Stihl have got a good reputation, and do some good kit, but IMO, they are a little overpriced. I was recently in the market for a strimmer and hedge cutter, I got the brochures, surfed the web, then finally chose the Stihl multi-head combi system. I had written down the part numbers I needed, and went down to order them, but when I got to the dealer to try them, I found they were not as well balanced as I expected, and just 'didnt feel right'. The combi system was written off, so I looked at the individual tools, then the dealer said have a look at these - Tanaka link here: .
I'd never heard of them, yet he said they were just as good as Stihl, can be used all day without problems, and were £50+ cheaper per item than Stihl. Their strimmer felt the most balanced of all I'd tried - it can be changed to a 3 sided blade type head, which, when used, is a revelation
- it is so easy to cut through things. I was expecting to buy a long hedge trimmer, but eventually settled on a short one by Tanaka, as again, it just felt right when I held it. I've had them 3 weeks now, only being used on my own (large) garden, and a bit of nettle and bramble cutting next door with no problems at all. Alan.