Some people love to work in the garden, however it takes a lot of back breaking work to keep up. So whenever we come across a tool that makes gardening easier it puts a smile on our face. The Mantis 7490 is one of those tools. It is a 2 in 1 tool that tills and cultivates. Tilling goes deeper and prepares the ground for planting. Cultivating only goes down a few inches and removes weeds and refreshes the surface so that water nutrients and air can easily get into your plants.
Big tillers are nice but they cannot cultivate in small areas without damaging your plants. The 9 inch wide Mantis is small and gets in just about any spot you can think of. We have reviewed a Mantis before, but this new model has a few changes like more ergonomic grips and a kickstand. The Mantis 7490 comes in a small box and you need to add oil, assemble the handle bars and kick stand. It takes about 20 minutes to get the unit up and running.
Mantis has a great name in the business for having solid transmissions and being a very dependable unit. The 4 cycle has an easy to start Honda 25cc motor with no gas to mix that will provide a lifetime of service if properly maintained. The Honda is surprisingly quiet and has plenty of power to tackle any task. The tines on the Mantis are it’s secret to success. They are designed in such a way that reversing them turns the unit into a cultivator. 10″ deep for the tiller and around 2-3″ for cultivating. A simple pin allows you to reverse the tines or remove them for cleaning. The tines have a lifetime warranty.
The 24lb Mantis is a very easy machine to operate, it doesn’t pull away from you or get caught up on things. When it hits hard objects it just bounces right over them. It really is a joy to operate. For hard surfaces like packed clay you simply angle and move the unit from side to side, it will then start to break up the soil.
For storage, the unit has a kick stand and the handles fold over. As with any gas powered unit you always want to use Stabil or some sort of gas stabilizer. It is also a good idea to use ethanol free fuel like True Fuel which also can be stored up to 2 years. Ethanol is what destroys fuel lines and gums up carburetors.
If you do any sort of home gardening or landscaping the Mantis will be the best tool in your arsenal. Sure there are cheaper alternatives, but nothing comes close to the ability of the Mantis to get the job done. You can order one and try it, if you do not like it you can return it. They also have a stellar 5 year warranty. Check out Mantis.com for more info or via Amazon.
This thing is awesome, i love anything with a honda engine those things run like butter. I have a honda mower and it starts pretty much by just touching the cord. Ill definitely have to look into getting this one! Thanks for sharing as always, and get that forum fixe! LOL #TIACREW
I have a large Honda tiller and it is great. I don’t really use it often but it is awesome. Honda definitely makes the best small engines.
It looks like the 4 stroke is an improvement over the original Mantis.
Thanks for the article.