Craftsman 42 in. High Speed Sweeper Review

This machine works as advertised.  Assembly takes a little time but the instructions are understandable and it is not difficult to put together.  When you work with it you need to spend a little time to set the height adjustment depending on the length of grass and what you are picking up.  When you get it set up right, however, this baby will pick up leaves and grass very efficiently.  I note that some reviewers indicate it is hard to back up without jacknifing.  Some people have a nack for backing things up and others do not.  I can back it up without problems; my wife cannot.  Whether you will have trouble or not depends on which catagory you fall in.  Either way, it is really not a big deal.  I have discarded the rope which is used to pull up the hamper for dumping.  I found that if you have a signifcant load to dump, it is easier to get off your tractor and raise the hamper by hand which also allows you to give it a little help with your hand as you coax out the contents of the hamper.  Additionally, if the rope comes untied from your tractor accidentally, it will wrap up in the brush spindle and it is a pain to untangle.  I mow about an acre and a half and have about 40 trees in my yard.  I have used this machine on two different occassions now and it does a great job on both leaves and windrowed grass.  There is not much I like less than hand raking.  With this machine it is now fun to deal with things that need raked.  Bottom line:  This machine really works and I am very pleased that I purchased it.