4-Stroke Brush Cutter - 25.4 cc.

Lately, we have been cleaning up around the farm and in the process, we've been running through tons of weed eater line and killing ourselves with sling blades trying to get rid of all of the briars and saplings from around the barns, fences and sheds. Hence, this purchase was solely so that we could take out the sling blades equation and not have to continuously load weed eater string.Well, it seems to work well, but the stock blade that it comes with isn't as aggressive as I'd hoped for and I won't give it 5 stars until only after I have tried it with the more aggressive Renegade blades that I also found here on Amazon. The engine came without oil and we had to attach the handle, blade and guard. I filled it with Mobile1 10w30 as I have always used this type oil in my other small 4 strokes. I also checked and added some grease to the lower unit. It cranks up super easily, as does my Makita hand blower and unlike all of the "Jump Start" problems that I had with my older Toro backpack blower, neither of these Makita engines seems to have ANY troubles starting, idling or running at high RPMs. In fact, my Makita blower has only gotten better with more usage and runs smooth as glass, so I am hoping that after the total break-in this Makita engine will be the same. It also appears to be very well built with very good metal throughout. Real heavy duty well-built piece of equipment.For our first test my son and I let it warm up (started first pull), freely running it low than medium and then high and the whole time without a load. We wanted to be sure to help break it in a little more than the factory did (Yes, you could tell that it had been factory tested and the oil had been drained prior to boxing). Then we proceeded to cut some 1/4" to 1/2" pin oaks that we wanted to be rid of. That was easy! We then moved onto a couple of things that were larger with the largest being around 1&1/2" inches! I know that it is not made for cutting this size diameter with the stock blade, but you know I'm going to test this machine plenty before I carry it down to the farm expecting to get a bunch of trimming done. So we put the stock blade to the test and abused it a little anyway. Abused the blade that is, as the motor never shrugged! It does have a spring type cable drive and you can tell as it develops more RPM on the blade if you wait prior to engaging a sapling. That is a good safe thing, for the engine that is but that can somewhat be considered a little lag and I don't like lag on an engine, or equipment whilst cutting.Pros:1. Starts immediately2. Quiet operation even at full throttle3. Seems to have decent power (we'll see once we mount the Renegade blades!)4. The shoulder straps are ergonomically designed and you feel normal when strapped in5. The warranty is Makita6. No silly oil and gas to mix up7. No smoke and fumesCons:1. Might be a little underpowered and I will come back and repost after I have had a chance to run the Renegade blades2. Expensive. But ALL 4 strokes are more money so I don't count off for this.3. The stock blade is stamped metal and the cutting edges of the blade are very dull. A typical "don't cut yourself" homeowner blade and for me worthless.Would I recommend it? Yes, because the average homeowner won't be cutting anything close to what we have to deal with and if I was simply rating this as a homeowner then it would get 10 stars even with the crummy stock blade. Note that I bought this for cutting heavy brush, briars, small trees and clearing my land in areas where I can't get my bush hogs. I am going to use this more this winter than the average person would use it in 5 years! I will be using it a bunch this weekend and I'll come back later and post this weekends results.

Still new , after an hours running use , it has quit on me. I'm good with small engines usually....but this one doesn't want to run anymore. For the first time in 30 years....I'll have to take it to someone better than I at fixing this sort of thing. Not recommended.

Just what I needed. The engine starts easily and idles quietly. I appreciate not having to mix oil and gasoline. The included cutter blade is great for small brush. Clear assembly instructions are lacking about how to install the blade.

Nice powerful engine, fairly quiet. Not too heavy. My only dislike is that the cutting wheels are rather dull. They could stand to be much sharper. I will try sharper after market wheels

This is relatively "heavy" due to it's nature, but lighter than similar equipment. The engine is fantastic. No sign of bogging during use. It is quiet and easy to start. Not having to deal with mixed gas (how often do you run out/don't have oil handy?) was my main reason for purchase. Pretty sure the engine is made by Dolmar. Not well known in the states, but they make great chainsaws/small engines.

Have used this for 2 months now and it has done exactly what I bought it for. I purchased a Forester 9 inch chain saw blade and it cut through all the brush and briers and took out small trees that I wanted gone. Wanted this done before it was warm enough for snakes and this tool let me do just that. Recommend for sure and worth the price , and I’m 66 and didn’t have any trouble handling it!

We purchased this to make a trail on some property that was a combination of woody and swampy. It worked really well for this. The string had an issue so my husband went to swap it out. He had an issue with that so went to open up the case to continue and a bunch of springs went flying out. We are going to see if we can find someone to repair it, but at this price point having something break after so little use (only used it 3 times) it was not a good purchase.

I am a 50 Y/O female and recently purchased this tool tool clear saplings 1/4-1/2 in in diameter. This tool slices through them like butter. The cross strap allows the weight to be distributed between both shoulders making it as comfortable as possible. It is super easy to swing side to side cutting the grass or saplings. I will be purchasing the round saw blade to cut the thicker small trees.