My area of GA has the same thick red clay I grew up with in central Ohio. My aunt in central Ohio has a Mantis, and based on her recommendation, I invested in one as well. It ROCKS for me.
I bought mine in spring 2009, and used it to dig holes to plant 20 trees in my yard. Ten of those trees were planted in one work-week, at the rate of 2/day, working before/after work and during my lunch hour. In the morning I would de-turf the spot I wanted to plant, and then go to town with the tiller. Within 15min I'd have a hole that was properly sized for my tree. Added soil amendments, till it together, and then start another hole.
I would typically dig 2 holes each morning, or one before work and one at lunch. After work, I'd plant the trees and water them in.
That same year, I used the mantis to till up a patch that was approx 45ft long by 15ft wide at one end, 8ft wide at the other. That was in June, and we were having 100 degree days, so I was out there in the mornings before work and not any other time, so that one took me longer.
That fall, my trusty mantis and I created an island in the center of my front yard. The island is approx 25ft by 15ft.
I always de-turf before using the mantis, because I have a combination of zoysia and bermuda grass, and it gets tangled around the tines too easily. I've also used it to till up raised beds, mix soil amendments together in beds, etc. NO complaints about it at all. It's relatively lightweight, easy to schlep around the yard, and has handled almost anything I've thrown at it. It DID have a problem with my red GA clay in mid-Aug of a dry summer when everything was baked to a crisp from the 90-100degree temps we'd had. But I'm rarely working on any kind of bed in Aug, so that's not a big deal for me. It was my first 2-cycle engine, and is easy to start. I had avoided things with pull-ropes because I was afraid I wouldn't be able to start them. My mantis cured me of that.
15 minutes with the tiller (not counting time spent de-turfing) gave me this hole for a new tree. The pot the tree came in is sitting in the hole.
A triangular section from the forsythia to the fence corner to the utility pole was tilled up with the Mantis in one June afternoon (NOT right after this rain).
Haven't used it in the last couple years because I've not done any projects that needed it. But I went from skeptic to believer in just one week with it. Your mileage may vary, etc.
