Honda Versatool

This Honda Versatool Hedge Trimmer is one of many Honda garden tools I own, it does all that I expected it to do, although on the downside it is a little heavy for me ( I am 81 ) I chose Honda products because of their build and easy to start every time. I have no problems recommending them. Show details

Honda Versatool with cultivator attachment – I purchased this because I have the standard 425 brushcutter which has been extremely good; I bought this one so that I could get the cultivator attachment but I also purchased the line trimmer head so that I would have a spare. I like the 4 stroke engine, it's not as much mucking around as 2 stroke even though I do have other 2 stroke gear. … Read more

The motor starts easily but it doesn't have the ½ throttle lock which is a bit annoying, also, like the standard brushcutter the primer bulb is difficult to get to. The attachments click on and off quickly and easily; the trimmer head works OK but I couldn't seem to fit one of my generic heads in it's place. I haven't attempted to put other blades on but I don't think it will be a problem. The cultivator works well and I'm quite impressed with it, it's good for tight spaces but it doesn't like wire so don't go too close to fences or wire trellises. I could have purchased similar gear for a fair bit less but because of my good experiences with other Honda gear decided to pay the extra money.

Fantastic Quality Honda Power Tool Once you purchase Honda Gardening equipment you never go back to any other brand – I am very happy with this Honda UMC425 Power Head it is extremely reliable it starts first time and just goes and goes I am going to get 2 attachments for this Honda Power Head a whipper snipper attachment and a long shaft hedge trimmer attachment the people who I purchased this Honda Powerhead from are Mark and Harry from Camden Mowers and they… Read more

are fantastic people Mark and Harry from Camden Mowers provide exceptional customer service and the only place I would go to purchase machines or put them on layby is Harry and Mark I would not go to any other mower shop than Harry or Mark and the thing that I like about this Honda Powerhead is that it is a multi tool and a split shaft machine and I can put different attachments I think it is a versatile and useful machine In my perspective it is a very good system and I like it alot

Quality piece of Honda equipment – I currently use this unit exclusively as an extended hedger to maintain my 2.5m high hedges. I have just ordered the line trimmer attachment to complement my UMK model with a blade kit. Although reasonably heavy, I’ve found that it balances well on the shoulder strap. Show details

Simply love it – After years of great service from a Honda UMS425 (which is still going) we bought the Versatool power head along with the brushcutter and edger attachments. It's powered by the same 4-stroke GX25 motor that the UMS425 uses which is quiet in operation and exceptionally reliable. The Versatool brushcutter came with a dual line bump-head and we added… Read more

the 9" blade kit which includes a guard and attaching hardware.

The line feed mechanism is much easier to reload than the UMS425 due to a redesign and the attachments are easy to change (in about 30 seconds) while the blade is a 5 minute swap from the bump head.

We're looking after a reasonable area with light to moderate grass and the edger is a great addition.

First time user - superb! – The super fast head and it's thread cuts through high grass and thick shrubs easily. No force required. Even after 2 hours of constant use, we are able (my partner, she loves it also) can manage to continue to work on our 5 acres of requrirements. There is no much to attend to in the way of maintaince, A brush and cleaning of the oil and… Read more

washing of the filter when suggested is easy. The only thing we have had to replace is the original nylon threads but that is expected.

Disappointed – I have always bought Honda. 18 months ago bought the 425. 0ver the period used only for approx 3 hours then it began leaking oil. took it to the local Honda dealer who told me the crankcase was broken!! said it must have been dropped which it hadn't. They referred to Honda who stated the damage was not covered by warranty and the repair is more than the original cost so it is a write off. Now having to find a non Honda replacement.  Show details

Good quality equipment – I have recently changed from the UMK 425 to the UMC 425 Versatool as I wanted to have the cultivator attachment. The UMK 425 served very well for many years with the plastic fuel lines and the priming bulb replaced at the last service due to age. In comparing the two I find the harness for the UMK was far better. The harness for the UMC is just a… Read more ·  1

strap with a shoulder pad and plastic buckle for connecting to the power head part, where as the UMK had a cushioning hip pad where the quick release was positioned.

