I recently purchased a Ferris Z2 and am very pleased with it. Has a great cut and a good ride.

 

Nobody's responded recently. Just trying to push this thread back up to the top.

 

I'm no pro, but I have the Z2 as well. Can't really compare the 2 you're looking at, but I am very happy with this machine. I"m coming for a Hustler RaptorSD, so it's quite a bit more machine and it's noticeable. Took me a cut or 2 to get used to it, but things I like about it.

Cuts well, plenty of power, i like the safety switch that I can just hop off and pick something up and the blades shut off, get on, quick half pull of PTO and i'm off and running again. I love standing over sitting, but like I said, it took me 2-3 hours on it to get used to riding with the machine and not trying to control it by being rigid. Rides very very well now, I cut twice as much as i did with my old mower in about the same time and with half the stress on my low back. superior on hills compared to that too. I imagine the Z1 has the same sort of benefits.

I can't really comment on scag, and like I said, i'm just a homeowner.

 

Thanks to those who have responded. Why can't I get more input?

 

Hey there Carolina. Probably because these two machines have been talked about a lot.
In regards to original question of deck thickness: I’ll answer it this way:
Ferris is a better machine on their standers in every aspect except the deck. But the deck does the cutting.
Not slandering Ferris deck, it’s just not as good.
I’ll steel this comment from another from way back. But it said something like “scag is falling behind the competition on their machines and just riding their velocity deck for sales”. Well......that’s because their decks are awesome.
Does thickness matter? Does stamped single piece vs welded matter? What matters is does it eject the clippings so you don’t need to double cut, does it eliminate build up problems, and does it elimate clumping. That’s the velocity between the two you listed above.

 

Hey there Carolina. Probably because these two machines have been talked about a lot.
In regards to original question of deck thickness: I'll answer it this way:
Ferris is a better machine on their standers in every aspect except the deck. But the deck does the cutting.
Not slandering Ferris deck, it's just not as good.
I'll steel this comment from another from way back. But it said something like "scag is falling behind the competition on their machines and just riding their velocity deck for sales". Well......that's because their decks are awesome.
Does thickness matter? Does stamped single piece vs welded matter? What matters is does it eject the clippings so you don't need to double cut, does it eliminate build up problems, and does it elimate clumping. That's the velocity between the two you listed above.

OK. You haven't sold me on the Scag, but I definitely see your point. Thanks!

 

I have a 48 z1 and love it. Have over 600 hours on mine. It’s a beast. Hugs hills, cuts cool season grass very well. Stripes well too.

 

How well a deck cuts highly depends on turf type and height.

Before I bought my Ferris I tried a scag and wasn’t impressed specially after reading all the hype.

But you can make any deck cut well with different combos of blades and baffle adjustments for varying turf types.