Short Story First: Bought it; tested it once; it works great; it's a good solution. I look forward to using it this fall on 4,000 square feet of overseeding.

I took away one star since the two-clasp closure mechanism is too small for regular users and unlikely to survive regular service.

Back Story: Bought one of these Landzie "Peat and Compost Spreaders" after being frustrated by determining how best to overseed my 30-year old New England lawn.

"Overseeding" is reseeding while leaving living grass in place. New England lawns are challenged because the region has no real dirt, in the Midwest-Great Plains-West Coast sense. We have sand and rock, with some leaf humous sprinkled on for softer sleeping.

The mechanical problem with overseeding is how to distribute a thin layer of something the grass will grow in, then seed the space, then top dress the area with a thin coat of peat moss to hide, protect and moisten the seeds, during germination and early re-growth.

This is the first tool I've seen that sifts and distributes top dressings like soil, clumps of expired turf, and peat. It earns a big five stars from me for its design. This is a small-scale trommel screen, which gravel pit operators use to sift materials by passing them through a rotating screen.

This model is small enough to use at home, big enough to hold a dozen shovel loads or two, powder coated to keep it from rusting instantly, and mechanically simple.

I bought it after reading all the reviews, watching the product's sharp price fluctuations, and thinking about my hard-earned cash. I've had one opportunity to pre-test it. I liked what it did very much.

My Test. Since reviewers generally like how the Landzie screener handles peat moss, I wanted to judge what it did with my lot's version of compost. I dug some non-crucial scraggly turf out of some edges of the lawn and just dropped it in the Lanzie, grass, small rocks, dried leaves, surprised worms and all. I filled it less than half full. Please see the first picture.

That load and the spreader were no burden to push at all. The Lanzie sieves and spreads its contents very nicely, two feet wide. I estimate a nearly full load would cover about 30-40 linear feet, two feet wide, and about 3/16ths deep. Your results will vary of course. But this device solves my two problems with spreading mixed materials.

What was left inside was just the vegetation, roots and leaves, a one-grain layer of sand on the moist roots, and some dizzy but wriggly and unharmed worms. I extracted my no-footed friends and dumped the trash in the compost pile. Please see picture two for the leftovers.

The Lost Star. The clasps are more like oversized jewelry clasps than lawn-equipment connectors.

The manufacturer, wherever it is (couldn't find the country of manufacture anywhere) needs to get serious about the two closure clasps. People with lawns big enough to need this device, or their service providers, work outside, have well-built hands, and they often wear gloves. And they expect their tools to be fully prepared to work hard, too. Someone in charge needs to go to some tailgating events and look at men's and women's hands there, for a quick market research solution.

The builder has improved the welding and positioning of the clasps, which earned this a 1.1 release rating. But the tiny lifting latch, the little spring, the remaining protrusion height above the rotating circumference all demand one more manufacturing operation, a "dink."

The Solution for Release 2.0. Adding a dink means using a stamping press to depress both sides of the area below the clasps, deep enough to provide for a more muscular clasp and retainer element. Both the wire mesh and the metal frame need to be depressed at the same time, and the halves still need to mate. The the radii of the surface curves need to be more than an inch. The test models should be tested by full-size male and female outdoors enthusiasts, some wearing gloves.

I like this tool, am happy I bought this prototype, and plan to enjoy it. Let's hope I can baby it enough to keep the clasps operating all fall.

I made the lawn seeding process much more difficult than it was before getting this. I love this 24 inch roller. I did not know this tool existed until I saw a friend use it. Since I had just purchased lawn seed snd starter fertilizer, it was perfect timing to try something new. Game changer. I used this to spread peat moss over the seed. Easy to fill"¦ messy but easy. Messy because the peat moss "brick" is so large & heavy. I love the solid hooks on the side of the roller. Common sense for placement. It has a large hinged door that flips back allowing large access for the compost, peat moss, whatever. Closes easily and you start rolling. No muscle strength needed. It rolls easily with normal walk. I experimented & walked ahead pulling behind, and behind pushing it forward. I prefer the walking behind, but both easy. It leaves a thin, even covering on the ground. I ended up having to purchase more peat moss as this spreads it quickly. A separate trip to the store could be avoided by measuring the area and purchasing what you need, with an extra bag or two. I am extremely happy with this purchase. Have already shared with family & a neighbor has inquired. The price was reasonable for something that should last for years. Durable, easy to assemble, prompt delivery. If you like a nice lawn, get one of these now. Larger sizes available, but think this 24 inch should be good for small to medium sized lawns. A larger one can be pulled behind a riding mower.

This arrived only yesterday, so I haven't had a chance to use it yet, but the assembly was easy and I appreciate that Landzie provided the necessary tools. It's sturdy and looks like it will do the job.

Easy to load and moves with very little resistance. Highly recommend. Works as advertised.

This was the final tool I needed in my learning process of growing my lawn. It was very easy to assemble and using it was even easier. The only take away I'll add is that in a few spots the paint was spotty. It appeared as if some spots had to be welded again and the paint was redone and put on too heavy. But it doesn't affect the tool from functioning and when I use it, it's not something I would pay attention too. Overall a great tool and I love it!!