I've never used an edge trimmer before of any kind, so this is new to me.  For the first time in my life I have to do this myself, so it's been a learning experience.  I spent time researching what kind to buy, deciding on an electric model over a battery or gas-powered one to save myself hassle.  This particular Weed Eater has been sturdy and reliable - I have no complaints on its performance.  It was amazingly easy to assemble and operate. One of the things I really like about this is the replacement cartridges for the string - it's simple and easy to just pop the old cartridge out and pop the new one in.  The only drawback to electricity of course is keeping the cord out of the way at all times, but that's less of a hassle than gas, and requires no replacement like a battery. Its cutting ability more than meets my needs.  I only have a small area needing trimming, and using this has been more than sufficient for my grass, weeds and small brush around my house.  My only minor complaint is its weight; it's not overly heavy, but it's nice to have the adjustable handle so I can hold it with both hands to balance the weight and control the movement like I want.  Making it more lightweight would be the only thing that would make this better, but I'm sure that would mean cutting back on engine power, which I wouldn't want.

Shultzie77

Portland, OR

I own the yellow and green electric Weed Eater model, the plug-in version, and it works surprisngly well for the price although there are a few issues to consider when buying. The first thing you should know about most electric weed trimmers is that they lack the torque of their gas-powered cousins. This isn't a problem until you start getting into thicker and taller grass which tends to bog down the trimmer making it very difficult to cut with. If you do have to cut thick grass make sure you attack it slowly and not all at once. The next issue I found was that the plastic string easily comes loose from the spool, especially when you get toward the end of the reel. It's best to cut off an extra five feet or so and stick it in your pocket because you will need it. Also, because the motors in the electric versions are not as powerful they do not accept large size string and the largest size mine will take is 0.65. Anything larger will cause an awful vibration in the handle and can damage your hands if you hold it too long. My arms were numb for a week after trying an industrial strength string so it's best to stay away from that all together.

therealjustin

Oneida, NY

I got a weedeater thinking it would be easy to use, and make the yard look tons better around the edges of fence and house. Well, I was sad to find how hard it was to actually use! I couldn't get it to cut the long pieces of grass along edges of stuff very easily at all. Plus I never grasped the concept of the perfect angle to hold it so it would cut the grass. My husband is in charge of using the weedeater since I can't get the darn thing to work. If you haven't used one before I would suggest a different brand, maybe not even getting one at all! This one goes through the plastic wire stuff that is used to cut the grass, and it is kinda the pits to add more wire in after it gets used up. I find it sad that it didn't work like how the package explained, I feel it was misleading in some way. Husband says this is one of the worst weed eaters he has used  in the past. We ended up going and buying a different brand and I was able to use that one better and it actually did what it says it should!

kelseyapley24

Larned, KS

We bought this weed eater to keep up our new yard.  We thought this was a good product having used it in the past since they were first on the market.  The "string" was knotted halfway through the spool on the first spool so we bought another spool.  The second spool was the same way, so the third spool, which we unwound it by hand without using the machine.  We contacted the company and were told we didn't know what we were talking about and that the only way for them to figure out what was wrong was for us to bring our machine, not the spools, to take it in to the local service center.  The customer service rep. we contacted told us it HAD to be our machine, or the way we were using it, even though we told him we found this when we took the spool and unwound it without putting it on the machine.  All he wanted was for us to have our machine "fixed".  We have now bought a different brand and are very satisfied.

nancyjg79

Evans, GA