Will soon have a few months off and have decided that one of my missions is to clear some of the trails that I use. Am thinking of buying a backpack brush cutter, but do not want to spend the money on a Stihl. Has anyone had any experience of cheaper models?

I’ve got a Mitox long reach hedgecutter & know a couple of guys (farmers) who have their chainsaws. Good kit for the money*

Are you sure you want a backpack one? Having used both I’d always go for a straight shaft one on a harness. I find them to be lighter & easier to use plus they usually have a better range of engine sizes and are better value for money…

*Extra emphasis because, inevitably, someone will compare them to something 4x the price. This is STW after all…

Thanks scruffywelder. Given I have never used either I assumed that a back pack one was a better option.

I agree about the price though. The straight shaft do seem to be much cheaper.

http://www.thebushcraftstore.co.uk/martindale-golok-british-army-machete—the-genuine-one-78-p.asp

Just don’t get caught in the street with it.

Bugger, devash beat me to it!

To make transportation easier, there’s always this:


Camillus folding machete, issued to US troops in the Pacific, packed into the emergency kit with their parachutes.
I’ve got one, belonged to my dad, who was a PoW in Singapore, nifty tool, too.

^^^
Great minds think alike!

I’ll tell you what fellas. If one of you comes down here and clears the 1/2 mile trail with that thing, I’ll let you keep it!

You’d be surprised how lethal a machette is on bushes, trees, scrub, nettles, brambles etc.

Works best when shirtless and covered in camo paint though.

I got a cheapie brushcutter from Screwfix, all good so far.

I bought one of these used for about $125 on craigslist in the US.

Fantastic for trimming weeds!

Limitations are:

– only trims at ground level (you cant raise it up like a handheld trimmer)

– weeds with woody stem (breaks trimmer line). Only solution to the woody stems is a steel blde for a trimmer, but the blade diameter is much smaller than the circle made with the trimmer line, so the blade is much slower.

– side slopes

– doesn’t do well in dense grass (steel blade lawnmowers are made for this)

For bush clearing I would go for long parang like this one as shorter ones means harder work. We use this to clear bushes etc but not for heavy chopping although you can but we would use shorter parang for the job.

Condor Parang Machete

From Heinnie Hayes

Make sure when you are swinging the parang nobody is standing too close to you …