insights' and aluminum on the premium 10795. It's a superior deck for any mode of use, but the best part is there is no spring door over the rear discharge. Instead, it has a magnetic switch that cuts off the ignition if there is no bag or mulch plug installed. This makes it the ultimate mower as far as fast/easy bag dumps or mode changes - the bag frame has a center handle - you just pull the bag straight up through the handle, and install in reverse. You pop the mulch plug in and you're gone. With the plug in you can quickly rig for side discharge, but admittedly I've never used it. I did check out putting it on and it's also just a few seconds' work.
Bagging and mulching are great. The only complaint I have heard about is that it will deposit clippings at the front of the deck when mulching if you stop suddenly. The blade/deck keeps clippings above the blade and deposits them as you go, as any good mulcher does, so I started cutting headers (3-wide) where I do my stops and turnarounds. Approaching the header, I slow down to give it a second to 'digest' the suspended clippings. Then when I stop or turn around, little or no clippings will be visible.

Expect that the Toro Super Recycler and Super Bagger mowers will both bag and mulch exceeptionally well. Both require insertion of an exit chute plug to switch from bagging to mulching. Given that we do not switch bagging and mulching modes frequently during a mowing session I think that it is possible to focus too much on the effort involved in that task.

Whether one is really better than the other at the task of turning long blades of grasss into short ones would be a very tough call to make. In my experience the Super Recycler bags grass until the bag is full and mulches heavy grass with no windrows. I understand the Super Bagger performs at the same level.

My suggestion would be to try the controls of both models at your local Toro dealer.

Many thanks gentlemen!!! You guys have me sold but my only apprehension (now) with this mower is that I've never used a "personal pace" drive system before and as you can guess from numerous past posts, some really like it and others felt they could easily do without this type of self propelled system. Thanks again!!

You'll like it. All you have to remember is, don't try to 'control' it ot turn it off and on (it's impossible) - just push off and walk like there was no drive, and it speeds up and slows down as you do. When you're doing it right, the result is the mower feels 'weightless'.

Yes, I agree. Many of us have trained on mowers that either require pushing or the mower pulls the operator along. This is different - you just walk with hands on the bar and your walking speed controls mower speed.

Personal Pace is a significant improvement of the slipped drive belt system that has been in use for decades.

You guys are pretty good salesmen, many thanks!! So....one other question for you guys is that in my yard I do have a lot of nooks and crannies to cut around (fences, trees,dead ends...) and it generally requires a lot of short back and forth manuvering with my mower. Now I've read that with the PP system it needs to be "disengaged" before you can actually pull the mower back towards you after you do come to a dead end or to a wall or fence??? So my question to you is there any truth to this or is it simply not that big of an issue?? Thanks again, Ken.

'You guys are pretty good salesmen'
The fact is, we know much more about these mowers than any salesman. That's just a fact, no boast intended.

You have it about right. This type of mowing is the one drawback to Personal Pace, and some have more trouble with it than others - me, for example. Your mileage may vary. The procedure is; approaching a stop or pull-back situation, stop walking, keep your arms in the same position which allows the handle to rise and allows the mower to coast forward about a foot. This disengages the wheel clutches and allows easy pull-back. You can see that this is a somewhat imprecise movement - you could stop short of an obstacle or collide with it. The mower can be pulled back without this procedure but it drags. If you're trying to pull back against this drag with the mower downhill from you, it can get aggravating fast. If I lived out in the country, I would have gleefully shot mine until it caught fire, but I just sold it (Lawn-Boy 10550 with 'Easy Stride', same as PP). So, you may ask, why do I recommend PP? Because most people love it. I loved it at first and proclaimed the 10550 to be the 'perfect mower' right here on the forum, but eventually this one thing loomed larger and larger until it just had to go. Personally, I prefer the other Toro drive called 'Variable Speed', which is essentially the same as PP except it has a control bail instead of the sliding handle. As soon as you let go of the bail, it instantly becomes a no-drag push mower.
Another consideration: Toro may have made adjustments to the PP system since 2004 to make the push-pull action smoother and easier. I haven't seen any posts recently about it and I know they're selling millions of them.

