I have a small yard, so I thought I'd try this instead of a gas mower.  I have to say, mowing the lawn with this is actually kind of fun!  It's so peaceful to not have the noise and fumes and dust. Also, I figure just being able to grab this from the shed is much easier than it would be to deal with trying to start a gas mower. I don't think sticks really pose a big problem.  The smallest ones get cut up as you go, or you just run over them and they stay on the ground.  Occasionally, I'd hit one that'd stop me a little, but then I just back up, kick the stick out of the way, and go on.  My guess is that most sticks that pose a problem for this mower would not be good for your gas mower either--or they'd get thrown into a window or something.  Also, remember, if you move a stick out of the way of your gas mower, you have to re-start the stupid thing.  This you just move the stick and keep going.  I don't know how well I'd like this if I had a large yard, but I quite recommend it for medium to small yards!