so ive been running an Agras T40 for about a season and a half now and honestly the results have been solid but the cost of ownership is killing me. between the battery cycles, the nozzle replacements, and whatever DJI decides to charge for firmware locked features, im starting to look around at some of the chinese alternatives that are popping up. XAG and Hylio both seem interesting but theres also a bunch of no-name stuff showing up on alibaba that has similar tank sizes and spread claims.

my main concern is the radar terrain following. the T40s terrain following is genuinely good and i dont want to go back to flying manual transects over uneven fields, that was a nightmare. so if anyone has actually switched away from the Agras line and run something else for a full season id love to hear how it actually went, not just first impressions.

ran XAG P100 for about 8 months alongside a borrowed T30 and honestly the XAG holds up better than people give it credit for. the terrain following isnt quite as smooth as DJI on really rolling ground but for flat to moderate fields its fine. the app is a bit clunky compared to DJI Agras app but you get used to it. main thing i noticed was the pump consistency was actually really good, droplet size stayed pretty stable across different rates which matters a lot if youre doing fungicide apps where coverage is everything.

the no-name alibaba stuff though, id be really cautious. a guy in our co-op bought one and the flow sensors were garbage from day one. spraying at half the claimed rate and didnt even know it until he pulled a few plants and looked at coverage under a loupe. not worth the headache when youre talking about input costs.

Hylio is US based which matters for support and also means you're not dealing with import headaches or warranty nightmares. i havent personally run one but a consultant I work with has been using their AC-401 i think and she said it's been pretty reliable. she did mention the battery management isnt as polished as Agras, like you have to be more on top of storage charging manually. small thing but annoying in the middle of a busy spray window.