What’s Better: A Solo Hand Seed Spreader Or A Bag Seed Spreader?

If you want to spread seed or other product on your garden and you prefer to use a hand held spreader because you have a small garden or the ground doesn’t lend itself to using a push broadcast spreader then you have a few choices of hand spreader to go for. You can go for a plastic hopper type that you hold in one hand and turn the handle with the other hand or you can go for a bag type that you carry across your chest with a handle that you turn with one hand while you support the bag with the other. There is a chance to get a hybrid of the 2 which is the Solo Hand Seed Spreader which is a broadcast spreader with a solid container for the seed.

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Check out the Solo 421 20-Pound Capacity Portable Spreader if you’re looking for a spreader that can keep your product waterproofed.

Solo Hand Seed Spreader

The Solo Hand Seed Spreader is a sort of hybrid between a plastic hand spreader and a bag spreader. A normal hand spreader is carried in 1 hand and sometimes it can be quite heavy if you have problems with grip or wrist strength which is why people look for a bag spreader, because this is worn over the shoulder so you can spread the weight a bit. The Solo has a plastic container that is held in front of your stomach and is supported with a strap over your shoulder. The container is positioned so it is easy to turn the handle with your right hand to distribute the seeds and use the start stop control with your left.

The Solo 421 20-Pound Capacity Portable Spreader is a broadcast spreader which can handle all of the different types of granular garden products. The gauge to control all of this is on the side of the unit. The garden products for spreading usually have the gauge level on the back of the packet or they have a guideline per square foot. To adjust the gauge you move the stopper to the number that you want and tighten the screw. To slide the lever open move it to the stop level and you’re ready to start spreading.

There is a flow control on the side of the unit which is not something you usually get on a hand spreader. There is a lever on the front of the unit which can direct the flow of the broadcast, you can have it in the centre which gives you an even spread ahead of you but you can also move it to the right or left which helps when you are spreading near borders and paths.

The spread width is variable depending on the speed you walk and on the speed of the turn of the hand crank which is the same for all hand crank spreaders. You can get up to at least 12 feet of spread with this Solo Hand Seed Spreader.

Storage

You can’t beat a folding bag spreader for storage, as it takes up very little room but the Solo has the same size base it just doesn’t fold over. It’s does have the benefit of not being able to be ripped or punctured by sharp objects.

Durability

The main body of a bag spreader is usually made of tear and weather resistant nylon material with a zipper on the top which keeps it light at 2.3lbs in weight. The Solo Hand Seed Spreader has a container made of hard plastic which makes it very durable, easy to clean out and with the lid in place waterproof. This does make it a bit heavier and comes in at 6.75lbs

Filling.

The biggest benefit that you get from the Solo spreader is the ease of filling the container. Because the container is solid it will stand on its own which makes it easy to pour in product straight from the bag and the top screws on so no problem with dust from the product or any dampness from the weather. The bag spreader is more awkward to fill. Some have sides that you place inside to make the sides stiffer and make it easier to fill, but most people find they have to use a scoop to fill so that they can use one hand to keep the bag open. Once filled and zipped it is weatherproof as well.

Capacity

The bag spreader has a larger capacity and can hold up to 25lbs of product. Whether you can carry that much at one time or want to I suppose depends on the size of your garden and how strong you are. If you have a larger area to seed you might be prepared to carry more so that you don’t have to re-fill as often. The Solo 421 20-Pound Capacity Portable Spreader can hold 20lbs of product which will probably make both of the filled spreaders around the same weight although you would have to fill the Solo more often if you have a larger area to seed.

Conclusion

Both of these spreaders have been designed to make them easier to carry and if you have uneven ground to seed a walk behind spreader isn’t always suitable to use. People who have used both of these spreaders feel they both work well and price wise the bag spreaders are a bit cheaper. I think that if you find filling a bag spreader too fiddly and you wish that part was easier then the Solo Hand Seed Spreader might be worth that little bit extra money. You do also get the flow control which is an added benefit. So for the durability as well to top it all off we would definitely recommend that you take a look at the Solo spreader.

Find out more about the Solo Hand Seed Spreader at Amazon.com