Who makes these devices? Why no reviews in CR?

I'm currently in the market for  a wheeled string trimmer / brush cutter and I'm having very little luck getting information to help me reach a purchase decision.

Does anyone know:

1. Are there a couple of manufacturers who make all of them and then brand them according to who sells them? (So far I've found Homelite at Home Depot, a Swisher model at Lowe's and a Craftsman model at Sears. There are a handful of others I've been able to track down on line.) This question comes up because I've found a Swisher model on Amazon.com that doesn't look like the Swishers on that website but it bears as strong resemblance to the Homelite models.

2. What should I be looking for when purchasing? I don't need a lot of bells & whistles. I value performance and reliability over frills.

3. Do any of the manufacturers have a better/worse reliability record in the industry?

Thanks in advance.

Dan

  Dan:

Have you considered Contry Home Products? http://www.drpower.com/TwoStepModels.aspx?Name=TrimmerMower2Step&Chap=TRMModels&SiteEntryMode=0&BC=0%3aHome%7c2%3aDRPowerHome%7c3%3aTrimmerMower2Step&LinkType=3 They made the first wheeled trimmers. The basic model will serve you just fine. If you are looking at others, the "ball" at the bottom is the most important aspect of these trimmers because it takes so much abuse.

        Peter Sawchuk

Thanks for your reply Peter,

DR were at the top of the list I was using in my comparisons and they currently have a number of purchase incentives I found quite tempting.

In the meantime, I found a lightly used  Swisher trimmer that was an excellent bargain and seems to have all the features/capabilities I was looking for.

After I put it through its paces, I'll report my experience.

Regards,

Dan

Well, the deal on the Swisher fell through so it's back to the drawing board. Probably for the best anyway. The DR, although considerably more expensive, seems to be the class leader.

Regards,

Dan