I've actually skidded down one of my hills with the brakes locked up with both GEAR and HST tractors. But for a new user, I'd much rather have an HST on a hill for all sorts of reasons that were outlined by several posters.
Regarding the desire for HP leading to your choice of tractors, I'd say you are confused about what HP can do, for 2 acres you can get to more of your property with a garden tractor than you probably can get to with a 25 to 30hp traditional CUT. I'm not advocating a garden tractor, but I think if you have slopes you won't be able to get much use out of a conventional cut. While you might be getting more land, you might not. And if you do, then you might regret a small tractor like the 2210, but I doubt you will regret getting a tractor that is capable of getting into more of your property that a CUT, and that is why I strongly recommend the 3 brands I pointed out.
I'd say a Ventrac 4200, while expensive, would handle up to about 10 acres of land. While these tractors look smaller than other CUTs and while they in fact are, they are also very capable in many ways. The Power Tracs are better at tractoring chores, more versitile in many ways, and available in more sizes, a PT will easily out tractor a Kioti or a JD at most tractor tasks. Just using a FEL, the PT will probably be 50% more productive than a traditional CUT even if its loader is rated lower. For using the PHD, the PT is probably 100% faster. For mowing, the PT is probably 20-to-30% faster. And on slopes, even a standard PT without a weight transfer system is going to be DRAMATICALLY more stable, but one with a weight transfer system will literally feel like it is glued to the slope. I never would have believed how good a PT was until I saw one first hand. I never would have belived how stable a tractor could be on a steep slope until I did figure 8's and U-turns on slopes with Steiners & Ventracs that some conventional tractors couldn't climb.
Don't get hung up on the power, focus on the ability to use the tractor. For my 2nd CUT I actually bought a SMALLER tractor, and that was after buying a few more acres. But I find the smaller tractor fits into places better, and therefore gets more work done than my larger tractor. The key to picking a tractor is to pick one that will ACTUALLY do the jobs you need done, and will get into as many places on your property WITHOUT flipping over on its side. The funky looking Ventracs, Power Tracs and Steiners will get into those spots and will do far more work than they look like they are capable of doing. And while I am all for saving money, and while I understand that sometimes budgets over ride the correct choice, I would suggest that buying a conventional tractor for work on slopes will lead to longer hours getting less accomplished and when time equals money then it just doesn't make sense to buy the wrong style of tractor.
To put it another way, take a look at a jig saw and a circular saw. Both saws will rip a 4' by 8' sheet of plywood in half. The circular saw will do it in about 30 seconds, the jig saw will take several minutes, and might overheat in the process. When working on slopes, consider the conventional tractors to be jig saws!
