John Rumm wrote:

Any recommendations?

If you just want cheap crap, I bought a Spear and Jackson from Argos a
30cc brush cutter which has been adequate for garden use. It has a metal
blade as well as a line, cost £64 and it works fairly relentlessly on
long grass, cow parsley and nettles.

Don't expect much from the name, it's just more rebadged Chinese crap,
but as long as you use it for light use it will be fine. On the positive
side it's very comfortable to use, has a long reach and bicycle style
handles which are comfortable for long sessions of use. The tools
provided were good including a 2T mixing bottle of decent quality.

For the farm we use much better quality stuff since sclearing hedges and
banks wil generally involve working for 8-10 hours a day. We tend to use
Stihl brushcutters and split-shaft units for farm work. They cost a lot
more (£400 to £600) and the attachments are each more expensive than a
no-name brushcutter but the engines are more rugged (4-stroke) and the
attachments don't fold up when you snag discarded wire or polypropylene
rope.

If you want a compromise, I've had good experience with Husqvarna at
about £180 for the motor/brushcutter and £60-80 for the accesories. I'd
say these were "good enough" for garden work. I think these are also
sold as "Partner" in some parts of the country, but IIRC both Husqvarna
and Partner are Electrolux brands. Ryobi offer the cheapest recognisable
name split shaft units with attachments priced around £40. I've not used
one, but the attachments sold in the local garden shop look flimsy.


If your use really is light, I'd buy separate cheapskate units. Firstly
they will cost a lot less and having two motors and no split shaft means
that if one fails the other still works and the units are stronger than
cheap split shafts. The lowest price I have seen for long-reach
hedgetrimmers is around £100-140.

If you want a leap into the unknown, there are some "Zomax" brushcutters
with hedgetrimmer attachments for sale on eBay for £100. No idea how
good they are, or even what they are. They have 35cc engines so they
should have decent torque for the price. Ryobi are next on the lsit at
£140 for brushcutter + hedgetrimmer. You can also get a chainsaw pruner
for the Ryobi which may well sway the decision. Although the Ryobi is
sold by Screwfix the attachment prices seem to be about 2x the price
elsewhere.