Best Mower for Picking up Fall Leaves

Hello all! I'm new to this forum and need some purchase advice. Hope you all can help me out.

I have about 12,000 sq ft of residential lawn. While not sloped, it is a bit uneven. One day I'll spend the big bucks to have it leveled.

For the past 6 years I've mowed my lawn using a silver LawnBoy. It has served me well but could be much better in one critical application: leaves! Every fall I have a lot of leaf picking up to do. When all is said and done it tends to come out to between forty and fifty recyclable lawn bags (the brown ones). My township requires that leaves be placed in those bags for their free pickup. I'm happy to oblige.

While I have experimented with different pickup methods over the years, I have found mowing them up and dumping the bag into the bag to be the fastest and least strenuous. My LawnBoy has been up to the job. However its bag attaches using a plastic tunnel that connects to the front of the mower and has a habit of getting plugged.

I have gotten so sick of the stupid leaves that last year I paid someone to do the bagging. It was $300 (I got two quotes) but still seemed worth it to me. While I don't mind mowing, leafing really does take it out of my back.

This fall, as I switched from the mulching plate to the plastic tunnel to pick up a little extra, the screw that holds the attachment in broke out of the deck. It was rusted through. Now while I could probably get a new hole drilled and use the LawnBoy a little longer (it also needs maintenance and sharpening), I'm leaning towards buying my first new mower.

Now there's one feature I want this mower to have above all else. It has to be an absolute killer at picking up leaves. Unpluggable, super-fine shredding and mulching, big bag, easy to empty etc. I don't mind to spend a little extra if it means it will be easy enough that I don't spend $300 on leaf service again.

After perusing Consumer Reports and reading up in this forum, I have come to the following choice: Honda HRX217HYA. The Versamow system seems to be best for leaf shredding and I don't have to keep track of parts. The Nexite deck seems to be relatively maintenance free. And I've always dreamed of having bladestop for when I empty the bags, which I need to do frequently. With my current mower it takes two to three bags to fill a leaf bag, so figure about 100 times emptying. That's a lot of restarting the mower! I don't care for electric start as I think it's overkill if you have bladestop. Consumer Reports also scored the Toro Super Recycler highly for leaf shredding, so that would be a second choice. However, it requires an additional part to install and take out. And I like the hydrostatic transmission on the Honda.

My runner up would be a Snapper Rear Engine Rider. I've never had a rider and think it's total overkill for my small lawn. That being said, it has this sweet attachment for the rear that puts leaves directly into lawn bags. That would be a major time saver. Then again, I don't think you can get into all the nooks and crannies with a rider, so I would probably have to clean up in a second run. I don't do cleaning up with a weed eater now, because I'm lazy. However, would getting a weed eater be enough to clean up behind a Snapper, or would I need to buy another mower? I'm also turned off by the high price of a Snapper plus leaf bagging kit. I'd look at about $2,000 as opposed to $700 for the Honda walk behind.

So please: fire away! Help a newb out to make his first lawnmower purchase. Don't hesitate to ask for any details you need. And thank you so much in advance for taking the time to help me out.

tl;dr: What's the best mower to pick up 40 lawn bags of leaves each year?

While I'm biased toward the Honda, I can tell you its twin-blade set-up is ideal for leaf work. The blades effectively chop leaves into very, very small bits, allowing for highly efficient filling of the grass bag.

I tackle the leaves in my backyard by placing the Clip Director knob at the next-to-the-last position, so the shutter is only slightly open. This helps to contain the leaves under the deck for a few milliseconds longer, ensuring they are finely chopped, before they can pass through the narrow opening and enter the grass bag.

If there are only a few leaves, I remove the bag; the chopped leaves are fine enough to work as nutrient-rich mulch, and no bag to empty. :smile:

WELCOME TO LMF!
I will have to agree with Robert. Get the Honda HRX217HYA! When I bag leaves I always keep it on the full-open position. I have found that it might not chop up the leaves as well, but you can go faster. If you try to go fast when the opening is small you will miss some of the leaves. But I love the Blade-Brake Clutch. Awesome feature! Also, I love the NeXite deck. It is VERY durable, and the grass I mow doesn't even stick to it! Also, I love that there is no mulch plug, so you can switch from bagging to mulching without taking off the bag so you can remove the mulch plug. Talking about the bag, it is very easy to take off, empty, and put back on. Of course it fills up fairly quickly when you are bagging like 5 inch deep leaves, but when you are just bagging dry grass it will take FOREVER to fill up. But don't get me wrong, it also bags wet grass with ease! I would STRONGLY recommend purchasing a Honda HRX217HYA. It was the BEST mower choice I have ever made! I have a feeling it will last me a long time!
Good luck, and PLEASE tell us what you decide! :smile:



