If you want to keep the edges of your lawn in good shape, a strimmer is essential. So, which one to buy?
Keen gardeners know the key to a well-cut lawn is neat edges — but they’re far from easy to achieve. Often a lawnmower is too bulky to trim the edges of the grass and if your garden ends in a flowerbed or rockery, you risk damaging your flowers, your lawnmower, or both. The best strimmers, whether petrol, electric or cordless, make this task quick and easy. Wheel Brush Cutter
In fact, if your garden is in need of serious landscaping, a strimmer might be a necessary first step before you even get out the mower. “If the grass is longer than your lawnmower can handle, the strimmer can take down that long grass and then you can go over it with the mower afterwards,” explains James Broadhouse, a professional groundskeeper with 12 years experience (and a social media influencer known by his moniker, Jimmy The Mower).
If you’ve got something a bit tougher than grass, like a big bramble patch, a powerful strimmer or brushcutter will also be helpful. According to Broadhouse, the key things to look for in a strimmer are a robust build, whether it’s comfortable to use and, if it’s a cordless electric strimmer, a decent battery life.
Below we’ve reviewed this year’s best strimmers and answered the most frequently asked questions about them. But if you’re in a hurry, here’s a quick look at our top five:
“Most home-owners probably shouldn’t be looking at a petrol strimmer,” expert Broadhouse says. “A can of petrol is only really fresh for a couple of months after which, if you haven’t used it all, it just goes to waste.” Heavy-duty or commercial users, however, will benefit from a petrol strimmer’s greater power and range.
Broadhouse would always recommend a cordless strimmer over a corded electric model, because of the potential safety risk a trailing power cord poses.
Look for interchangeable heads, for different kinds of mowing. Most strimmers will display their noise and vibration output, which help narrow down your decision making. They are heavier than they look, so it’s worth going down to your local garden centre to test a few and get a feel for what you’ll be able to manage.
We called upon the expertise of James Broadhouse and the buying team at Dobbies garden centres before beginning to test this year’s best strimmers at home. We rated them for cutting width, battery life, weight, power and ergonomic features. If you’re freshening up your garden, by the way, you may also find our guides to the best hedge trimmers and best secateurs useful.
£129, plus £159 for battery, Just Lawnmowers
We like: it’s our expert’s top recommendation for a reliable, reasonably-priced strimmer
We don’t like: battery and charger must be purchased separately
James Broadhouse is a big fan of Mountfield’s cordless Freedom 500 range, as the same battery can be used in each of the gardening tools. The MTR50LI Cordless Grass Trimmer, which is part of the range, is “lightweight, easy to manoeuvre and clean and offers great value for money,” he says. Mountfield is a heritage brand with decades of experience in gardening machinery, and Broadhouse says the quality of their tools is evident.
This strimmer has an ergonomic design with a telescopic shaft (and eight adjustable positions), soft-grip front handle and simple electronic control panel that make it easy to adjust and comfortable to use. It’s completely cordless, so there are no leads to get in the way.
It’s powered by a substantial STIGA E-Power 48V Lithium-Ion battery (which is Broadhouses’ top choice for battery life – see FAQ section below). It’s annoying that the battery and charger have to be purchased separately, but can be used in each piece of kit from the Freedom 500 range to save time and money in the long-term (£159, Just Lawnmowers).
We like: it’s a solid all-rounder that should suit most standard gardens
We don’t like: it takes a while to charge
“Stihl strimmers are robust, and spare parts are reasonably priced and easy to maintain,” says Broadhouse, who has a petrol Stihl model for commercial use (see FAQ below). However, the FSA 45 is the model to go for as a homeowner. It’s a really solid all-rounder, well suited to most normal sized gardens, that balances price with functionality.
It packs a decently sized 18V lithium battery which is powerful enough to swipe away tough weeds. That battery also means that it’s a lot quieter than traditional corded trimmers or the petrol-powered professional models. It can be recharged quickly and easily.
The shaft length is 110cm, but you can adjust it by 17cm to suit jobs. The head of the trimmer is also adjustable which means people of all heights should be able to use it easily and you can rotate it 90 degrees to turn it from a strimmer into a specialised edge tool.
