Stihl 360 brush-cutter experience?

[Howard Justice]

Thanks Eric!!

Do they actually come with a harness or is that an extra item?

Visited your town long ago at a conference. Gorgeous area! And now have a bike that was made there!!

 

[pdqdl]

Did I hear "harness" ? That probably means you are talking about bicycle-style handle bars on your trimmer.

I make a habit of replacing those bars with a loop handle whenever possible. Over the many years I've done this kind of work, I've never had an experienced user like them. Only about 1/2 the newbies like 'em, but they quickly outgrow that preference,.

I can only think of one advantage to the harnesses: they make a cumbersome unwieldy machine more comfortable to run slower and less efficiently. The bicycle bars make the harness essential, too.

 

[Howard Justice]

Ditto for the 12” tri-blade. It’s mostly what I use. I avoid using string because the machine I run pulverizes and covers you in plant matter. And if you are in poison oak…

BTW. I follow James Spann and see your Bear pic is appropriate…. Quite a number of bears in NA now I hear. We occ have them in the northern suburbs of ATL…. Like kennesaw and acworth.

 

[pdqdl]

Harness and bicycle handles on the cutter is the way to go with a larger cutter. With the harness you don't have to hold the machine up, just aim it. And the wide handles allow better control of the machine. Stihl sells some nice harnesses. With the harness I can go for hours before I'm tired.

Sadly, we disagree. The only gain to be had with a harness is that it puts some of the weight from your arms onto your shoulders.

Apart from that, they prevent the operators from moving the cutter forward or backwards. They simply don't allow that kind of movement, so the operator ends up walking inches forward or backward to control what they hit. The operator cannot really control the up & down motion, except as it pushes against the harness attachment point. Basically, you are so strapped into the contraption you have no freedom of movement except a really lame arc of horizontal travel.

I had a guy fall off a very steep hill once, brush-cutting with a harnessed-trimmer. He tumbled and rolled about 40 feet down a 1:1 slope, getting the crap beat out of him by the trimmer, on account of the fact that he couldn't toss it aside. That's another reason for not liking them.

The loop handle trimmers put all the weight of the machine and it's momentum on the operators two hands. After that, there is total freedom of operation.

 

[Howard Justice]

Don’t have the 360 yet…. Still evaluating. .. anyone know what cutting attachments come with it? If any?

 

[JTM]

BTW. I follow James Spann and see your Bear pic is appropriate…. Quite a number of bears in NA now I hear. We occ have them in the northern suburbs of ATL…. Like kennesaw and acworth.

That bear was actually in my dads front yard in Sorrento Florida. He took the pic.

 

[JTM]

Ha ha…. Yep I’m battling that now from white pine saw work last week in Smoky Mountains. They must grow a wicked P Ivey species there!!

ANYONE HAVE HARNESS COMMENTS.

Never used one even w our pole saws…. Prolly need to…

I have the husqvarna harness. I don’t know about others but one feature has saved my bacon a few times which is its quick release. I try to observe where the yellow jacket nests are but sometimes I’m not very successful.

 

[Howard Justice]

I have the husqvarna harness. I don’t know about others but one feature has saved my bacon a few times which is its quick release. I try to observe where the yellow jacket nests are but sometimes I’m not very successful.

Yep. That’s critical!! We were dropping white pines near GSMNP border to regain our view of mtns when we basically had to discontinue cutting bc numerous swarms of YJ. I presume the Stihl harness is not quick release?

 

[Howard Justice]

Stihl FS 240

Has anyone purchased a FS 240 (no valves) in past 6 months. Dealer saying NA for now?