Kori, they were very popular with a few brands over here during the 60's and early 70's.
Iv'e seen them on Victa 2 and 4 strokes(kirby engine), Turners (again, Kirby's), Scott Bonnars, rovers, and a number of others.
When the engine is kept in a good state, and maintained well, they are very usefull for anyone who struggles with a recoil, however if the engine is in a poor state of repair, and the machine hard to start, they can be a time consuming pain in the...
Simply, rather than pulling a cord a number of times, you need to repeat the latch, wind, release procedure, over and over again, which is a much slower procedure.
Not to mention, they dont allow you to put in extra effort and acheive a faster starting speed, which often helps the starting procedure.
And the slower starting speed is only exasibated on Victa 2-strokes, as Impulse starters were not coupled with decompressor valves, so they really dont acheive the same start speed as the 70's Zip start system.
