Mantis 120-Volt Electric Tiller with Border Edger 7250-02-02

At $300 plus shipping, and some of the concerns about bouncing, I did go back and forth on the decision, but once I finally pulled the trigger, I couldn't be happier. I am really surprised by the poor reviews on this board. At the GardenWeb forums and epinions the reviews are much better and are from many more people.

Ironically, I actually used it several times out of the box to do edging rather than tilling as it came with a free edging attachment. The edger not only works great around the lawns and walkway, but also around the garden to keep grass from creeping in, and lastly to cut sod into chunks for removal.

When I put the tiller to use, it really showed off its worth. I live in Northern Virginia with lots of touch clay and our share of rocks. Yes, when getting going, the Mantis does bounce on the top of the clay turf. That's a factor of its lightness. Once you get used to how to best work with it, though, you find that it digs in pretty good and away you go. Once through that initial starting point, it digs through the hardest clay I've thrown at it. Make sure that you use the "walk backwards" technique that people suggest - it works.

In getting ready for fall, I've dug a drainage ditch and planted seven shrubs in various areas. Without the Mantis this job would have been tough beyond belief. Clay and small to medium rocks passed through pretty easily. Bigger rocks were loosened up enough to pull out by hand. It shredded many roots after a pass or two, with some of the bigger ones needing to be cut out with shears. It was also terrific for mixing in peat moss and compost with my existing clay soil. The soil was perfect for planting when I was done!

Of course, the Mantis isn't a miracle worker, but I can't imagine any tiller is. Yes, roots and sod do get wrapped up inside the tines, but that doesn't stop you from tilling until it gets really bad. The tines pop off pretty easy to make getting the roots off pretty easy.

Using the Mantis also takes some getting used to. It can be a tiring, and a bit heavy after a long day of using it and your wrists and forearms will get a workout. If you are breaking ground, you will feel the vibration in your arms. Yes, it does bounce initially until you get it worked in. But I can't imagine any of this comparing to what it feels like after a long day with a shovel.

Will the bigger tillers work better? As a homeowner with a quarter acre lot, not necessarily. To break ground for my new garden a friend came over with his bohemeth. He needed a pickup truck to transport it and it was a bear to maneuver and left many tight spots untilled. I could never have used it for the digging I've done for shrubs and drainage tubes. Plus, it stores neatly on the wall of my garage with a couple of $1.00 hooks from Home Depot.

My only complaints: I wish it had an off switch. I was lifting it out of a ditch (incorrectly I must say), and I hit the power and the tiller ran right up my sweats. Cut the heck of of them, but never broke skin thankfully! The long bars have a metal clip on them which has nicked me pretty good a couple of times when I lifted it up to store on the wall until I got used to watching out for them. Also, after one particularly long day of repeatedly breaking new ground on hard clay, a screw popped off. I found it, reattached it pretty quickly and haven't had a problem since. Not sure how to fix that in the long term.

Lastly, I love the electric feature. You do have to watch the cord, but man is that thing quite. I would have no reservations about tilling in the early morning. It simply doesn't make any real noise. My neighbor who has a similar tiller (I don't think it is a Mantis) with a gas motor that makes a racket and smells even worse. I don't think I sacrifice any power with the electric version.

With a no-hassle return policy and lifetime guarantee on the tines, you can't go wrong.

52 of 52 found the following review helpful:

Great tiller, great quality!  Mar 21, 2004
By Kevin "turnerkev"
I've used tillers for nearly 25 years for gardens up to 2500 square feet. The trouble with larger tillers is that they are typically used for the initial ground breaking, and are not worth the trouble to till small areas. Then came Mantis. I owned their gas tiller which works great but has the added inconvenience of engine maintenance, and noise from the two stroke engine. When I saw the Mantis electric come out, I immediately bought it, knowing Mantis makes really good products. I wasn't disappointed with this machine. It is unbelievably quiet, and has ample power to till wet or dry soils. Three speeds is convenient for gentle mixing of compost, or getting in there and making quick work of garden preparation. The tines quickly come off for cleaning. The trick to this tiller is to make a hole in the ground with the tiller by digging, then quickly pulling back on the tiller, causing the dirt to be displaced from the hole. Then, work the tiller forward from the hole, basically "moving" the hole aroud the garden. This method allows me to work the soil to 18" or deeper---much deeper than even the largest Troy Bilt-type tillers. The border edger works quite well and has a second use--- It works great for cutting slots in the ground for metal or plastic edging! The only negative comment for the Mantis is that the ergonomics of the handles are not optimal. I would recommend that Mantis work on this improvement by angling the hand grips back about 10-15 degrees, otherwise the tiller is outstanding and absolutely worth every penny of its price!

38 of 38 found the following review helpful:

Good product, fair price  Apr 13, 2004
By Paul
I read mixed reviews on Amazon. Nonetheless, I ordered the tiller. It is a solid product. I had purchased a two-cycle tiller several years ago from a big box store. It was TERRIBLY loud. I took it back. The Mantis is EXTREMELY quiet. A real pleasure to run in the yard. The Mantis came with simple assembly instructions and a video that made it pretty much fool proof. But the main thing is that it works very well. One of the positive reviewers commented that you have to learn to keep it from bouncing around. Actually, it is easier than all the fuss. I needed the tiller to go into a small bed on a slope. It worked very well. Given its light weight, it is easy to handle. It took almost no time to succeed. My only reason for not giving it five stars is the question of how long it will last. It looks solid, so I feel good about it. My advice, wear gloves and be prepared to remove the tines to clear tangles if you have vines and lots of roots. But removing the tines is simple. GOOD LUCK!

47 of 49 found the following review helpful:

It's not the end all of tillers but read the review,  Jun 18, 2004
By Weldon Grant "purveyor of useless info"
I get bugs, sometimes it's a remodel bug, sometimes it's an exercise but (most often not that one) and sometimes it's a garden bug. That's what I'm on now... so I'm tearing up major portions of the backyard to put in grow boxes for fall grown vegetables and to get ready for next spring. My father has one of these and I thought it would be easier to use this than tilling the old fashioned way... with a stick. Sure enough, it is.

I think some of the negative reviews for this product come from the fact that this is NOT a troybuilt 7 HP workhorse, and it's not a tractor mounted tiller either. Will it turn in sod and dig out big rocks and really stir up some dust? You bet... is it work to do all that? You bet.

This product would excel I think in raised beds where getting a heavy tiller in and out is a pain. Anything without big rocks and that has lots of vegetative matter in it. For turning ground for the first time... I wouldn't use this. I haven't broken any teeth yet but it's a lot of work with the thing trying to run off skipping across the hardpack.

33 of 33 found the following review helpful:

Even OLD LADIES can easily use this great little tiller!  Oct 14, 2005
By Alice G. Amini
I have raised gardening beds and needed a small, lightweight tiller to prepare my soil. I considered a Troybilt, but decided against it when Lowe's told me that they'd had 2 out of the 3 they sold, returned.

Because I'm nearly 65 and have arthritis, I was looking for something easy to use, but doubtful I could find anything. Wrong! ! ! The Mantis is awesome in every way. It does a fantastic job of tilling, tills 10 inches deep (most small tillers only do about 6-8 inches and that really isn't sufficient), it's not heavy, and it's soooooo easy to use. I'm a big fan!

See all 46 customer reviews on Amazon.com