Tool Review: Mow & Go with Troy-Bilt’s 30-inch walk-behind mower

Gotta lotta lawn? You need a lotta mower.

This tool review of a walk-behind mower is a pleasure to do.

If you need a mower that can handle a big job, but not so much machine it’s too expensive or too big to get the fast results you need and can be proud to show off.

Troy-Bilt’s TB WC33 XP 33-inch Wide Cut Self-Propelled Mower is an all-in, get-it-done grass shortener for the homeowner who’s ready to rock on lawns that present the dual challenges of being big and having lots of contour—everything from hills to wavy garden beds to gates, paths, and other obstacles.

Built like a landscaper-grade 48-inch wide style walk-behind, the Troy-Bilt’s 33-inch deck is zero-turn maneuverable and takes up much less storage space—never mind the budget (inexpensive for the category)—while still cutting a wide swath plenty fast.

Making The Cut.

The unit has four forward cutting speeds and moves at a production-speed walk. On wide-open ground for a big lawn, it’s go-time. No cup holder mowing here, this is about getting it done. For tighter spaces and shorter runs—say between your sun deck and the property line or wiggling around the kids’ playset—dialing back the speed is easy. Two to three is nice for this work.

While reaching the adjustment lever with your hands is a snap, the more adventurous mowers among you will soon figure out you can do it with your knee and barely skip a step. Add in Neutral (great for tight spots and snugging the machine super-safely between the AC unit and fence on small side yards) and Reverse for when you need to back out of a tight spot, the unit delivers customizable mobility in all directions.

Maneuverability.

By definition, this is a zero turn mower—it pivots on a dime and can do it fast. But it’s not zero-turn in the sense a riding mower is where the machine moves underneath you.

See, as the mower pivots at the rear wheel, you need to follow the handles around the top of the arc, which means either slowing the mower down (easy, just back off on the throttle) or speeding up your gait to match speed. It’s not a bad thing, just how this category of mower functions and why they’re fast. It’s also why this unit is nice for wiggling around the playset, following a serpentine sidewalk and mowing smaller islands of grass without swapping out for a push-mower.

Mulch and Side Discharge.

I love that this machine comes with a mulch plug. Mulching is much better for lawns (my lawn anyway) than side discharging because the mulched grass is chopped up into very small piece and composts rather than becomes thatch, which can eventually choke off turf grass if not raked out every season or so. Plus, mulching drastically minimizes the amount of grass you have to blow off walks and driveways and it means that when the kids go out to play or you have to take the trash out in the morning neither of you comes back with feet covered in strands of long grass.

The trade-off is the unit can only absorb so much grass (it’s powerful, not magic) so to mulch effectively and still leave a clean cut so you should stay on top of your mowing schedule. But when you miss a week(s)—especially in spring or fall when grass tends to grow the fastest and/or is clogged with autumn leaves—side discharging is the way to go.

For big lawns seen from a distance, this works great with the Troy-Bilt. But in close to the house the chute’s downward trajectory—designed as such for safety—can leave windrows of cut grass. (This is the reason lots of landscapers disable the safety chutes on their mowers and blow grass all over the place; it leaves a cleaner cut, sure, but the problem is that you can also blow rocks and sticks and then there’s the exposed blades; not exactly super-safe.)

Start and Stop.

The unit fires up with a key ignition. Awesome. The handle-top levers for engaging the blades and the drive-train take some getting used to but work fine. Raising and lowering the mower deck couldn’t be easier and the gas tank is easy to reach and fill. The mower even has an hour meter so you know when to maintain it.

Bottom line: if you’ve got a pro-sized lawn but don’t want to spend a pro-sized pile of money on a commercial machine—or landscaper—to mow it, the Troy-Bilt WC 33 XP can maximize your production on the lawn without minimizing the fun, pride, and savings of caring for your it yourself. Mow and go.