What I failed to anticipate at the time was that it was not as flexible as the plastic line, nor did it feel very good when pieces of it broke off and stuck into my leg, as metal will eventually just break off in chunks vs plastic line kind-of wears away in small, unnoticeable amounts. They’re great for cutting in tricky places, such as around the base of a tree, the corner of a lawn, or on steep slopes. It also doesn't come with any spare line, and unlike some of other battery powered strimmers, there is no indication of the battery level as you work.

It cuts quickly and efficiently despite a small cutting width of 26cm, and comes with a shoulder strap, so it feels light and manoeuvrable despite weighing nearly 3kg. Generally, the line is designed to wear down gradually rather than completely break, but if the cord catches a rock and snaps, just reel out more cord.

Often after purchasing your grass strimmer the first question can be, what strimmer line to use with it. Just as nylon line and the more common type of Bosch blades will wear away more rapidly if you stim up close against a brick wall, so too will the newer type. Trimmer line is used to strim away grass and weeds and is commonly know as strimmer wire or strimmer line.

Depending on the length of the cable, these strimmers are more suitable for smaller gardens, but you can expand their reach with an extension lead. Hedgehogs frequently sleep in long grass during the day and can suffer terribly from strimmer injuries, so it pays to check before you strim. Apart from the more usual nylon cutting line we also have the option to use strimmer blades to keep our lawn edges and the overgrown areas of the garden looking neat and tidy. You also tend to go through much less of it when you don't have so much of it out at a time that you can mow an 18" swath with it at a time lol.

Personally I prefer to use my heavy gauge nylon line on as many of these tough jobs as much as possible before moving up to the metal blades. i feel like this would last a lot longer when i am trim around property lines and ESPECIALLY near sidewalks. It comes in all cardboard packaging and it’s easy to assemble too - a couple of screws attach the blade guard, and you’re ready to go. It didn’t take long to get up and running, there’s just a few screws to attach the shaft and blade guard.

It has an automatic feed and we love that there’s a storage compartment on the shaft for the spare spool, so it’s close-at-hand when it needs replacing. A heavy duty strimmer line will need to be used if the area being trimmed has long grass or stubborn weeds growing. Depending on their power and their blade material, they can also tackle woodier growth like ivy, brambles, and stinging nettles. We've tested a range of cordless and corded strimmers, putting them through their paces across arange of grass and terrains, to help you find the right one for your garden. just in case we need it, but we really only use that for brushcutting ( works like a charm, MUCH better/faster than using blades.

This makes them more effective on woodier material than some line alternatives, but if they catch on a rock or tough bark the blades can snap and get lost in the grass, which can damage the mower next time you cut the grass. it’s also the heaviest in our test, but the telescopic shaft and adjustable loop handle help to balance this strimmer and make it comfortable to hold and manoeuvre.