Who makes the BEST trimmer?

[dean]

Honda, Husqy, or Stihl?

Because I hate my Craftsman shaky POS.

[Vic Dura]

By "trimmer" if you mean a weed cutter, then Stihl.

[Joseph Meehan]

In part you need to define best. Your needs may be far different than mine. For me my B&D battery job is great. If I had a very large yard and lots of trimming to do, it would not be so good.

I suggest you take a look at your local library and find the most recent issue of Consumer Reports that has a review if them and read the the whole article. Don't just read the ratings as they can be misleading.

[No]

Differing needs aside. The 'best' in terms of quality build will last a long time when used every day, all day.

Husqvarna, Stihl

Also look at RedMax

have 2 year commercial warranty.

[dean]

By 'best' I meant a commercial machine which is smoothest, quietest, and ergonometrically easy to hold. I feel that I am always straining and exhausting myself with the craftsman.

Dean

[No]

That could also mean light weight. I don't think any I mentioned would be light weight. My father has a RedMax. It very powerful and will cut anything w/o effort. Its easy to start. I'm not sure how it rates in quietness. Most pro models have a harness to help hold the unit because they are heavier.

[borgunit]

I have only tried Craftsman then to Ryiobi and then to Husqvarna. They are each a step to a better trimmer. I can say that the Husqvarna is a workhorse. As I get older (wiser too...maybe I hope) I get tired of using marginal equipment. The old saying is usually true, "you get what you pay for". I have not tried Stihl but I would imagine that they are excellent also. I got the Husqy since Lowes carried them and I had a place to go for any problems. Well, some years later and still no problems. I can recommend getting the heavy trimmer string to use. It does save time not having to restring the head so often from breaking string. Happy buying.

[Tony Hwang]

Hi, Add to those, Echo. Tony

[Chris Lewis]

According to dean :

I have the Stihl FS85 (light commercial duty straight shaft - very popular with landscapers etc) with "bicycle handles". During the summer, it gets several hours of workout every two weeks, and the metal blade gets used often.

Fantastic machine. About 7 years old, starts first time every time, even after the winter. Has never needed servicing (well, the spark arrester started plugging up causing stalls, and the Stihl dealer just pulled it out for free).

The homelite it replaced was crap.

I've also used a FS85 tree trimmer (small chain saw on the end of the pole). Nice piece of equipment.

[zxcvbob]

Look at a small-to-midsized Echo with a straight shaft. I bought their SRM-2200 about 17 or 18 years ago and it's still going strong. An SRM-2500 is what I really wanted because it was the same size but had more power -- but it also cost a lot more at the time. Now, the equivalent models cost a lot less than they were back then.

Bob

[BocesLib]

Love them echo weed wackers! Cheap residental ones are around 200 bucks (straight shaft)

I've had mine for a few years now and it run great!

More commercial ones are just a bit more money. Make sure to visit a good local shop and give it a test fit.

I figure that if the local landscapers use them, they would do me just fine for the years to come.

Tom

[dean]

Well, I bought the Honda 25S. It starts well, its 1/2 the noise of the stihl, and it cuts beautifully! Thanks all for the help. This one has a

4-cycle engine.

Dean