zasquatch

The local Snapper dealer told me Simplicity=Snapper.  He did say Snappers were less expensive, though.  I have a Simplicity, but have never laid eyes on a Snapper, so I couldn't tell you if they are exactly the same.

I just recently bought the 860 (24").  I've only used it a couple of times so far, but it has done a great job and is easy enough for my wife to handle.  It really seems to be built well.  After looking at nearly every brand I could find in my area, I decided to buy an Ariens 7524E, but none of my local dealers had one and I didn't want to order it off the internet.  Then I discovered a Simplicity dealer nearby.  I was really impressed with the build quality.  It has the B&S Intek Snow OHV engine, starts on the first pull, runs very smooth and relatively quiet.  The only improvement I'd like to see is, it has manual control for the vertical angle of the chute deflector, but in my case I don't need to move that very often.   I'm very happy with the machine.  I think it quite similar to the Ariens 7524, but has good sized 15" tires instead of the 12".  But it does cost a little more than the Ariens.  I don't know the answer to  your question about having the thickest steel, but it certainly is well built and they use very little plastic.

Wow, awesome!

But, what's that big red thing in front of her?