However, arguably the key point to make about the FSA 45 is that it’s incredibly light for a trimmer of this size. At just 2.3kg it should suit most most gardeners, even when using for extended periods.
Add to that easily ‘swappable’ plastic blades, a special key which prevents it from turning on accidentally while you’re getting it out of the shed, and a spacer bracket to prevent damage to flower beds or trees, and you’re onto a winner with this one.
We like: it’s comfortable to use (if you’re right-handed)
We don’t like: it’s not great for left-handers
“Bosch is really reliable as home-owner stuff goes,” says Broadhouse. “They kind of copy the really high-end stuff, but with a smaller 18V battery.”
There are other areas where the Bosch comes out on top: first, it’s extremely light, at 2.7kg. Secondly, Bosch have fitted the shaft with a V-shaped handle with two places to hold. This ensures that you keep your back straight when using it and more evenly distributes the weight, making it more comfortable to use. Given the amount of people who put their backs out while gardening, this seems a decidedly useful feature.
But that great feature is also the UniversalGrassCut’s greatest downfall. Why? Well, it’s only really usable for right-handers. At the very least, it’ll take some effort for lefties to get used to this one, which isn’t really ideal.
£179, plus £149 for battery, Just Lawnmowers
We like: it’s powerful and long-lasting
We don’t like: it’s heavy and the battery is sold separately
“We’ve used lots of different [strimmers], and Stiga has the best battery life, hands down,” says Broadhouse. Part of the Stiga 500 series, this trimmer benefits from a large battery that will give you lots of bang for your buck. Unfortunately, Stiga batteries are sold separately, but the £159 battery will give you roughly 30 minutes of strimming per charge, and fits into other Stiga tools (including hedge trimmers and leaf blowers). This means that, while expensive, the battery is multi-use.
The 500W brushless motor offers similar power to a petrol brushcutter, but is likely to be a lot more popular with neighbours, as it’s much less noisy. It has a comfortable, adjustable handlebar – however, bear in mind that it’s at the heavier end of the spectrum, so possibly isn’t the best choice for less able gardeners.
£79.99 for tool only, or £117.27 with battery, Amazon
We like: it offers a huge amount of functionality for the price
We don’t like: it’s noticeably heavier than others on this list
Frankly, Greenworks 24V line trimmer could very easily have come in top place on this list. Almost all of what I’ve written about the Stihl FSA 45 holds true here: a solid battery, quiet running, rotating head, telescopic shaft, and even a spacer bracket.
And there are a few benefits too. Price is certainly one, but you’ve also got a more powerful electric motor, a 25cm cutting width compared to the 23cm on the FSA 45, and that battery can be swapped out and used in all other 24V Greenworks products.
As you might have sensed, there is a ‘but’ coming. The problem is the weight. At 5.5kg this one is noticeably heavier than comparable products so it won’t be ideal for all gardeners. Still, if you’re a strapping person with plenty of muscles from lugging all those plant pots and bags of fertiliser around, the benefits will probably outweigh the negatives, if you’ll pardon the pun.
We like: low price and admirable simplicity
We don’t like: the cord only stretches 10m
I think of this one as a ‘grandad strimmer’, in the best possible way. My grandad had a very small garden that he kept pristine, with ruler-straight borders. As it happens, he used a Flymo.
The 10-metre cord on this entry-level trimmer limits its range severely, but keeps things simple. It’s easy to hang up in the shed and you don’t need to remember to charge a battery.
I found it very easy to put together and to adjust the length, although both needed more strength than I was expecting. It’s lighter than most battery strimmers, but still weighty, and doesn’t handle quite as easily because there’s no all-round hand grip. Instead, there’s a chunky plastic handle that can sit perpendicular to the shaft (as in the picture), lay flat back for a wider swing, or fold forward to give much better control if you’re shrubbing under trees or benches.
Solidly constructed and easy to clean, this is the one to buy if you only have a small garden and a small budget. There are £135 EasiTrim and £150 UltraTrim cordless options if you need more room to roam.
