My Husky arrived yesterday afternoon an hour before dusk, so I was able to complete the assembly and have a play but unable to give it a 'test drive' until today.
The first thing I noticed compared to the doomed Einhell which went back is the length of the Husky- its well long and a single shaft. This is great for a taller person such as me at 6' 2", you don't want to stoop down when using it, although I later found out it just fitted diagonally across the back of my estate with the seats down- you'd struggle to get it in a smaller car. The general finish on it oozes quality, everything meant to connect clips slickly into place, all the fittings seem solid and well designed, the harness was chunky and a comfortable fit once on. The left and right cow handles are two seperate pieces and can be individually moved to the right position for the individual user, making it very comfortable once adjusted.
Conveniently, the fuel / oil mix at 50 : 1 is the same as my Stihl chainsaw, meaning I can take one fuel tank for the two if using both. The instructions were clear and concise, no funny Chinese translations. I did notice the plastic harness guard said 'China' on it, how much is made in China I can't say, but I couldn't fault the quality, it felt 'Scandanavian'; chunky, robust and ergonomic. It comes with a strimmer line, 4 blade brush knife, and a useful safety 'head guard' to fit over the knife in transit so it doesnt cut anyone or the car seats in transit.
Having filled it last night, primed the fuel bulb and flipped the choke, it started after two pulls. Today in the wood, it started first pull from cold ! Noise level is acceptable but ear protection might be an idea. Vibration is also acceptable, but after 2 hours use my fingers were tingling. Performance is extraordinarily good. Boy does this thing have grunt. With the provided 4 blade cutting knife, it slashed brambles effortlessly and I rapidly advanced through the jungle, far faster than with the same size Einhell. If an obstacle was encountered such as a hidden branch or raised bit of earth, the obstacle came off worse. Any accidentally grazed Hazel branches were left googed. Small branches disappeared, softer old logs were reduced to sawdust, it took everything in its stride. I wouldn't recommend it, but I reckon if you tried the blade on the ground you could dig a large hole with it, it would chew earth and keep going.
The near Litre of fuel lasted about an hour of hard use which seems thirsty, but the amount I cleared in that time was quite surprisingly large. When I refueled I decided to also change from the standard Husky bladed head to the 'Mulching Head' I bought for about £20. It has bent blades, a bit like the wings on a Klingon War Bird, so rather than a straight cut, it chops in two opposed directions. Boy oh Boy, did that make it fun. The mulching blade turned it into an aerial Kitchen blender, anything it touched was just 'vapourised'. Whereas the cutting knife leaves pieces up to 4" long on the ground, the mulching blade leaves compost, and it does it very fast. I found myself not at a stand, but steadily walking forward about the speed of a granny with a zimmer frame, but through 3 feet of dense brush.
After 3 hours I was glad to have a break, but couldn't believe how much I'd cleared, in that time I'd changed the character of the wood from jungle to having several new wide paths and getting access to parts I've not been in before.
Can't recommend it enough, great tool, very impressive grunt, solid design, 10 / 10. Definitely my favourite toy and a really enjoyable pleasure to use.
