The short answer
Heavy-duty grapples and grapple saws built around rotator choice and tine count. Use this page to narrow the relevant series, then verify the individual model against measured carrier hydraulics, installed mass, lift capacity and the work’s required output. Range breadth is useful; it is not permission to treat every model as interchangeable.
Where the range sits
Powerhand is a United Kingdom manufacturer whose EX series covers both a forestry grapple and a grapple saw. The two share a design language but do different jobs, and the distinction is worth getting right before you shortlist either.
The grapple is built around retention: five solid 50 mm Hardox tines, designed for 13 to 25 tonne carriers. Tine count is not a cosmetic difference — four-tine grapples spill brash and biomass, and on material that is irregular and bulky the extra tines translate directly into fewer dropped loads and fewer cycles.
The grapple saw takes a different approach to the category. It requires only one hydraulic flow rather than a full dual circuit, which widens the range of carriers it can be fitted to and makes it the cheaper path into grapple saw work for an operator whose machine is not already plumbed for two circuits.
Series by series
EX series forestry grapple
Five solid 50 mm Hardox tines, designed for 13 to 25 tonne carriers. Treat this as a range position, then request the current model sheet and complete installed specification for the carrier being quoted.
EX series grapple saw
Suits excavators from 8 t; Indexator GC124S or XR400 rotator. Treat this as a range position, then request the current model sheet and complete installed specification for the carrier being quoted.
How to shortlist the range
Start with the output the contract purchases: a placed stem, processed residue, controlled section, handled log, maintained profile or prepared ground. Eliminate series that produce the wrong output even when they fit the excavator. Then screen the remaining models against operating weight, lift at working radius, measured auxiliary flow, working pressure, return limit and required circuit functions.
Request a quotation for the complete installed package: attachment, machine-specific bracket, hitch interface, rotator, hoses, couplers, controls, guarding, freight, commissioning, training and initial wear stock. Ask the supplier to state every carrier assumption and qualification. This keeps an apparently inexpensive loose head from being compared with a working system.
Finally, compare support around the series rather than the logo. Identify which wear and failure parts are physically held in Australia, realistic replenishment time, field-service coverage and warranty exclusions. Parts commonality across several Powerhand attachments is valuable only when the relevant items are actually stocked and the fleet uses them often enough.
What distinguishes Powerhand
Five tines rather than four is the retention argument: four-tine grapples spill brash and biomass.
Rotator choice is specified rather than assumed — GC124S for swinging applications, XR400 for rigid installations, both with internally routed hoses.
The saw unit requires only one hydraulic flow, which widens the range of carriers it can go on.
Who should keep it on the shortlist
A good fit
- ◆Brash, biomass and irregular material where retention decides productivity
- ◆Chipper feeding, log decks and site clean-up on 13 to 25 tonne carriers
- ◆Operators wanting grapple saw capability without committing to a full dual circuit
- ◆Contractors who want the rotator specified deliberately rather than assumed
Look elsewhere when
- ◆Mini and midi excavators below the published grapple range
- ◆Buyers who need the widest possible carrier coverage from a single manufacturer
- ◆Work where a clean saw cut on high-value sawlog is the primary requirement and cut quality outranks fitment flexibility
Before removing another manufacturer from the shortlist, ask each supplier to respond to the same work and carrier brief. Compare the exact ordered model, installed mass, functions, hydraulic settings, included fitment, guarding, commissioning and wear stock. A broad series claim or an attractive loose-head price is not equivalent to a documented working package.
Keep the supplier response with the selection record and identify which assumptions still need a demonstration. Use representative material rather than a clean showcase item, record cycle and support requirements, and confirm the finished output is the one the contract accepts. This protects the decision from becoming a badge comparison and gives the crew a clear operating starting point.
Record why the selected Powerhand series won and the conditions that would change that answer. Keep the carrier configuration, material sample, production assumption, supplier qualification and support promise with the decision. This gives the next buyer a usable starting point when the excavator, work type, support distance or annual hours change, and prevents a successful model on one job from becoming an automatic choice for a materially different one.