OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums General Discussion Forum Off Topics Thoughts on different brands and country of origin

(This is not regarding repairs; if you wish to relocate the post go ahead)

I just wondered what your thoughts are on a few things regarding line (grass) trimmers:

I've worked for a landscaping company for about a year and tried different kinds of trimmers. Shindaiwa and Stihl were the two brands and I was surprised that different people had split opinions on their favourite trimmers.

I observed a different pattern in the two brands. I'll explain w/out technical terms, just my impression. The Shindaiwas (made in Japan) tended to be lighter and more versatile, in terms of power they seemed to always ask for more, like a furious Tasmanian Devil. The Stihls (Made in USA) were also powerful but more austere and seemed kind of cheaper. One of them had those tap-and-go feed line -didn't always work but was kind of cool.

I called a dealer today to order parts for my Shindaiwa I'm overhauling and he offered me a new Stihl for U$S150. I knew there were Stihls for very low prices and know that they are made in China but I highly doubt that they are up to the standards of Stihl professional equipment. It is my experience that these kind of product manufactured in China turns out to be garbage that you have to throw out within a year so I just wanted to know if anyone has tried them?

By the way, Shindaiwa is my favourite brand and it's considered one of the best brands for outdoor equipment in Canada. The trimmer I have is made in Japan and it's from 1990 (with original cylinder with that date as well), it's in great shape and I've seen completely neglected ones older than mine still working!

What's the present of the industry? Is the pro stuff still manufactured in developed countries or did most outsource to China? What are your favourite brands and experiences?

I have used Stihl, Echo, and Shindaiwa and here's what I have to say about them...

Stihl: Well built, especially the Kombi system machines, Good amounts of power and low noise, also smooth running engines,
Though some of the Kombi system attachments are VERY cheepie made....

Echo: More power than Stihl (though not by much), louder, heaver than Stihl or Shindaiwa, engines ran smooth but were much harder to start... Cut very nicely though...

Shindaiwa: Wayyyy to much power or there own good, felt like I was holding a V8 engine on a stick, felt like it could saw though a tree with no problems, Loud, somewhat heavy, but the engine felt to me like it was going to over rev and explode, and ran smooth at idle but was crazy at high speeds....

Kori

Totally agree on that one. They have lots of power and sound like over raving-furious it's my way to describe them. I also handled leaf blowers with both Shindaiwa and Stihl and it's exactly the same pattern as the trimmers. But it's a good thing I think because I remember that in situations where you have to cut heavy duty, 2 feet tall wild grass and weeds you get the job done way faster.

The only problem is that it's one of the most expensive brands. But I heard there's a brand called Swisher that is way cheaper and their stuff is manufactured by Shindaiwa.

Yeah, I've heard of swisher mowers before, never used one tho...

Also, in that situation more power would be best with the engine under load....

Yep I've got some experience with blowers as well, I'm a Sthil guy when it comes to blowers, though I am using a echo PB-260L currently as my main backpack.

Kori

As with any brand you get whaqt you pay for, of course a cheap stihl will not have the same build quality of an expensive professional one, and the cheap ones are probably no better than the no name ones sold for a further $100 less, they are relying on a brand to sell things.

I personally only use old equipment, built in an age where they were designed to last and be repaired if need be, not thrown away. Trimmers and blowers - I run a stihl BG72 ex council blower ($90 at auction) that has ample power for sweeping the workshop, paths and gutters and just a cheapy trimmer, trimmers are always found on the roadside, most times with not much wrong if anything.

Mowers, Early Briggs and victa engines but it for me, the newer chinese made ones feel a lot less refined, and noisyer than a well matured unit in good working order. That being said there are some good parts to scavenge off a newer damaged roadside mower.

Anyhow at the end of the day you get what you pay for with quality, you cant buy a chinese copy "yongdongfenchihuahuayumcha" and expect a professional grade honda, Not gonna happen.

Now that's the truth, the honda clones are coming at us
(both OZ and US not to mention CA)
And I'm worried that soon you wont be able to buy anything else....



And I should have mentioned before, I only use old(er) mowers also, I use 70s and 80s Lawn-Boys as my main cutters for the front and back and if there's any slashing to do I have a few newer Toros with "personal pace" to buzz through it.


BG72's are built like tanks! good choice Joe.


Kori

In the company I worked at the only brand we used for small, house backyard garden type mowers was Lawn-Boy. They are excellent.

Toro is known here but I don't know what to think of it other than I've used Toro side-walk snow plowers and they worked very well. They were the light, small type and have those cloth/plastic blades but they certainly did the job with small/middle amounts of snow.