Craftsmans brochure, see page 8-9

Here is a link that might be useful: Craftsmans brochure, see page 8-9

Perry,

I considered the Craftsman Pro because it had a reverse gear (and more horsepower). It would be very tiring to pull this size of mower backwards very much without some sort of power assist. However, I ended up getting the Ariens/Gravely Wide Area Walk (WAW) 34, primarily because of its ease in shifting from forward to reverse and back, and its ease of controlling the forward and reverse speeds. It has a very slick fingertip control system that doesn't require you to look down to shift a gear. I had my doubts about this system, because instead of gears it uses slipping forward and reverse V-belts for both clutching action and variable speed control, but they seem to work quite well. It also has a differential drive axle that lets you literally turn the thing on a dime, with a true zero turn radius.

It is available at some Home Depots, but I bought mine through a local Ariens/Gravely dealer to get the advantages of dealer setup, free delivery, and good dealer support. My dealer spent nearly an hour showing me how to use the thing. I got the optional mulcher kit, which comes with its own special mulching blades, and the optional grass catcher, which is incredibly easy to remove and dump and put back on the mower. It is a good thing that it is easy, because it fills up very quickly.

I have about 2 acres of difficult grass area complicated by several trees, and this thing has lived up to my expectations of being able to zip into and out of tight places. I mowed down a patch of head-high Johnson Grass with it, by mowing repeatedly forward and backward over it. The 13.5hp B&S engine is quite capable. It is a bit noisy, but not so much that I need ear protectors. This thing is expensive, but I have no regrets about the purchase.

ZM
(not associated with any product or vendor mentioned)