Best quality of cut?

[kona]

Which brand mower has the best quality of cut for a belt driven 36-48" walk behind?Which is the most reliable?

[brucec32]

I've only used Toro floating deck and Exmark in that size. The Exmark is definitely a better cut in my opinion. The toro scalped more. The Toro 37" deck can't handle heavy grass well, and the 44" can't handle undulating terrain or slopes well at all, though it cuts heavy stuff ok. It blows out leaves like crazy, though, so it isn't great for vacuming up leaves. Their 36" isn't bad, however. It handles heavy grass well and with an aftermarket bagger it handles clippings ok. It's usually their cheaper of the three models too, ironically. I would be sure to find a mower with a good bagging system available, which in my opinion is just as important as cut quality. If the bagger sucks, you'll have problems.

Most of my cut quality problems are not the mower, but the mower deck size itself. A 21" will give a better cut than a 48", especially on dense turf like Bermuda, which shows every flaw. A smaller deck can simply handle ground variations better.