I'm 6'5" tall and am looking for a push or self propelled walk behind with an adjustable handle that will accommodate my height. For years I've mowed with a rider because I had a 2 acre lawn, and only used a push mower to get around flowers and front yard landscaping. It only took a few minutes, so the length of the handle didn't really matter.
I moved last fall, and my yard is now about a half acre, so I've sold the rider and want to buy a walk behind. I have an old Lawn Boy now, but the handle is way too short for sustained use. Something in the $300 range is preferable, but not set in stone. Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated! Spring is around the corner, and they tell me the grass in Arkansas begins growing early.
I don't think you'll find many options for a taller handle. Can you extend the handles on your Lawnboy? I understand that can be complicated by control cables and such. The handle height of a self-propelled mower isn't as important as a push mower as long as you can reach it comfortably. I can run my Honda self-propelled with the handle pretty low. Just some suggestions/potential options because I don't think you'll find a "tall men's" push mower.
Most mowers are going to be made with adjustments for the average height male/female. Being as tall as you are, you will find it hard to get something that is comfortable. Your best bet may be to find the largest dealer in your area, that carries a handful of brands on display and try them all out. That way you aren't buying blindly.
I’m 6’-4” and I know where you are coming from. As a service tech I have run into just able every brand and all come up a little short for us big guys. The one that I have at home is a Toro 21” with a cast aluminum deck, but it is probably out of you price range, unless you can find a good used one. They have an adjustable handle and at the highest point it works well for me. Disclaimer, I am a Toro guy and work at a Toro dealership, but you will find they are well built and do a great job of cutting. Just my 2 cents, read my signature.
Thank you for the replies. I'm going to go to the big box stores this weekend to get a feel for what's available there.
Re: extending the Lawnboy handle; I have it at the maximum length now and it's still too low. Are you talking about using an aftermarket handle extender? I've seen some on Amazon, but they didn't look all that sturdy to me, with Velcro being used to attach them to the mower handle.
As for the Toro, that is an option. I was hoping to stay around $300, but if spending a couple hundred more gets me what I'm comfortable mowing with then that's what I'll spend. Is there a particular model that you recommend above others?
Also, any thoughts on Husqvarna? I have a co-worker who is nearly as tall as I am and he says his Husqvarna is a good height for him, and can still adjust another notch in handle length. I've never owned one of their mowers before.
As far as extending the handle on the LB. I was thinking of getting a donor handle off another mower, hammering the ends flat, drilling some holes and bolting it in. Or use an over-size tube to sleeve over the other parts. So say you have a 2-piece folding handle on your current unit, just disconnect it, put another extension piece in between and bolt it together. But depends what you have for handlebar controls/cables on whether that's feasible at all.
The only experience I have with Husqvarna equipment is their handheld/backpack stuff - saws, trimmers and blowers. All that is good stuff but don't know if that translates to their mowers too.
Go to a mower repair only shop with whatever mower you want taller.
Somewhere their will be a rail with 200 handles hanging from it. ( why we keep them I will never know ) .
The trick is to fit a pair of handles from a mower where they adjust for angle / collapse down near the mower deck and fit them to a mower than has the trip axis a lot higher up.
I have done this in reverse for short women who have the opposite problem.
Of course they will also have to make / fit custom controls or just longer control cables.
Some mowers use a loop connected to the deck, usually on the commercial versions.
And the domestic version uses some short connectors so you swap the connectors for the loop and viola you have 4" to 8" longer handles.
A lot of push mowers have a handle that goes down at the operators end.
Most of these can be flipped over to go up raising the hand height .
Some mowers come with strait bars and another model in the range has downturned bars and these can be swapped over.
Problems may come with control cables .
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Welcome 1st of all..
I think fabbing one up albeit from another handle or tubing same size.. forget the velcro, I mean bolts & nuts. If you don't do that type of stuff, maybe a small shop around you can accommodate you.
And also agree with Rivets, Toro makes good machines.
