Wheeled brushcutters

Headnote

We put six models through their paces in a Hampshire woodland. How did they fare? Sally Drury reports

THE REVIEW PANEL

Mike Guppy, head groundsman, Sparsholt College

Dennis Blake, assistant groundsman, Sparsholt College

Daniel Davies, groundsman, Sparsholt College

Justin Trotter, groundsman, Sparsholt College

Nathan Bull, groundsman, Sparsholt College

There are many instances where you need to reduce tall vegetation or clear overgrown sites. A wide range of tools and machines are built to tackle such jobs but we opt to test one ride-on unit and five pedestrian rotary brushcutters in an overgrown area of woodland at Sparsholt College in Hampshire.

The vegetation varies from long grass and thistles along the edges to intense brambles and briars under the trees. A number of saplings and small bushes of elder also require removing.

The weather on test day was cool but dry.

Etesia Attila AV95

SPECIFICATIONS

Width of tut 95cm

Engine 18hp B&S Vanguard

Drive Hydrostatic with mechanical cliff lock

Fuel Unleaded

Tank capacity 12 litres

Forward speed Two ranges, 0-4.8km/h and 0-8km/h

Reverse speed Two ranges, 0-1.8km/nandO-4.8km/h_

Chassis Tubular welded steel

Tyres F: 7x35/R: 16x7.8

Blade 7mm thick with two swinging/fixed tips

Mower deck 2mm steel

Ejection Rear and side discharge

Cutting height Stepped 50-65-8095cm

Dimensions 18×102×90cm

Weight 2 70kg

List price ex VAT £6,350

Contact Etesia UK on 01926 403319

It looks like a sporty, rear-engined, rotary rider, but the Attila AV95 is a brushcutter with attitude. It may be compact, but if it can push over the vegetation the Attila will reduce it to mulch.

This is a high-performance machine capable of working in demanding situations and is a speedy solution to clearing and maintaining overgrown areas. Wherever you have large areas of brambles, gorse, weeds or even saplings, this is a machine that is going to give you savings in both man-hours and effort.

With a 95cm cutting width, the Attila AV95 is the larger of two ride-on brushcutters from French firm Etesia - the other being the 85cm AK85. At the centre of its performance is a gutsy 18hp Briggs & Stratton twin-cylinder Vanguard engine. It's a productive machine and one that Guppy seems to have mistaken for a Formula One racing car.

"Look at the path he's clearing," remarks...