(Honda Media Newsroom - HRX - Honda Twin Blade)
(Honda Media Newsroom - HRX - Honda Twin Blade)

I'll have to let you know that I haven't used the HRX217 myself, but I can say that I've used earlier Hondas with the nexite deck, the HRM215, and can attest to the ease of maintenance of both the material, and of the mower in general. The blade system on the HRM was a bit different than the current HRX, but it still did a fine job of mulching and bagging, so I can only imagine how great a job the HRX does.

I have had two 21" Snapper High Vac walk behind mowers. They worked like a Hoover vacuum for picking up leaves, but they were heavy as a tank with their steel decks. I sold the first one years ago and replaced the original engine on the second one with a Honda GCV160 because of Honda's reputation for reliability and quiet operation. I've since sold it too, in favor of Honda brand mowers.

lawn mower fanatic said:

WELCOME TO LMF!
I will have to agree with Robert. Get the Honda HRX217HYA! When I bag leaves I always keep it on the full-open position. I have found that it might not chop up the leaves as well, but you can go faster. If you try to go fast when the opening is small you will miss some of the leaves. But I love the Blade-Brake Clutch. Awesome feature! Also, I love the NeXite deck. It is VERY durable, and the grass I mow doesn't even stick to it! Also, I love that there is no mulch plug, so you can switch from bagging to mulching without taking off the bag so you can remove the mulch plug. Talking about the bag, it is very easy to take off, empty, and put back on. Of course it fills up fairly quickly when you are bagging like 5 inch deep leaves, but when you are just bagging dry grass it will take FOREVER to fill up. But don't get me wrong, it also bags wet grass with ease! I would STRONGLY recommend purchasing a Honda HRX217HYA. It was the BEST mower choice I have ever made! I have a feeling it will last me a long time!
Good luck, and PLEASE tell us what you decide! :smile:

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(Honda Media Newsroom - HRX - Honda Twin Blade)
(Honda Media Newsroom - HRX - Honda Twin Blade)

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That is great information! This year the HRR is getting the Microcut blades and an on/off clip director. Having the Honda advertised "leaf shredder" option on the Versamow system is why I am considering the HYA to begin with. If mowing leaves on full open is more effective, I can save myself $200 and get the HRR216K9VLA. I know that one has electric start, but strangely the one without it doesn't cost less. And it's self-charging, so there's half the annoyance.

enc0re said:

That is great information! This year the HRR is getting the Microcut blades and an on/off clip director. Having the Honda advertised "leaf shredder" option on the Versamow system is why I am considering the HYA to begin with. If mowing leaves on full open is more effective, I can save myself $200 and get the HRR216K9VLA. I know that one has electric start, but strangely the one without it doesn't cost less. And it's self-charging, so there's half the annoyance.

Click to expand...

I would still get the HRX for many reasons. I don't usually have the Clip Director only a little open so I don't know THAT much about how it is better/worse that way, so I think you should still get it because you may find that when the leaves are not like 5 inches deep it works better that way. Also, the HRR216VLA is NOT less expensive than the other HRR models, according to the MSRP on the Honda website. If it is cheaper at your dealer maybe it's because it is new in 2013: Honda Lawn Mowers - HRX HRR HRC HRS Mowers.

Home Depot has them both for $499, and the HRX HYA for $699. So that's the prices I'm looking at.

Can anybody chime in on leaves using the "leaf shredder" position on Versamow (one from closed) versus going full open?

Until someone answers, check out this video. It shows the Honda shredding leaves from 2:48 to 3:17 in the video.

Since I haven't had experience with the HRX myself, I have to ask, is there a chance that some of the clippings get behind that door when you have the Bag/Mulch door set to anywhere in the middle?

bwdbrn1 said:

Since I haven't had experience with the HRX myself, I have to ask, is there a chance that some of the clippings get behind that door when you have the Bag/Mulch door set to anywhere in the middle?

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Yes. Under some conditions, accumulated clippings can cause the door to drag or bind a bit when trying to change positions. A little back-n-forth usually dislodges the clippings, but if they are wet or the soil is damp, I sometimes have to clean it out a bit with a garden hose or some compressed air.