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I also took the mini-tiller plunge this year. I have my dad's full sized tiller & have used it for years but I never really felt in control of it. (The mended wire fence verifies that I 'm not always in control.) I wanted an edger for my flower beds so I decided to go with the Craftsman tiller/edger combination. The 4 cycle engine was a big selling feature for me (I hate mixing gas & oil). However, I will admit it is noisy - about like a lawnmower. But my work areas are too spread out for electric. I looked at the Mantis and they were higher priced. The 2cycle Mantis tiller alone cost more than the 4 cycle Craftsman with the edger included. So I decided to give it a try. I have been very well pleased with the portability, ease of starting, ease of use & the overall results. My son also tried it out & he was quite surprised. He did not expect such a small tiller to be so effective. I would highly recommend the Craftsman mini-tiller as another option to anyone considering a purchase.
I agree with your observation that the "trick" to success for tilling with a mini is to drag it slowly backwards. That information was not included in the user's manual so I thought perhaps it was just me. Glad to hear someone else say they use it that way.
