Well I hope I didn't just blow $400 on junk, but . . .
I just purchased a Troy Bilt 4-Cycle straight shaft modular weed wacker system with a pole saw attachment and a hedge trimmer attachment.
My property is not very formal, most everything is very natural and free flowing in how we allow things to grow, perhaps rustic would be a decent descritption. But I still need to maintain some things.
I went to my local equipment center and looked at Echo and Stihl pole saws and extended reach hedge trimmers. Rough prices were $400 to $500. Now taking in mind that I don't use this stuff very often I had a hard time swollowing that type of expense for something that I will use maybe 1 day every year.
So I happened into Lowes at lunch to price out some granite counter tops for the lovely Mrs_B and as luck would have it, the kitchen planner was not there. So I wandered around and ended up in the power equipment area.
For $197 they had a 4 cycle Troy Built straight shaft weed wacker with a tool head unit that slips off and can be replaced with other tool heads. (They also had 2 other straight shaft models of Troy Built 2-Cycle units that were $124 and $149)
For $99 they had a pole saw attachment.
For another $99 they had an extended reach hedge trimmer.
They also had several other tool heads I had no interest in so I didn't price them.
Now I have no clue about the quality of Troy Bilt. I know it is a division of MTD, which has spotty quality. Before MTD bought Troy Bilt the brand was known for their high quality tillers, but over the past few years I've not heard the same good things. But I'm hoping that this thing is good enough for what I need and I won't regret it.
Does anyone know if I just screwed up? Anyone have any experience with these types of switch head tools? Ryobi, also known for moderate consumer grade yard tools, has a similar system (sold at Home Depot) for roughly the same price.
Are these types of things going to be good enough for modest duty, once or twice a year work or is it going to be an ongoing source of frustration and will I wish I spent twice the price for the Echo or Stihl brands?
Here is a link to what I purchased:
http://www.troybilt.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_10001_14102_10142_18652_-1
I just purchased a Troy Bilt 4-Cycle straight shaft modular weed wacker system with a pole saw attachment and a hedge trimmer attachment.
My property is not very formal, most everything is very natural and free flowing in how we allow things to grow, perhaps rustic would be a decent descritption. But I still need to maintain some things.
I went to my local equipment center and looked at Echo and Stihl pole saws and extended reach hedge trimmers. Rough prices were $400 to $500. Now taking in mind that I don't use this stuff very often I had a hard time swollowing that type of expense for something that I will use maybe 1 day every year.
So I happened into Lowes at lunch to price out some granite counter tops for the lovely Mrs_B and as luck would have it, the kitchen planner was not there. So I wandered around and ended up in the power equipment area.
For $197 they had a 4 cycle Troy Built straight shaft weed wacker with a tool head unit that slips off and can be replaced with other tool heads. (They also had 2 other straight shaft models of Troy Built 2-Cycle units that were $124 and $149)
For $99 they had a pole saw attachment.
For another $99 they had an extended reach hedge trimmer.
They also had several other tool heads I had no interest in so I didn't price them.
Now I have no clue about the quality of Troy Bilt. I know it is a division of MTD, which has spotty quality. Before MTD bought Troy Bilt the brand was known for their high quality tillers, but over the past few years I've not heard the same good things. But I'm hoping that this thing is good enough for what I need and I won't regret it.
Does anyone know if I just screwed up? Anyone have any experience with these types of switch head tools? Ryobi, also known for moderate consumer grade yard tools, has a similar system (sold at Home Depot) for roughly the same price.
Are these types of things going to be good enough for modest duty, once or twice a year work or is it going to be an ongoing source of frustration and will I wish I spent twice the price for the Echo or Stihl brands?
Here is a link to what I purchased:
http://www.troybilt.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_10001_14102_10142_18652_-1
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