WILD BADGER POWER 52cc Weed Wacker Gas Powered, 3 in 1 String Trimmer/Edger 18’’ with 10’’ Brush Cutter,Rubber Handle & Shoulder Strap Included

Great product! When I got the box, it was heavy, but then, you aren’t going to be lifting this thing during use. It’s got a harness system for that, and it’s wicked comfortable! In fact, I’ll get the only negative out of the way right now. The instructions that come in the box leave something to be desired. The cord for the controller isn’t depicted and there is no instruction for how to route it on the device when you assemble the handles. That said, a little common sense know how goes a long way if you’re in possession of that sort of thing. I’m in IT, so this stuff isn’t really in my common sense wheelhouse. So from some who has, as one of their primary functions, the job of writing instruction sets, I feel qualified in saying these instructions were… meh.There was a single picture of the harness for the thing, and it mostly spent time on the quick release safety feature (which is wicked cool and works fantastic). But I spent an embarrassing amount of time trying to figure out how to get it together and put it on. Eventually I had the wife come over to help me and in 17.5 second she had it on me perfectly. So naturally instead of thanking her, I gave a proper cussing for not taking longer and protecting me ego. She just laughed at me and so I had to play it off like I was joking. But whatever. The harness system itself was fantastic (once properly worn and fitted). The whole unit weighs a good bit, but you’ll never notice it when it’s hooked up to this shoulder harness.And the power of the thing. We got the 25cc version (the larger of the two models) and honestly it’s the best $180 I’ve spent on tools! It comes with the string and a blade head (with a nice, easy to use blade guard for storage. The blade attachment comes about as sharp as a marble, but it’s nothing a proper sharpening wouldn’t fix. I used it straight up out of the box just to test and WOW! The power of the thing was blasting down 2” thick chunks of brush easily. Pretty sure it could have done even thicker, but I didn’t feel like trying chainsaw lumber with it just to test. Can’t imagine how good the thing will work when properly sharpened!The whole thing rests comfortably while using. Easy to swing around and you can go for days with it, I’m sure. Eager to try it, I didn’t put on any gloves as I (and any sane person) would normally do. Wasn’t a problem at all! A few minute test turned into an hour of getting carried away and only then did I start thinking I should have worn gloves to protect from blisters. I never did get blisters, and even though the unit is indeed that comfortable to use, I would still recommend using gloves.Anyway, great product! I’m very happy with it and highly recommend it!(And yes, of course I was joking with the wife. Don’t be ridiculous!)

I don't think you will find a better deal on a Bush cutter. I thought I wanted to an Echo bush cutter since my Echo string trimmer has been so reliable but at nearly $600 and with a significantly smaller motor home depot cured me of that. My experiences so far are as follows: I have a commercial lot that I have to maintain to certain level to avoid citations that has several areas that have deep rusts or old hidden stumps I dare not venture with my mower and my string trimmer constantly gets weeds wrapped around the spindle which need to be cleared and needs an adapter for brush clearing blades which is a hassle getting the right components so I decided to buy the right tool for the job. First attempt I loaded up and as a precaution I tried to start it and made many attempts to start it following the supplied instructions but was unsuccessful and wasted an evening thinking it must be old gas which ran fine on my string trimmer. Apparently there are 2 sets of starting instructions, the one that comes in the box and one online here. The next time I tried to start it days later according to the online instructions i started it without issue. Mine however does not or has yet to start on 2nd pull as it claims and is actually almost difficult to start cold. I am using it strictly as a brush cutter and have used 3 different style blades. The supplied blade does an ok job however the guard needs to be removed or modified as mine has been to make it of any use because the curve of the guard goes down so far it hits the groud several inches below the blade not allowing a very close cut at all. This can be remedy with a heat gun or torch bending the guard upwards as in the attached photo. I can't speak to the level of safety this modification provides but any guard is better than no guard. The circular saw blades work good but with those the fewer teeth the better and buy a heavy or thick one. The kind I used are a bit flimsy since the first collision with an unseen obstacle warped it beyond any quick fix I could make. I next tried the blade with the chainsaw teeth,, a 2 pack cost about what a 3 pack of the flimsy blades did, and it cuts like a dream in open areas but forget about edging or string trimmer work. I cut through thickets without effort and at times when weeds would seem to be wrapped around the blade and spindle which would need to be manually cleared before, only required the application of throttle and a brief shaking to sling it off and work resumes. I also cut a few oak tree branches, the largest cut was 4 to 5 inches and it handled it with ease doing the work of a pole saw. You will need a harness of some type, and adjusting the handle bars to your preference will take some time but easy to do. The supplied harness is not good quality and I bit and bought the Amazon recommended harness which is slightly better garbage than the supplied harness and didn't last an entire session before requiring some in field repairs. I bought a much simpler, better padded over the shoulder type of sling and found it performs as well or better and far less complicated and cost the same $15 as the harness that the front clasp kept separating on although was not overly tightened or under stress and has a quick disconnect that is a joke and far more dangerous than not having a quick disconnect at all. So forger about the quick start, buy a chainsaw tooth blade And a padded sling you will have a powerful brush clearing, limb cutting inexpensive beast in your tool arsenal.

Overall very satisfied with this purchase. So to start my previous job for 8 years was at a land management company in Minnesota. We typically ran Stihl brand FS360 or FS550 brushcutters. Although the Wild Badger isn’t one of those it is very impressive especially for the price! Power is good, no issues with starting (although I’m a motor head so starting motors is a skill of mine). Weight isn’t bad compared to any other product like this. It is designed to be used with a harness so I wouldn’t listen to those complaining about that. The supplied harness is functional but I went ahead and ordered the Amazons Choice one that was closer to the ones I used made by Stihl. I live on a 12 acre hobby farm so there is a lot of trimming around trees, fences, on rough areas inaccessible to lawnmowers. I just ran this machine for 4 hours yesterday and easily could have gone longer. The supplied string head works pretty good. I will agree with a few others that the guard interferes with the ground when using the metal tri-blade. The Stihl brushcutters came with a lower profile guard to be used with the tri-blade cutting head. I hope Wild Badger comes out with something like that in the future. All and all I’ve been very impressed even after years of running $1000-$1300 brushcutters this unit is a great deal and I believe will give me years of solid use! The 52cc Wild Badger is worth looking at for those with larger acreage. I have been recommending it already to the people around me.