Talk to me of the Stihl FS91 [Reeded Canary Grass, Phragmites / Metal blade]

[elric]

Well, after enough gnawing away at some old, mostly dead, standing Buckthorn, nesting season has more or less arrived. My efforts are moving towards areas that no self respecting Woodcock should be in. There's about a 50' square patch of dry Phragmites I'd like to cut in order to uncover some Honeysuckle that needs purging [cut and paint]. A few areas with the damnable Reeded Canary Grass that I have permission to cut until I can't take it anymore... All this stuff is on fairly gentle terrain, no steep hills... Steep slopes are for the young guys...

The DNR will spray the emerging Phragmites [right next to a Cty HWY], but the RCG is tucked away, unseen but by God. Looking at the Stil FS91 with handlebars and a grass cutting blade suitable for RCG and Phragmites. I do not intend to cut Honeysuckle and Buckthorn with the brush cutter, because I need to paint the fresh stumps with 25% Glyphosate [start, cut, stop, paint, rinse, repeat...]. The old 20v Skil reciprocating saw will scream in the woods again.

Some small bush willow trunks maybe 1-1.5 inches would be targets of opportunity, but I have no desire to clear a dense stand of the stuff.

What comes with an FS91? Tools? Do I need to get parts in order to pull the string trimmer head and install a metal blade? Which blade? The included sling will do for now, but maybe the Husqvarna harness for the long approach marches of 1/2 mile just to get to some of the infestations... Oh, I've had bad luck with a string trimmer head and RCG, those long stems seem to search for the smallest seam and bind up the head...

 

[SCMtnHaul]

I've used quite a few string trimmers although never the FS91. Stihl generally includes everything needed to get whacking. My personal opinion is buy the largest trimmer that you can afford and find comfortable. Once I stepped up to the FS240 I realized I had been missing out on a better trimmer experience. Unless you're just cutting lightweight stuff I find the the sub-30cc trimmers to be too wimpy. Being able to use a thicker line or put more power behind a saw blade or brush knife is very nice and makes for faster work. One major criticism I have of Stihl is that the included harness/strap/whatever usually sucks. The optional harnesses that cost a pretty penny are much more comfortable and worth that pretty penny if they will be used much. An extra $60 to make weed-whacking less physically taxing is worth it in my book. I've only used one Husqvarna harness but it's a royal P.O.S. and after much fiddling with the straps and such I just used the Stihl aftermarket harness which is vastly superior. The Husqy model was the harness included with the 545FR clearing saw. A good harness can make a heavier trimmer still easy to swing all day long.

 

[elric]

Just got an email from a WI DNR field biologist, they use the FS130.

"Our crew uses FS130 brushcutters. The tri-blade works well for reed canary grass and light phrag. Heavy phrag and woody brush we use the chisel tooth blade."

 

[ChuckMI]

I use this harness https://www.acmetools.com/husqvarna...569375294&utm_content=Profit Margin 36% - 40% It may be overkill for the amount of cutting you are planning to do.