Hands-on: testing five mid-size front-end loaders in the mud

Spec sheets love to tout lift capacity, but anyone who's worked a wet lot knows that number is only part of the story. We took five mid-size front-end loaders into a deliberately sloppy test plot to judge breakout force, visibility, and how each one behaves when the front tires start to slip.

The biggest separators weren't the headline numbers. Bucket geometry, how cleanly each loader rolled back without spilling, and forward visibility over the cylinders mattered far more in real work. Two of the five made easy work of scooping wet, heavy material; one struggled to hold a load on the way up the ramp.

Our takeaway: shop the loader as hard as you shop the tractor. A well-matched loader with good geometry will out-work a higher-rated unit that fights you on every cycle. Get seat time with a loaded bucket before you sign anything.