Lawn Mower Review - ExMark Walk Behind vs Toro Grandstand

ExMark Walk Behind vs Grandstand?

All right, a walk behind or a Grandstand, which mower is right for you? We have three simple criteria today. Number one: versatility; one lawn mower, can you do everything you need it to do on your accounts? Number two: operator comfort; at the end of the day are you ready to go again or do you just feel like you've been in a boxing match? Criteria number three is growth; eventually, as an owner or operator you‘re going to move out of that stage and you are going to hire someone to run your lawn mower. Which mower are you more comfortable putting a potentially inexperienced operator behind? Let's get started. Let's talk about versatility, I have found that the walk behind mower can do just about everything that a Grandstand can do, but it conquers the slope. They absolutely master the slope in comparison to a Grandstand. Now, what you're going to see in this clip is I'm going to be mowing about a twelve to maybe fifteen percent slope. I can do it on the Grandstand, I'm not very comfortable doing it on the Grandstand. With the walk behind it's easy, it's efficient and I can just maneuver without any issues whatsoever. In operator comfort, the Grandstand wins hands down.

Grandstand like a Go-Cart

At the end of the day when you're done running the Grandstand, it feels like you’ve been driving a Go-Cart all day long. You’re ready to go, you had fun. Doesn’t even feel like you were working, really, the walk behind though, after just a few hours of running a walk behind without a sulky it starts to wear you down, you can feel it on your shoulders, you can feel it in your arms, you feel it in your legs. A sulky helps to even out the tables but still, a sulky does not compare to a pure Grandstand. Durability is the name of the game of sulkies. We use a taper roller bearing in our three piece wheel assembly. You also have a quick release with a P.T.O. shaft type bearing here that allows you to take the sulky off in seconds. I also want to point out our unique suspension feature that allows the operator to stay comfortable all day long and not bounce around too much. Our newest version of the sulky also pivots three hundred sixty degrees underneath so that you can back up easily.

Sulky Not as Efficient

Stan: A sulky, especially when you're trying to back up, is not as efficient as the Grandstand. In some cases with the new Sulky model by Cage, which allows for three hundred sixty degree rotation so that the Sulky can slide under the machine and back out. That improves efficiency but on the older models where it doesn't allow it to slide underneath the machine, it'll actually jackknifing and can get stuck. That's where Grandstand, boom, just slick, I mean it is fast, fast as can be. That speed leads to greater efficiency, leads to greater production, which leads to you getting more lawns done in a day. You're more comfortable all day long, it’s faster, it’s more efficient, the Grandstand in my opinion takes the cake in this category. The last one is growth, let's talk about it. You as an owner operator stepping out of the owner operator shoes and bringing someone in to take over your lawn mowing accounts, allowing you to make even more money. There is a bigger steeper learning curve to a walk behind than there is to a Grandstand. My ten year old son is going to prove this point, he hopped on a grandstand one time and within a few minutes he was efficiently backing up move and maneuvering in and out around trees.

What does a Kid Say?

This kid up to that point never operated that lawn mower. He was able to handle that operator very comfortable. Now, of course he didn't have the blade activated. I just wanted to see how he'd be able to handle a machine like this and I would never put him on a walk behind with a sulky. I’d be worried about him backing up and having his legs taken off from underneath him. You've got to be careful with those sulkies on there.  Make sure that your operators are conscientious about what they're doing. A walk behind definitely takes the category for versatility, absolutely dominating and mastering all the slopes. The grandstand walks away from it in operator comfort. At the end of the day, your speed is up, your efficiency is up, and you are way more comfortable on a grandstand. Number three is growth. It's your decision if you'd rather put a green operator without any experience on a walk behind with a sulky. Or, would you rather put them on a grandstand and let them take off and have some fun?  My opinion is the grandstand won the last category. I want to hear from you guys, what's your experience? Do you prefer the walk behind or do you prefer the grandstands and what brand name? God bless, go get them brothers and sisters.