Mower Review: 2017 Hustler Raptor

I bought this mower new, 4 months ago. I run a handyman business and I also have a few yards to cut. The mower has 102 hours on the hour meter that I added to keep up with maintenance. This week the mower had its first failure. The center blade spindle bearing failed. The dealer asked if Iit was used for commercial. I answered honestly, yes. There is no warranty on the unit because of the commercial use. I feel that 100 hours is a very short equipment life. The dealer explained that the mowers were built to be used 30-40 hours a year. So it would likely be out of warranty for a home owner, as well.

The mower has plenty of power and runs great. However, it is the worst cutting machine, that I have ever owned. Any high grass just lays down under the mower. It leaves blades of grass sticking up all over. 2 passes is required an all my yards, many require more passes than that....which also puts more hours on the machine. If you have to make 2 passes to cut...you are mowing the yard twice. I sharpen the blades every 6 to 8 hours.

I would not recommend this mower. I have watched the other guys mowing tall grass in one pass. Grass that would take mine 4 passes. I did contact Huster about the cutting issue. They informed me that it is a finishing mower...whatever that means.