I prefer a sickle over a strimmer anyday they are also sold on the get-digging site although i don't know what the quality is like. I find a lot of the new ones availiable are very flimsy whereas the old ones often sold as antiques on ebay are brilliant & cut through just about anything once they are sharpened. Last week I offered to clear part of one of my neighbours gardens when I saw him trying to clear chest high brambles with just a pair of secateurs it took me about an hour to clear the area with a sickle (a slope with a 50 degree inclination 120'x30') in addition to the brambles there were also a lot of young self-seeded trees the sickle went through those that were up to about 2" thick effortlessly the larger trees required a bow saw, then it took us another 3 hours too get everything moved & shredded & there were 2 of us doing that bit.
Another of my neighbours has the tail end of that slope where it is not quite so steep & better maintained generally it is bracken, grass & rosebay willow herb growing on his it only gets cut back when it is waste high (about once a month through summer) on several occasions he has made bets he can clear half the slope faster & more evenly cut with his petrol brushcutter than I can with a sickle on every occasion I have won the bet finishing before he is halfway through the only difference being that the half I cut is shorter & looks more like a lawnmower has been used on it.
That should help give you an idea what you can do with a sickle & a bit of practice.
