Abstract Stripping is a very old harvesting concept that continues to challenge designers through the centuries. The most promising stripping system at present is the stripper header developed at Silsoe Research Institute, UK and commercially produced by Shelbourne Reynolds Engineering, Ltd. The Shelbourne Reynolds stripper header increases combine capacity by 50–100% at a lower power requirement through the reduced amount of straw passing through the threshing and separating systems of the combine. In fact, the highest reported output of 59·6 t/h was achieved by a stripper combine harvesting rice in Australia. However, the increased capacity with the stripper is achieved at the cost of more lost grains at the front, at least 1% higher than the cutterbar. High front-end losses in thin and tangled crops and its inability to harvest certain crops such as rape and rye limits its adoption by farmers. Good performance of the stripper in rice presents a bright potential for small stripper harvesters in Asia where most of the world's rice is grown. Further research is needed in understanding the stripping process to fully exploit its potential.