Used Briggs and Stratton mowers my whole life. I spent the extra money on one of these and was glad I did. I thought I was the only one excited about it lol.
My law guy moved on me without letting me know and my grass was getting tall enough to stand out from my neighbors well kept yards so instead of finding a new lawn guy I decided to buy this mower. I was going to just pickup a Walmart $160 mower just to get the job done but with 1.3 acres of grass I knew a cheap mower would make the job harder than it had to be so I decided to go for this Honda. I borrowed my buddies 5 year old Honda and it worked well but did have bald tires. This new Honda is super fast at full speed and the tires have really good grip to pull itself up hills. The only effort is pulling it backwards. Mows and mulches grass great, looks really clean and finely chopped. I just bagged a half acre today and it works great at sucking up the old grass clippings. The bag fills up quickly if your cutting taller grass. It runs like a top and starts on a half a full most of the time. Its really good looking too. Super happy with it, yard looks 👌
I bought one of these a few weeks ago. The reason I did is because my old honda is still running great after 17 years, but I wanted a new one. They are amazing machines.
LOL. my wife said i can buy a new mower when my 12 year old honda dies . But it just won't die . i've tried everything . i run it low on oil . i leave it out in sub zero temps in the winter . i don't clean it etc . but to no avail . 😂
I was on the fence with a Honda powered craftsman at Lowe’s and this one for for $50 more. Based on this great review I’m buying this tomorrow. Honestly one of the best reviews I’ve ever seen, great attention to detail.
I know, because we want (or at least... I want) to spend the least amount of minutes possible over the course of the mowing season walking back and forth in my yard.
@@adamprice3078 yes indeed we want to do it right the first time. I love my honda twin blade. I was able to cut my 3ft tall grass in the rain thick no issue. I ended buying this cause I've had a honda car 😂
UPDATE: I purchased this model a couple days ago and have used it twice so far. Approximately 6" tall grass (in a field) the first day, and slightly wet grass on a hill the second day. Excellent performance both days. It mulches clippings into very fine pieces, and they practically disappear into the lawn. I was worried it would bog down in the absence of a side-discharge chute, but nope. Never once even a hint of straining or clogging. After mowing, I went to clean out under the deck with an air hose and both days there was nothing to blow out. A beautiful, neat lawn instead of rows of fresh cut field hay across my lawn. Beautifully engineered and built, and worth every penny.
@@adamprice3078 cheap mowers are made cheap junk plus hard get parts wich why im going with 2 new hondas there 1,000 range wich im paying more for 2 but at least good quality no more paying 100 to 500cheap box store junk between hondas and kubota wgc there reliable
My neighbor bought this new last week and for some reason she hated it, and gave it to me. I absolutely love this mower! Thanks great video full of info.
Ty for the review. I just bought one today I paid the extra 80 bucks at lowes military discount 467. But mine has the blade stop which is great and throttle control. What a nice mower. I just googled best self propelled mower 2021. This was #1 so I bought it. After trying it out I liked it so much I started watching videos. Looks like I made an excellent choice. Thanks for your straight up down to earth review
Great review, bought one today w/a 10% off mailer at Home Depot. Just unboxing and getting familiar w/ the mower you can clearly see the quality and attention to detail that is otherwise lacking w/ machines at his price point. Can't wait to put this bad boy to use!
I agree with everything you said. Especially when using the bag. Since it cuts the clippings so fine it doesn't allow the bag to fill as fast. Not sure which model I have but it is an excellent machine. Starts when you need it too. No issues! Get one you won't regret it.
Thank you so much for the reassurance. I purchased this exact model, for the $ mentioned. I did some research and honed in on this one for my needs. Previous mower was handed down from previous home owner and have had for 10 yrs. It's craftsman w Honda motor, but the craftsman portion isn't keeping up w the Honda...I believe Honda/Honda with make up for that and serve me for many years to come. Thanks again for the in depth review. CHEERS South TX.
I actually just had my father in law pick one up while he was by home depot. I get it this Saturday. I never thought I would be excited by a mower, but I cant wait to get it and use it.
