I had not used a chipper shredder until I got the Ingersoll unit I have, so my perspective is limited. I really like the shredder part of mine. I use it to get materials ready for my compost pile.
The chipper part works well, but most anything that is too big to run through the shredder goes on the pile for burning, so I don't think I will use that function too much. Most of the wood that I've chipped has just been to see how well it works. I ran some 2-3 year old sassafras wood through that was just small enough to fit in the chute. The chipper handled it okay, without stalling the hydraulic motor, but being dry wood really did push it to the limit, I would say. Green wood chips easily.
Using these things in any case is a noisy and dirty exercise. Hearing and eye protection is a necessity; stuff flies out of the shredder hopper all the time.
Dealing with the debris at the bottom discharge has not been too bad. I just place a tarp there and drag the material over to my compost pile when done. I would be nice to be able to discharge material into the trailer, though. Mackissic has a bag available for the model that is equivalent to the Ingersoll model as an alternative.