String Trimmer Recommendations, Please!

[sciphi]

I'm giving up with cheap string trimmers. If I'm getting one, it should be one that lasts a long time. The $100 Bolens from Lowe's purchased earlier today ran for 30 minutes, then refused to start. It's getting returned, and a proper one purchased.

There's a Stihl dealer about 5 miles away. Also, I have a Lowe's, Sears, and Wal-Mart all local. A Home Depot is 40 miles away. I'd prefer to buy local for returns/parts.

With those criteria and a maximum price of $200, what do you recommend?

 

[kballowe]

Stihl or Echo. Many of the Echo string trimmers are available at the Home Depot and come with a five year warranty.

Spend a little more and get the straight shaft.

Personally, I have a Shindaiwa but I use the living #@$* out of it.

 

[pondfishr]

I own a RedMax Commercial Grade Trimmer and I love it. I have owned it for about 6 years and added quick line head a few years ago. It gets great fuel economy and has all the power you need. I would recommend the product to anyone looking for a quality piece of equipment. Make sure you keep the grease fittings full and it will last a long time.

 

[Jeff724]

I have had a Shindaiwa for 16 years and it still runs great. I also have a Shindaiwa blower that I purchased at the same time and it has been great also.

 

[kballowe]

Originally Posted By: Jeff724
I have had a Shindaiwa for 16 years and it still runs great. I also have a Shindaiwa blower that I purchased at the same time and it has been great also.


HA ! Some low-life ran off with my 14 year old Shindaiwa weed wacker and blower so I had to run out and get a new one. I should have paid better attention when I got the blower. It's a gas/oil mix but it's a 4-stroke. No oil sump. Mix it just like a two-stroke. Weird. And ya gotta let it warm up for a while. Nobody believes me, either - so I gotta get out the owner's manual and show them.

 

[MONKEYMAN]

I like Echo. I bought a slightly used straight shaft one 10 years ago at Home Depot. I took back a Sears/Poulan piece of junk and jumped on the $100 price of the returned unit. New, it was closer to $200.00. I think new they are still under $200.00. It was like going from driving a Yugo to a Mercedes. My stepfather has an older curved shaft Echo that runs like new. Mine does not seem as well built and broke the throttle. It runs strong. I have cleared 1/4 acre on an embankment many times. The trimmer was ready for more (I was not). Parents have a neighbor who does some commercial trimming. He loves his Echo. He also has their small chain saw. Non commercial, I believe they come with 5 year warranty. I have heard good things about Stihl. I have always found a straight shaft less fatiguing to use. For me they have better balance and reach.

 

[123Saab]

Husqvarna or Stihl, Toro is not bad either.

 

[sciphi]

Is a Husqvarna from Lowe's anything to consider? I hefted one today, and found it a nicely balanced trimmer. Plus Lowe's is just down the road from me.

Nevermind, all the Huskies on their site have a lot of bad reviews. Steering clear.

 

[SEMI_287]

I love my Ryobi. Does the job.

 

[dparm]

Stihl. Got my father one a few years ago and he said he will never go back to anything else. It is light years ahead of the other stuff.

 

[TooManyWheels]

In this line of tools you have commercial quality (Stihl, Shindaiwa, Redmax), near commercial quality (Echo), and junk (Ryobi, Poulan, everything else).

The commercial and near-commercial lines are far above the junk. I own a Ryobi trimmer, but I have used Shindaiwa, and my other outdoor tools are Echo. The difference is night and day.

 

[hate2work]

Originally Posted By: dparm
Stihl. Got my father one a few years ago and he said he will never go back to anything else. It is light years ahead of the other stuff.


Bingo

 

[FL_Rob]

I love the Shindaiwa for its featherweight,Stihl for its ruggedness and Echo for its ease of use and starting, plus they upgraded the throttle trigger and quick line replacement feature...finally!

 

[JasonC]

Stihl FTW

 

[Turk]

Absolutely love my Echo.

 

[FowVay]

I have a very very old IDC (inertia dynamics corp) trimmer I bought when I was a kid in high school. That was middle 1980's. That thing is still doing it's assigned task in the 21st century.

I think you can get good and bad in every brand. I like the Echo products that I've seen but some of them are cheap. The same holds true for Stihl. My only TRUE preference is to get a 2-cycle engine. For some odd reason I just can't stand the idea of a tiny 4-stroke on my lawn equipment.

 

[deeter16317]

Originally Posted By: sciphi
Is a Husqvarna from Lowe's anything to consider? I hefted one today, and found it a nicely balanced trimmer. Plus Lowe's is just down the road from me.

Nevermind, all the Huskies on their site have a lot of bad reviews. Steering clear.




I have a 128D that I got free (and I personally like Stihl), and its been a good trimmer. I am pretty sure it was abused as a brush cutter previously, but it seems to do just fine.

I would probably buy a Stihl being they aren't really much different in price between the similar quality Echo/Husqvarna.

 

[660mag]

Stihl FS40C-E 189.99
6pac ultra oil 15.00
4 year warranty.

 

[boraticus]

Echo or Stihl. Whichever is least price for comparable models. Echo has a five year warranty. No oil purchase required.

I own a couple pieces of OPE made by both Stihl and Echo. No problems with either brand.

All of my recent OPE purchases (trimmer, chainsaw, Shred N' Vac blower) have been Echo products simply because they were the best combination of quality and price. Nothing against Stihl other than they're usually priced too high and dealerships don't budge.

 

[meep]

i have a straight shaft 4-stroke from HD. it's red- maybe a troy-bilt? starts every time super easy, even after being stored dry for the winter. nicely balanced, easy to use, good on fuel.

only drawback... it's a wet sump and if held at 90° will smoke, so you have to rotate the trimmer head if you want to trim vertical.

It included 2 heads- an auto feed and a quick change. love the quick change, ignored the auto....

It wasn't that expensive. For just my own lawn, I expect it will last a while.