Good review..Just got one of these from H-D. What a huge improvement over my old toro. The toro propel system never worked good and stopped working all together. I pushed the darn thing to the street for the scrapper and went got this Honda.
The Honda drive system will work good for a while but will eventually fail, usually due to the gears in the wheels wearing out or the belt getting jammed and damaged. I got almost two seasons out of my HRN 216 before the latter happened. Good luck!
What a great review! So many details other people have left out. I tried an Ego electric mower but it was too lightweight and bounced around my uneven lawn. I'm going to get this one instead, thanks.
Great video! Almost bought a craftsman for $299 with similar engine because I didn’t want to spend an extra $110. Watching your video was the added motivation I needed to drop $409. NO REGRETS!
Exactly. Dropping 409 on a lawn mower wasnt my preference either. But tell ya what, its handled this rainy season in chicago like a champ. The more i use it the less i hate mowing the grass. It just dont quit.
This is a great no nonsense review. Ask Honda for your commission cause I’m going to Lowe’s right now to get one. I have an 80 volt cordless electric mower that I thought I would love. It goes thru three batteries to cut approx. 3/4 an acre. It won’t cut the entire deck width of 21” for some reason without leaving an uncut strip with every pass. So I end up using only about 3/4 of the deck width calculating each pass to make sure I overlap the previous pass just right. Screw that! I’m going to get the Honda now. Thanks.
Thanks for the great review. I just went to my local Honda dealer and he recommended this mower but said there is a major supply problem coming from Honda this year. They were not able to get any more. I found a couple at Lowes and plan to pick it up before there is no more supply. They are out at my local HD too.
I bought this mower to replace my 33 year old Honda. That was an awesome machine. Hope this one is, too, although corners have been cut. Thanks for the review.
Great review thanks...just wish you would of demonstrated the self propel operation. I've always had a push mower! Been mowing lawns since I was 8 years old...65 years now, I'm 73‼️😂🇺🇸🦅😎
Just pick one of these up on clearance at Lowe's or $204! Excited to try it out only wish I didn't have to stop at every time I wanted to empty the bagger pick up a stick. :-)
Thanks for the review and overview. Think I'll go pick up one tomorrow 😁 Although I must say.. that same Briggs engine you had so much trouble with , lasted us from 2005 until 2021. It's gonna be sad to see it go 😕
Just got one yesterday and mowed. What a great machine! Beats the hell out of the Husqvarna that's headed to the scrap pile tomorrow. As you say, it's just a better engineered machine, and it shows in both form and function.
I was thinkin about the 217 but $200 more and i have a small 5000 sqft yard too much to justify. Glad i didnt go with it because as it turns out the gcv170 engine has more than enough power for what I need it for
I got the hrx217vka recently. I was going back and forth between this one and the 217. Aside from the larger engine, the 217 has larger wheels, variable bag/mulch setting, larger bag, ball bearing in the wheels (vs just bushings in the 216 model). There may be some other small differences. Overall the difference amounts to about $200 between the two after tax/discounts. Is it worth it? Maybe, maybe not. I chose the 217 because I wanted the larger engine. Last mower was a toro from 1985 that still runs but doesn't sound right and cut quality is poor. That mower has been used on and off over the last 35 years. If tecumseh was still around I'd go with a product that uses their engine. Our early 2000's snow blower has the tecumseh engine and still runs great today. Will I get 35 years out of this one? Unlikely, but if cut quality is consistent and it runs well over the next 10-15 years i'll be a satisfied customer :) Note, make sure to follow the maintenance. It's relatively simple on this machine. For the midwesterners, it wouldn't hurt to put some oil in the cylinder during winter storage.
I bought a Ryobi electric mower thought it was a good idea got it home, used it once and was not impressed AT ALL. I returned it and got the Honda and I have never been so impressed my a machine in my life! Best choice I have ever made. This mower is built to last
I am not surprised. Electric may be the future, but unless you have a really small lot, I cannot see how a cordless mower is effective. They need to be able to get a lot more power out of batteries before they are a practical solution for an average yard.
