Walk through any attachment catalog and you'll see grapples in three main flavors: root grapples, rake grapples, and grapple buckets. They look similar enough that people often pick based on price — and that's usually when they end up with the wrong one for the job.

Each type has a different jaw design, different intended use, and real differences in how it performs on land clearing, logging, brush work, and material handling. We put this guide together so you know exactly what you're getting before it comes off the truck.

Root Grapple: The Land Clearing Workhorse

Root grapples have widely-spaced curved tines on both jaws. The open design lets soil, small rocks, and loose debris fall through while holding stumps, root balls, brush clumps, and logs securely. They're the most versatile grapple for general land clearing because they handle the widest range of material without clogging or packing.

The trade-off: they won't contain loose, fine material. Mulch, shredded brush, and small debris fall through the tines — which is actually a feature when you're clearing ground and don't want to carry off soil with every load.

Storm Attachments Root Grapple — Solid Mid-Range Starting Point

Skid Steer Root Grapple — Storm Attachments

From $1,420.00

USA-made. Available in 48" and 60" widths with SSQA or JDQA mount. Single or dual grapple configurations. A dependable entry point for property owners doing periodic clearing without needing a full commercial-grade spec.

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72" Heavy Duty Root Grapple — Storm Attachments

72" Heavy Duty Root Grapple — Storm Attachments

From $2,841.00

Steps up to 72 inches of width with heavier construction throughout. For contractors or property owners clearing significant acreage where cycle time and durability both matter. SSQA and JDQA mounts available.

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Extreme Root Grapple — Glacier Attachments

Extreme Root Grapple — Glacier Attachments

From $4,191.00

Available 60" through 96" for operators running grapples daily in demanding conditions. Heavier steel, tighter tolerances, commercial-grade construction. When you're putting serious hours on the machine in forestry-level clearing, this is the one.

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Rake Grapple: Debris Management and Cleanup

Rake grapples pair a solid lower jaw with a hydraulic upper bar. The lower jaw has tines spaced like a landscape rake — letting you scoop debris while soil falls through. They're particularly useful in landscaping, seedbed cleanup, and situations where you're moving debris but don't want to carry off all your topsoil with every pass.

Where rake grapples fall short: round material. Logs and large stumps tend to roll or shift between the lower tines rather than being held securely. If you're primarily doing timber and stump work, a root grapple is a better fit.

48" Rake Grapple — Storm Attachments

48" Rake Grapple — Storm Attachments

From $1,949.00

Available in SSQA, JDQA, Mini Skid Steer, and Toro Dingo mounts — the most versatile mount selection in the lineup. A strong fit for landscaping cleanups, rock separating, and debris management where you need material separation without losing everything through open tines.

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Brush Grapple — Storm Attachments

Brush Grapple — Storm Attachments

From $2,949.00

60" and 72" widths with SSQA or JDQA mount. Built for moving large volumes of brush, limbs, and light debris efficiently. Wider jaw means more coverage per cycle — faster cleanup on larger properties.

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Grapple Bucket: When You Need Full Containment

Grapple buckets are a standard bucket with a hydraulic claw on top. The solid bucket floor means nothing falls through — full containment of whatever you pick up. That makes them ideal for rock, demolition debris, logs you want to keep whole, or any situation where material would escape through an open-tine design.

The trade-off is weight. A grapple bucket carries material plus any soil or debris that comes with it, so you're working against lift capacity faster than with a tined grapple. They're also harder to use for separating material since nothing can fall through — that's a feature on haul jobs and a limitation on clearing jobs.

66" Grapple Bucket — Storm Attachments

66" Grapple Bucket — Storm Attachments

$2,549.00

Solid containment for rock, demolition material, logs, and dense debris that would shift or escape in an open-tine grapple. Built tough for the kind of work that actually gets thrown at it on a jobsite.

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Heavy Duty Grapple Bucket — Storm Attachments

Heavy Duty Grapple Bucket — Storm Attachments

From $2,841.00

60" and 72" widths, SSQA and JDQA mounts. Heavier construction for operators putting real hours on the machine. Step up from the standard bucket when you're running daily or dealing with consistently abrasive material.

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How to Choose: A Quick Decision Guide

How Wide Should Your Grapple Be?

Match width to your machine's rated operating capacity — not just frame size. A wider grapple picks up more per cycle but also weighs more. In heavy material, you can exceed rated capacity before the bucket looks full.

Quick Attach: SSQA vs. JDQA

Most grapples ship with SSQA (Skid Steer Quick Attach) as the standard configuration. If you're running John Deere equipment with the JDQA pattern, select the correct mount when ordering — the bolt pattern is different and you can't convert on the fly. Both mounts are available across most of the grapples we carry. Running a mini skid steer (Toro Dingo, Bobcat MT, Vermeer)? Look specifically for MSQA or Dingo-compatible options, as these machines use a narrower mounting plate.