Kodiak or Agri-X 6 Foot Brush Hog? Opinions?

[wirlybird]

Got a couple of these for sale here. The Kodiak is used but decent shape at $900.
The Agri-X is pretty new at $1000. Looks the same as the Kodiak!
I'm wanting a light duty 6 footer.

Or do I hold out for a good JD RC2072 which pop up once in a while in the $1500 and up range.

 

[jeff9366]

I believe almost all single spindle rotary cutters originate in Asia, then are assembled from components, mix and match, in the importing country.

 

[ericm979]

I have a Kodiak 5' LD. It's worked well except for two issues. We have a lot of football sized rocks in our soil. Once the back edge of the mower pulled one of those up and it got into the blades. Since then on about half the times I start up there's a serious vibration. I think one of the blades does not swing out. They both swing fine when I try it manually. Letting it come to a stop and trying again usually works. This may have happened because the slip clutch was adjusted too tight. I assumed it'd be right from the factory but it wasn't, and it was only the next spring when I did the check that I found out.

The other problem was on the edge of the deck the metal is bent over to stiffen the deck. There's one spot on the back where it got caught by another rock that didn't pull out but pulled the bent over part out. I bent it back. If it happens again I'll weld a reinforcement there to tie it in to the next section.

The Kodiak design lets the deck pivot to follow the terrain more than most designs which was a feature I wanted. And the strong tail wheel mount is good if you back into brush a lot like I do.

 

[3gunr]

I have a 6 ft kodiak and it has worked well, I dont have any rocks to deal with but lots of small trees and brush, I also have a 7ft woods cadet and the cut on the woods is better, mine also has the slip clutchwhich needs to be maintained. my other 2 cutters have shear bolts and in 20 yrs i have never broken one. I am pretty careful but i have hit some stumps and and other old buried farm junk from time to time.

 

[JM7500]

I have a 6' Agri MD. It's a little heavier than the Agri X. It's ok. Darrel Harp does not have good customer support and does not have any manuals for the MD. I'm sure the gearbox and slip clutch are imported, but not much information is on the name plates. I had to replace grease zerks on the tail wheels before I used it when they broke off the first time I tried to grease them. After a few uses, the deck starting showing creases and the skids on the sides were bending away from the side plates. I do use it to cut brush as well as grass so I expect some additional wear. Check the gearbox before you use it to make sure there is oil in the gearbox. I would rate the MD as a 4 out of 10 and would choose a different brand if I had to do it again. It was what I could get at the time.