During Treeline's recent Malwa tour, deputy editor Jack Haugh was given the chance to get behind the controls of the 560F - and it certainly impressed. 

WHEN Andrew Cook first suggested I get behind the controls of the Malwa 560F, the small ensemble hunkered underneath the Treeline canopy presumed it was a joke. His deadpan albeit friendly look told us otherwise. 

I’ll let you in on a little secret. I am not an operator. I drive a Golf (although I did much prefer my Suzuki Swift), and didn’t bag this coveted Forestry Journal role because of my skills shifting Sitka and Douglas fir. But, if Ross Kemp can go to Baghdad, then 10 minutes inside the cabin of the 560F was the least I could do to get as authentic an experience as possible.  

READ THE FULL FEATURE HERE: Malwa's 560F and 560C impress during Kinnordy Estate thinning

So, how did it go? While no operators will be quaking in their boots at the thought of me rocking up at 5am on Monday, the 560F was brilliantly intuitive to control. Its small turning radius meant even I could sit back and relax as it snaked through the Kinnordy Wood, Nick Ironside on hand to guide me. 

The well-designed cabin certainly helped – with everything ideally placed and within easy reach – but it was striking how a novice such as myself was able to get to grips with the basics within just a few hundred yards. 

Forestry Journal: The 560F (not driven by me here) is a seriously impressive machine The 560F (not driven by me here) is a seriously impressive machine (Image: FJ)

The only real difficulty faced during my time inside the 560F was the struggle we had to find the tracks that had been trodden by the operators before us. But this only speaks to the Malwas’ strengths, such was their lack of any real footprint on the forest floor.

And you can’t get any better an endorsement for small-scale, low-impact machinery than that.