We like: relatively light and nicely balanced
We don’t like: it’s long, so less convenient for fine work
Ryobi’s 18V One+ system lets you use the same batteries across their entire range of tools. I slotted the battery from my Ryobi electric drill into this strimmer, where its weight balanced out the weight of the cutting head for a pleasantly light and nimble strimming experience.
With a quiet, brushless motor it’s very nearly as sophisticated as the Stihl at the top of this list, and far cheaper. However it’s a bit heavier and you can’t adjust the length of the shaft - which is very long, great for dealing with large areas of weeds and scrub, but not as good for edging or detailed trimming around flowerbeds.
The best feature is the adjustable cutting width. 28cm is good for light grass and smallish lawns, 33cm is good for thicker grass and larger lawns, making this impressively versatile for its price. I also liked the ergonomic grip. You’re very unlikely to get sore arms before the Ryobi’s 23-minute battery charge runs out.
We like: it’s powerful and efficient
We don’t like: it’s expensive to run and blasts fumes as you go (as with all petrol strimmers)
So far on this list we’ve really only covered the trimmers designed for your garden lawn and doing the edges. But what about if you have a long driveway, or you need to tackle a really rather large and rather overgrown field?
In those situations you’ll need something a bit more professional and heavy-duty and this is where we talk about petrol-powered trimmers. First, let’s get the downsides out of the way. Petrol trimmers are heavier, louder, more expensive to run, and blast out fumes as you’re working. Not ideal for a suburban lawn, then.
The trade-off, though, is that you get a lot more power so weeds like thick brambles don’t stand a chance. They’ll also cover more ground so you won’t have to keep recharging if you have a big garden.
The best heavy duty trimmer I’ve been recommended is this one from Webb. It actually comes at a reasonably wallet-friendly price compared to similar products but comes with plenty of handy features. The 11.4kg weight is offset by a harness the user wears to distribute the weight across the shoulders, helping you go on strimming for longer. Its cow-horn shape handles also make it easier to control and more comfortable to use.
It won’t be for everyone, but for those who need a bit more power, this is a great place to start.
We like: a professional piece of kit for tackling large areas of tough grass
We don’t like: it’s big and loud
Broadhouse relies on the petrol-powered Stihl FS111 Brushcutter for commercial groundskeeping and says it’s, “comfortable to use with great performance... but big, loud and grunty.” It’s unlikely to be a winner for small gardens, but if you need a powerful piece of kit to clear a large area, this is the best in the business, says Broadhouse.
It has a four-stroke engine with excellent acceleration and power, and comes with a four-tooth metal grass blade for efficiently cutting thick, coarse grass. At 9.6kg, it’s comparably light considering it’s a heavy-duty piece of kit.
“A brushcutter is generally larger and more robust [than a strimmer],” explains our expert James Broadhouse. “It can be used for taking down thicker plants such as brambles and nettles.” The brushcutter he has for commercial use is the Stihl FS111 Brushcutter (reviewed above).
In short, it depends what you’re going to do with it, says Broadhouse. “Curved shafts will be lighter and more compact, which makes them good for intricate work around flower beds etc.
“A straight shaft is generally larger,” he continues.”You might have a double-shoulder harness for one of those to balance the machine they’re more for hard work or larger areas. You wouldn’t usually use a large straight shafted machine around your prized begonias, and you wouldn’t use a curved shaft one on a quarter-mile driveway.”
Short answer: yes. The vast majority of strimmers designed for domestic use have plastic blades and they work fine. They make the strimmer lighter and they’re also cheaper to replace. The downside is they’re also slightly more prone to breaking if you go over a stone or hit a tree. But if you’re just doing the edges of your lawn, they’ll be fine.
Mini Tiller Cultivaor All of the products recommended above automatically control the strimmer line so, all being well, you shouldn’t need to worry about the strimmer line breaking. However, the simplest thing to do is to just make sure your product is clean. Cuttings and debris can get into unclean line feeders which can cause the strimmer line to break. If that happens, you’ll need to replace it. In the video below, Broadhouse explains how it’s done.