"Mantis" tiller

the only problem I have with any rear wheel, or no wheel tillers is that they take and use your back as part of the tool. i tried a mantis a few years ago as a possible tool for some narrow beds. The damn thing just digs itself into the ground and you have to keep tugging it out. Its murder on a tired back. The rear wheelers are just as bad . I have a 30 year old Roto-Tiller and, while you cannot kill it, the damn thing is a beast to control.
I have a big tiller on my tractor , but when I need to start a small plot for some new beds that are near the house, I go and rent a TROY BILT PONY. They are fantastic, easy on the back , the turn the soil into fluff , and they are pricey as hell. This last feature is of least interest to me , so I refuse to buy something that wont be used regularly. It costs me 50 bucks a day to rent and Im set. I can then cultivate routinely with my Roto, after the ground is prepared.
Troy Bilts are great tillers but, they now cost over 2500 for a mid level unit.

The Mantis tiller is great for small flower beds and gardens that have been tilled before. If you are looking to break large ground that has never been tilled, it is best to use a Roto tiller (which is very hard for a woman to handle), because the Mantis doesn't seem to dig deep enough, without a whole lot of work.

Famerman, I have never used a TROY BILT PONY, but it sounds interesting enough to look into renting.
As the years go by, I need all the help I can get in preparing my garden.

The amount of horsepower needed is in direct proportion to the number of rocks in your soil. I don't know tillers--but I know rocks.

I've got a Mantis... it stopped every couple of feet because a rock was caught between the tillers. Each rock had to be carefully extricated, sometimes tapped out with a hammer. I finally gave up and the Mantis has quietly rusted away in the shed. If you don't have rocks....

Thanks for the responses, everyone. Our garden beds are raised, with "imported" dirt that isn't rocky. It sounds like the Mantis would probably do O.K. under these conditions, but I think I'll hold off in favor of something more versatile.

Good luck & happy gardening. Too bad you're not closer, I'd let you borrow the Mantis.