My big problem with manual lawn aerators has always been their design . I ’m 6’4″ and every core aerator seemed to be designed for someone not over the mid-5 ’s . Most lawn aerators are basically a metal basket with a grip at top and tine at the bottom which pull the plugs ( cores ) from your lawn . You stick by your foot through an always - too - little hoop , push down on the aerator , and pull straight up . From a design standpoint that ’s bad , because if you ’re run in and on something , take out it straight up puts a tremendousload on your back and berm muscle , regardless of what kind of shape you ’re in . If you ’re tall like me , you end up hunch over over like Quasimodo while you ’re aerating , and the next - day pain in your back is torturing .

Also , the lawn aerator I used had only a very pocket-size loop in which to stick your foot and step down on the aerator . If your foot is large like mine and inside a work rush , you really have job getting it in there . That action also makes for ho-hum aerating .

Step N Tilt Lawn Aerator’s design innovations

“ I originally design and built the Step N Tilt lawn aerator for my own use because other manual lawn aerators aggravated my lower back and articulatio humeri pain “ , says Yeow Ng , who forge the Step N Tilt in his home garage . “ The Step N Tilt design which resembles a hand truck exercise … purchase to reduce the force needed to pull the aerator tines from the ground through a much easy tilting action rather than a pulling action .   The [ whole step N Tilt ] … aerates faster than other manual aerator and may be used for prospicient periods of time without hurting or fag out the user . ”

Besides the hand hand truck trend plan with a handle that loops toward you , the Step N Tilt core group aerator offers a act of other decent design conception like a large   baseplate to tread on and push the tines into your lawn . This makes for debauched study , as you do n’t have to struggle to get your foundation in and out of a loop topology , and there ’s nothing to get your boot caught on .

Heavy clay soil clogs aerators but Step ‘N Tilt has this covered

An issue I had with other lawn aerators was what to do when the inside of the tines got caked with so much clay that they became useless . Where I live in Pennsylvania , the soil is all clay and this was a real problem . When the plugs got stuck in the tines they were sometimes unacceptable to withdraw , return the aerator useless . I also had a nasty habit of shoot the tines off of those aerators halfway through aerating ( was it me ? ) , and since the aerator were basically all one piece , the whole thing had to be trashed .

So I was happy to attain two improvement in the tines with the Step ‘ N Tilt . The first is a little prick include in the corner for push stuck plugs through the tines . It worked really well – I carry it in my back pocket and pushed the plugs through whenever they got amaze . The 2d is replacement tine which can be ordered on an individual basis . These minor innovations – so obvious in retrospect – means you wo n’t have to bribe another core aerator for many years , as you may supervene upon the tines when they get dull , broken , or compacted with stopper beyond all promise of removal . The replacement tine are easily bolted to the bottom of the baseplate .

The Step N Tilt also has movable deflectors , or as I call them “ flank ” , on the nucleotide denture to take aim the plugs into your yard . There ’s also an optional collection box usable , so if you do n’t like the look of the pull plugs laying in your yard for a calendar week until they decompose , you could easily offload the roll up plugs into your compost pile .

The Step N Tilt lawn aerator is manufactured by Vibrant Yard Company , LLC , in the Wichita / Andover , Kansas area , and is currently only useable online . They plan to expatiate into brick and trench mortar stores across the country within the next twosome of years .