Now that I know about your particular mowing situation, I'd have to say a Variable Speed mower might suit you better, which unfortunately does not include the mower in question. The 22271 I have does use Variable Speed. If it had PP I would not have bought it. Maybe a dealer will let you try one before you make up your mind.

I too have a PP from its first production year. Took a few times to get used to it but I do not think I'd go back to a 3 or 5 speed ast this point.

Powered walk-behing mowers are designed to move in one direction. For a powered mower to backup the driveline has to be disengaged before the mower can be rolled backwards. With Personal Pace it's a matter of pulling back on the bar, which is also the direction you want to travel anyway. Once you become familiar with a Toro Personal Pace mower the operation will become second nature. As it is with any complex machine.

roadbike, so you're saying with the newer toro's with PP if I came to a fence or wall and had to back the mower up I would just simply grab hold of the PP handle and pull it back?? I thought you had to let the mower travel forward a little bit without depressing the PP bar so the drive system would become disengaged before you could back it up?? Sorry for the crazy questions your help is much appreciated.

Ken, you can use the metal crossbar below the PP handle to push the mower forward an inch or two if, once you stop walking, the mower doesn't roll forward far enough on its own. (On the Super Bagger, this bar is located where the handle height adjustment is; on the Super Recycler, it's just below the PP handle.) Then, once the mower has rolled forward about one to two inches, pull back on the metal crossbar to back the mower up.

As roadbike said, once you get used to PP, this procedure will become second nature to you---it did for me.

Hope this helps.

tarheelman, many thanks as that does answer my question. I was getting a little spooked about this mower because of that particular PP issue but after reading your post it doesn't seem all that bad. I take it then that for all the small areas (fences, deadends...) that I do have to cut I could just simply use that metal crossbar to push the mower back and forth for cutting without damaging the PP drive system? Thanks for your time, Ken.

Ken, that's correct---the metal crossbar can be used to push the mower back and forth manually in tight spots without damaging the drive system. I also use it to do U-turns at the end of each pass.

One thing to consider: I'm using a Super Recycler, and the metal crossbar is closer to the PP handle on this mower than it is on the Super Bagger. Before you make a purchase decision, you might want to check and see how long a reach it is (and, thus, how comfortable it is) for you to use the Super Bagger's crossbar.

'As it is with any complex machine'

The implication here is that any who have trouble with PP are incapable of operating a 'complex machine', which is ridiculous. In push/pull situations the early ones at least were horrendous. The idea of having to bend over, reach down and operate the mower with the cross bar, while technically possible, is making excuses for the one flaw in an otherwise beautiful mower drive system, still the best out there all things considered. I am happy to recommend it to others even though I would never have another one myself. This is because I know the majority will love it, as evidenced by comments here and the fact that it is Toro's predominant drive system and has been for years.

To all you guys, many thanks for the comments and for your patience with all my crazy questions. tarheelman, you make a good point as I will have to see if that crossbar is indeed to low below the PP handle to make it useful in my situation. saxman, great point also about that flaw with the PP system. All I can do is take a look again at the toro line and see what might work the best for me. I may take a look at the Honda line of mowers also as there drive systems may not have the same issues as the Toro mowers??? We'll see!!

kenz5, I have yet to have to roll the mower forward to disengage the personal pace drive. Last weekend I mulched at hyperspeed (maybe 5mph) and every time the mower rolled backward after I pulled back on the bar. I would encourage you to try various mower models from more than one brand at the dealer. It's the only way to get a sense for whether the coltrols work for you.

Saxman, please reduce your intake of caffeinated beverages and try not to read into such a simple and obvious statement. Lawn mowers of any brand are complex machines that take some time to learn to operate correctly and safely. For those of us who are switching to a new machine with different controls then there is a learning curve. That process applies to any new tool.

I've had my recycler with PP for a couple months now and love it! On mine at least you don't have to do anything special to pull it backwards. Going from mulch to bagging is a 3 second operation that requires pushing a lever about 3 inches. I've only bagged once and found emptying the bag easy. It connets and dis connects with very little effort.

roadbike and canuk, many thanks for the reassuring comments!! Maybe with the newer toro mowers you don't have to worry about disengaging the PP drive system before backing up. Certainly hope that's the case, thanks again, Ken.