Adam Price right and my back yard is huge there is no way that 40v battery would be able to handle the size of my yard on a single charge which is why I returned it. Electric is good for things like a hedge trimmer or weed wacker but not a lawn mower. The thing is electric hasn’t been proven yet whereas has motors have. My neighbor has a Honda mower he bought in 1994 and it still works today. There was just something about that HRN mower that caught my eye and I wish I had went with it the first time but oh well I have it now and it’s great! Just hope the grass turns more green so I can enjoy mowing more. Most of my lawn is yellow due to the lack of rain and 2 week heatwave
A part of me wants to save $70 on a Toro. But a bigger part of me these days believes you “get what you pay for” and I agree. Honda just takes the time to make reliable machines.
Ive had a Troy bilt mower with the Honda engine for 12 years... zero issues and still starts on the first pull and I’m actually using it for a weekend lawn care business lol
I tried a Toro Super Recycler with Briggs engine and had to exchange it. I just didn't like the personal pace and how it locked up backing up. I went with this mower and am 100÷ satisfied. Runs great, relatively light and cuts like a boss.
I bought a slightly used Honda and used it for 25 years with ZERO issues. I never had ANY problems with any part of it. I then sold it for $25 less than what I paid for it! $1 per year depreciation. I then bought a new Honda (of course). It ALLWAYS starts 1st pull. Why would a person want anything less.
My Briggs and Stratton 3.5 CLASSIC is now almost 40 years old and STILL RUNNING. Those simple no thrill engine needs very little to no maintenance. The rest of the $ saved were toward paying off my mortgage.
Just got mine yesterday after months of researching to find a mower of quality that bags and mulches and can cut up to four inches high. I was also trying to hold out for an electric start, but wound up dismissing that feature. I got this HRN216 home, set it up, put in gas and oil then gave pull on the rope and was pleasantly surprised how effortlessly it started. I'm sure this mower will serve my needs for years to come.
Other mowers have dual blades like that. Good video though. I own this mower and love it. Only used it a couple times ready to mow with it again but have to wait for it to grow lol. I installed an hour meter.
Just bought this and can’t wait to use it. But let’s talk about inflation, this guy is $550, $600 after taxes at present (unless you find yourself a 10% Lowes coupon code). $150-200 increase in price in just 2 years, crazy.
I just bought the hrn216vla. I love it! The only thing is that I have a hard time keeping the bagger on. One bump and it falls off. The electric start is great
May want to double check and make sure the little bars on the bagger are seated correctly? I havent had an issue yet even with my 7 year old boy running the mower around.
My only question is how's the walk behind speed? I have a half acre that takes me a while to mow. I'm considering a rider but open to a walk behind if it can cut off some time. I believe current mow time is about 1:45 minutes.
I have all briggs engins anywear from 3 to 14 years old lol no issues I cut at least 25 grasses a week no issues.i never had a honda.i might get one to try but not for commercial use just for my yard lol
@Adam Price I'd like to see if you could fire that briggs just to see the issue your saying its hard to stay running. If you could maybe use it a little vs the Honda if you do another video.
Gettting this Honda tomorrow. For the last 11 years I had a Craftsman lawnmower with Briggs & Stratton motor. This s season I tried to start it up but it wouldn't, replaced needle and seat but still doesnt' work. New carb costs $61 so giving up on it for the meantime.
8:55 I think, but not sure, the second blade is for vacuum, it lifts debris and the grass blades up so the cut is cleaner. I have this mower and I've noticed how much extra vacuum the blade creates, like a fan, versus every other mower I've had including a much older Honda.
Lmao when u shifted the camera over from the honda to the brute I gasped lol not a close comparison at all. Picking up my HRN soon, I've had my current briggs and Stratton for 7 years and finally died on me.
I bought this mower. After one use it started to surge after I started it. Exchanged it, been using it for about two months now for my own lawn, so it is being used 1-2x a week, and it started surging again. I even use fuel stabilizer. Honda makes excellent cars, but their lawn mowers are sub par. I never had an issue with a craftsman lawn mower I had prior to this.
