4.3.7 – Reviews of Brush Cutters

On this page you will find links to reviews I will be doing on brush cutters, starting with the latest one I own.

I will only be reviewing brush cutter models that are currently available new and will be highlighting what I see as the the good and not so good points of each model. The aim of these reviews is to help give you the information you need to make an informed decision for what best suits you. I do not intend giving an overall score or ranking, as these are my personal views. You should start with what you learn here, so you can ask the right question of the supplier you are looking at, based on your budget, needs and what your or requirements are for a brush cutter.

I would like to point out that at this point, I do not sell brush cutters, I do not do myself any favours with manufacturers when I highlight some of their problems and I do not receive any commission for promoting any brands. I know from many years of experience, that all the major brands are of a very high standard, quality and reliability, but how do you decide what brand, type and size is best for your needs.

I should point out, that at some stage in the future, I do intend to make brush cutters of my own design and what I learn from reviewing these machines will help me design a better machine in the future. This new BrushDestructor machine will not be in competition, with any existing machines, but will be a heavy duty machine for extreme bush clearing. At the bottom of this page, you will find a link to this future BrushDestructor Machine.

What I will be taking into account when reviewing a brush cutter;

Detailed Description of Brush Cutter;

Including all the manufacturers specification of that model I can lay my hands on. There will be lots of overall and close up photos and some video to give you the feel as if you are holding and viewing the product yourself.

After looking at all of the above, a close visual inspection and at least going through five tanks of fuel on as many different locations as weather and time will allow, I will highlight;

The Good Points;

Not So Good Points;

What Harness is Supplied with the Brush Cutter;

For consistency I will be doing all tests with a BrushDestructor Blade fitter.

Echo SRM420TESU

41.5cc 2-stroke Bicycle Handle Brush Cutter

Feedback and Response

I have had a couple of emails from loyal Echo fans, wondering why I have been so hard in my review of this brush cutter. In fact one was very blunt and stated that he thought it was a great machine.

In response to these questions, I don’t think I would have been as hard, if this was a smaller backyard machine, bit it is not. It is meant for the heavy, or commercial user who spends a lot of hours hanging off the end of one of these machines.

New Reviews;

I have gone out and brought both, a Husqvarna 25cc and Honda 35cc 4-stroke, loop handle  brush cutters and am slowly putting together the reviews of them as I get the time. From these two reviews going forward, all reviewed machines will only be 4-stroke, loop handle models. I will not be doing any further reviews of 2-stroke, or bicycle handle machines.

PLEASE NOTE, THE PHOTO LINKS TO THESE REVIEWS ARE ACTIVE NOW, BUT THESE REVIEWS ARE STILL IN THE PROCESS OF BEING WRITTEN AND ADDED TO ONLY WHEN I HAVE A MOMENT TO DO SO. BOTH THESE REVIEWS ARE A LONG WAY FROM BEING COMPLETE AND I HAVE ONLY PUT THEM UP IN THIS UNFINISHED STATE SO THAT IF YOU ARE THINKING OF ONE OF THESE MACHINES YOU CAN AT LEAST HAVE A MUCH CLOSER LOOK AT IT WITH THE PHOTOS THAT ARE UP NOW.

YOU SHOULD COME BACK AT A LATER DATE TO SEE THE COMPLETE REVIEW WHEN THIS MESSAGE HAS BEEN REMOVED.

Husqvarna 524LK

25cc 4-stroke – multi-tool Loop Handle brush cutter

Honda UMK 435

35cc 4 stroke – Loop Handle Brush Cutter

Future Reviews;

After this, I will purchase a the Stihl and the Shindaiwa 4 stroke brush cutters and will do a review on these machines as well.

As stated earlier, the aim of this and future reviews, is two fold;

The first, is to give someone considering one of these brush cutter, all the information to make an informed decision about your purchase.

The second, is to give constructive feedback to the manufacturers. It is my hope that these manufacturers, not just right me off as some crack pot from the bush, but will take onboard what I have said and actively work to improve their products.

I am a mechanical designer and I can tell you from experience, that it is rare for constructive criticism to find its way back through the system, from the end user to the designer. It is not the fault of the designers, it is the managers of the companies, that do not actively encourage every customer to give feedback, especially negative feedback. It is ever rearer for feedback that does find its way back to the company, to be passed down to the designers.

It is also the fault of the customers, who do not make the effort to give constructive feedback, when they find themselves unhappy with their purchase.

One of the reasons for starting to do reviews, was to raise awareness of issues with brush cutters to their manufacturers as they have no system in place to get feedback from their users who have purchased one of their machines. Since I first showed details of the brush cutter I would like to build, there has been very little change to most brush cutter brands, with the exception of Husqvarna, that has added vibration absorbing trigger handle and angled the loop handle, like that shown on my ideal machine below.

And Stihl, who have modified their gearhead and guard to reduce the chance of long grass wrapping around the gearhead. Good for them.

Honda on the other hand, have not addressed their fuel tank problem, which really should have been addressed by now. I have contacted them about this issue on three or four occasions, with no response.

Below is a link to the machine that I am working on.

Weed Wacker,BrushDestructor-7 (600x265)Click Photo to Link to Page

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