Bought one a few years ago at a Lowe's or Osh that I thought was the Hound Dog branded "Turf Hound" but it looked almost identical to the "Yard Butler" instead, so I don't know if the companies are related or maybe I just had a brain fart and filed the memory incorrectly. It worked well enough that I wore that down to nubs (see photo comparing the old one to new) thanks to hard clay soil that had to be pretty moist to penetrate making the tips rust, chip,or bend into the tube, and then having to file or grind the ends back to a functional point. When this seasons plugs were all coming out stumpy, I figured I could use a replacement and wondered if there might be a tool that didn't clog as much as that had. I think that in certain clays, it's inevitable, though you can minimize it by working it only after it's been watered and oiling the tines before and after using the tool. I have tried ones with more tines, and they are much harder to push into the ground since I am only 5'2 and 130lbs, so the two tines works better for me. I also find the height of the handle appropriate on this one, and the T design is comfortable because I can switch feet easily, without knocking a knee into the sides of the handle. I'm not sure how this compares with using the Hound Dog model, except that the center handle might help with pivoting the thing from side to side more easily when necessary, or perhaps the stepping space might be easier to access on the Dog version because it's more open. But then again, I also find it helpful that the shape above the step on the Butler helps ensure I don't just step THROUGH it and miss planting it down firmly. I did try the red one with thicker tines and the step "lifting bar" (see pics for side by sides) in hopes that it would be less clog prone, but found that the shape made it noteably more difficult to push into the ground than the slightly thinner and longer tines of the Butler. It may be because they are thicker, even though they are tapered, or maybe because they are cut square instead of at an angle like the Butler, which slid much more deeply and smoothly into the ground. Though the other one DID seem to be less likely to pack up with soil IN the tines, it also was much more problematic in dirt clogging AROUND the them instead (see pics). Go figure... The step bar on the red one didn't really add anything useful to the process for me, as it wasn't really helpful to try and use my foot to pick up the tool. It actually seemed a bit more in the way when switching feet, which I did much more frequently than trying to lift it with the foot. Some may prefer the thicker grips on the red one, but my hands are pretty large and I had no issues with the thinner ones. The one clear advantage of the red one is really probably the color itself, as I did have trouble locating the green Yard Butler on the lawn if I stepped away from it. The red is totally obvious to spot immediately. Lastly, I also preferred the resulting plug length of the Butler. The thickness of the other was beaten by the depth of extracted material with Yard Butler. (Last picture shows all 3 YB cores on the left vs 3 shorter of the other tool on the right). Definitely get an extra inch or more with the YB tool. YB beats the spike sort and more complicated coring setups on manual tools. There might be some real advantage to a rolling disc type on ebay, but it costs much more. If you have a large enough yard, though, it might be worth the cost over renting something powered, especially if you don't have something that needs a riding mower in size. My mom's lawn is probably 2000 sq ft, and it can be a workout and a long day to step core the whole thing alone, but I do it a little at a time whenever I visit and it's fine because the tool is always available and quiet enough to use in the middle of the night so the summer heat isn't overwhelming. I dig it. And it really does improve the lawn significantly. If I see it's getting a bit tired looking, I know it's time to step some air into thr soil and it thickens up nicely. For the money, it's a win in my book. Id like to try the other design I saw on Amazon too, which ejects the cores on the SIDE of the tine instead of through the top, as that might be less likely to pack into a clog, but I would want to know it was really better before spending twice as much money on it. For now I am doing fine with this and maybe will try the other if it wears down so far in a few years as the last one did. ..