Operation of the UMC with the straight shaft brush cutter attachment is the same as the UMK and very satisfactory. I have found using the cultivator attachment heavy work, but I think that is my fault for pressing down instead of letting the machine do the work.

Great Product – Bought the UMC25 today, with whipper snipper, pole pruner, long hedger and extension. Havent used the hedger yet so cant comment. Whipper snipper is great, well balanced and shedloads of power. It seems to use a lot of line but maybe they use cheap line (I got an easy load bump head as well). Will wait and see with decent line. The pruner without… Read more ·  2

extension is great, well balanced and easy to use. Rips through three inch branches without effort. The extension makes it a bit heavy for overhead work, and it is a bit harder to control as well. I did compare to the equivalent Stihl, and I thought that was the same. Also, the on/off switch is positioned so that I bump it off, maybe that is me though. Overall, a great product so far, would give 4.5 stars

Good, but a couple of flaws – I went with the loop-handled Honda simply because it was the best one my local shop had in stock, I would have considered the comparable Husqvarna / Stihl models if they had had them. Mixing 2-stroke fuel is easy and I have other 2-stroke machines so I don't rate fuel as a particular advantage. The 4-stroke engine is a bit heavy, but it starts… Read more ·  1

and runs well. It has an odd sound, fairly subdued and inoffensive compared to a regular 2-stroke machine. I have used it a few times now with the 'brushcutter' and I am happy, save for two complaints.

Firstly, I am about 6' tall, and I find that I have to bend a lot. The loop handle is tiny, and to have the strap set high enough to reach it with my left hand, my right arm is all scrunched up and the cutter head is at a steep angle uncomfortably close to my feet. If I set the strap low enough to free my right arm and get the cutter head out at a sensible distance, I can't reach the handle without stooping. This is just poor design. A larger loop handle would make all the difference, but I will now have to bodge together some kind of extension bar. Perhaps the bike bar version would have been more comfortable, but the dealer didn't stock it.

Secondly, the 'brushcutter' isn't really a brushcutter, it's a grass timmer/line trimmer/strimmer/weedwhacker. It's a nylon line and it's for grass, not 'brush'. The adaptor kit and metal brushcutter blade is an extra $50 and involves swapping the guard as well as the head. If you plan to use both cutter types, then there'll be lots of fiddling around swapping heads and guards until you get a second trimmer attachment and convert one to a full-time brushcutter. I think that Honda should offer separate trimmer and brushcutter tools off the shelf (and possibly even a twin pack containing one of each) so you aren't spending extra time and money replacing heads and guards you don't need.

The quality of the engineering is lovely, everything seems very well put together and it's clear this is a professional grade machine. Once I add a dedicated brushcutter attachment and a bigger handle it'll be a very good thing, but I do regret not investigating the Husqvarna or Stihl options more fully, especially when I consider the full cost of getting the Honda to where I want it.

Honda Versatool - Excellent if Available – I bought the UMC425 (the lighter model, UMC435 is heavier). When i first received the tool from the garden equipment specialist it looked great. The unit does look heavy and when picked up it is too. It starts pretty easily and sounds good as its a 4 stroke. I liked the idea of 4 stroke so you don't have to mix the fuel. It came with a strap that… Read more

you can put your head and one arm through to help lug around this beast of a unit. I bought the long hedger accessory first as i needed it for a job.

Worked great but it is heavy. Using this unit you need breaks, especially for hedging.

About 1 - 2 months later i decided to buy the brush cutter and edger accessory. The garden equipment specialist said it would take 2 - 3 weeks for the brush cutter and edger to come in. Lucky I wasn't in a rush as the brush cutter didn't arrive until 6 weeks later. The store said it was Hondas problem, something to do with manufacturing. I asked about the edger and they said maybe next week. Called back and they said still nothing.

6 months from the day of purchase I have still not received my edger. I also emailed Honda Motor Power Equipment direct and they said "We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience".

I bought this beast with Hondas reputation and reliability behind it and they still haven't been able to supply. The only place I can see the edger is in pictures from garden equipment sepcialist stores or on the internet advertising them.

I would love to recommend this product but I don't know if other business people can afford to wait for this much time to pass. Feels really strong and solid. 4 Stroke. Simple to start. Heavy. Edger still hasn't arrived. Bad Service from Honda HQ