You cannot do with a mantis what you can do with a troybuilt...the mantis is basically for cleaning out already prepard soil...but I don't even like them for that because they just are not big enough to do anything heavy duty...There are people who say I love my mantis but mine...I gave it away ...

Hi Cap,
I have to differ with Ruthie. I've had a Mantis now for over 10 years and love it. I have lots of different uses for it too. It's fantastic for working up my 3'X 12'X 17" raised beds, I use it to turn and aerate (sp?) my compost pile, back when I row gardened, Iit was super for cultivating the rows and around plants and I use it to score the surface of my lawn prior to over seeding.
A coworker once told me that her 80 year old mother still worked up her garden by hand, but it was getting hard for her to do so. I volunteered to till it up with my Mantis for her. Much to my dismay, when I got there I found hard baked clay. Well, I needn;t have worried. The Mantis chewed right through and pulverized the clay. I went back home, got a couple bushels of compost,some fertilizer, and stopped at a Home Depot and bought a couple bags of coarse sand. After tilling it all in with the Mantis, I was later that season told that it was the best garden that she'd ever had.

John

Last year I bought a Honda, which is just a little larger than the Mantis but about the same class. The advantage I went for was the four-cycle vs. two cycle. The Mantis is 2-cycle and I didn't want to have to worry about having the mix ready. The Honda seems to start easier than any pull starting machine I have ever owned. It seems to do some rather tough jobs of working through hard pan and etc. But it doesn't compare to a larger, larger engined, machine. But it fits into small rows and spaces and is so light to carry. Has a handle on top. I have had nothing but happy results with my Honda FG 110 Mini. Got it on Ebay

Been using Mantis for over a decade and love it. I created gardens of 18' x 18', 11x 10, and 20'x 5' using the Mantis. I've never used anything else so nothing to compare with. I till all the above gardens mentioned every spring and sometimes fall. If your looking for creating gardens much larger than mine then I would probably recommend a more powerful tiller, else this baby is a workhorse for its size.

They are fun to watch, bouncing around over the ground. But I have no use for them as cultivators. First, you cannot apply any down pressure ; second, you have little control over where they bounce. If you want better control, get a tiller attachment on a weedeater.

When I got my mantis I had a garden of 5 raised beds 4 ft by 50 ft and an area 35 ft by 20 ft for corn and peas and that tiny little workhorse did a beautiful job for me. because of age and health I had to move closer to my Dr. but I still use my little tiller for both veg. and flower gardens and after 9 years it is like new. I love that little machine.

I, too, love my Mantis. I've been using it for 12 years or so, and it does all sorts of jobs that I wouldn't want to drag out my big BCS 14 hp tiller for. (I love the BCS for my big garden by the way). I just tilled up a 5X30 foot area that is rocky and sandy with the Mantis, and it did a great job. I really like it, and wouldn't be without it especially for smaller beds. Jim

I find the mantis to be an excellent tool to dig holes with. I simply let it chew thru the turf in one spot, and when it gets deep enough, shovel out the loose stuff and re-"mantis" it deeper. Great tool for planting trees. Be aware, though, that if you leave gas/oil in it over winter, it will not start. The carbuerator is VERY sensitive.

Here is my 2 cents on the mantis tiller, I have had mine for about 10 years. The 1st 5 years I took care of a 60 by 80 foot garden and was well pleased with it, now I live in town and my garden is a lot smaller but I still love the job it does in both the vegy, garden and in the flowers.

Great tool, but rent a big boy for turning in your cover crops.

I have a cheaper Murray brand mini tiller I picked up at Menards a few yrs ago. I also have a Garden Tractor mounted one for the bigger spring tilling jobs. What works good for me is to walk backwards with it tilling instead of forward when I can. It digs in better (kind of like putting downpressure on the tines), works smoother in tougher ground, plus no foot tracks after I'm done. Mantis does have a better design on their tines compared to mine. Just my .02.