"luriko" wrote in message
...
I am thinking of getting a mantis tiller. It seems a bit small to me
to do everything claimed. They look like they would work well in
cultivated soil, but I am not so sure how they would fare in clay or
uncultivated soil.
Anybody own one or have any advise?

I have a Mantis and it works well. I have clay soil and it chews through
it. The only problem I've encountered is when stringy weeds wrap around the
axle. Mantis sells a little tool to get these out, but it is a pain in the
butt. So, I would not recomment the Mantis for breaking new ground where
there is a lot of stringy weeds.

Working in the garden, or in areas of short grass, the Mantis performs very
well. Since this is my primary use for the machine, I am a happy customer.
It starts quickly and sips the gas/oil mix very frugally. In fact, I have
had difficulty trying to get it to run out of gas.

I am using it to dig a trench tonight to bury an electrical line. That is
one function that I hadn't anticipated. Digging in my clay soil with a
shovel tends to burn a lot of calories (and build a lot of calluses).
Digging AFTER loosening the soil with the Mantis makes the job as easy as
scooping cheerios. I saved more than the price of the Mantis by NOT renting
the trencher that I was planning to use.

So, yes, I recommend the Mantis.