ritcheyvs
Veteran Member
I think it depends on the nature of the ground in your field. If it's flat a rotary cutter will probably do fine and also be good for brush and small saplings if needed. My fields have several berms and the rotary cutter didn't do well where the ground was uneven. So I got a finish mower which does a better job "floating" on the four wheels to follow the ground contour. But if you have rocks or debris, the finish mower can send them flying with great speed (read: danger Will Robinson). That's where a flail shines; it doesn't turn rocks into missiles. Flails are also pretty good chopping brush; I don't have a flail (and haven't used one) but I'm impressed with the ones the public works guys use.
But also consider this: whatever you get, you will break stuff and need parts. So make sure you can fix whatever you get. On my finish mower, I've broken wheels, bent caster forks, and lost small parts that mysteriously disappear. Mine also came with a bad bearing that failed in short order and fried a belt. The local steel/welding shop fixed some things but I had to get factory parts for others. Another consideration is that many "brands" are made by someone else (just painted a different color); this can be a good thing for parts availability. My Phoenix mower was made by Sicma (Italy) and is the same as Kioti, First Choice, and many other "brands". This was great (after I discovered it) because I could then get parts from many sources. I tried to get parts from Phoenix (which is local) but Phoenix only works with dealers and my dealer didn't want to place an order until he had "enough stuff" to make it worthwhile.
But also consider this: whatever you get, you will break stuff and need parts. So make sure you can fix whatever you get. On my finish mower, I've broken wheels, bent caster forks, and lost small parts that mysteriously disappear. Mine also came with a bad bearing that failed in short order and fried a belt. The local steel/welding shop fixed some things but I had to get factory parts for others. Another consideration is that many "brands" are made by someone else (just painted a different color); this can be a good thing for parts availability. My Phoenix mower was made by Sicma (Italy) and is the same as Kioti, First Choice, and many other "brands". This was great (after I discovered it) because I could then get parts from many sources. I tried to get parts from Phoenix (which is local) but Phoenix only works with dealers and my dealer didn't want to place an order until he had "enough stuff" to make it worthwhile.
