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The Best Strimmers of 2022

Elina Blom

We’ve been busy testing strimmers (string trimmers) and consider the Husqvarna 115iL as the best garden strimmer of 2022 for sale. It has bucketloads of power, all while using little battery. This makes for a time-efficient trimming while achieving long battery life. Stiga SGT 500 AE is also a solid option with a long battery life and several useful settings for maintaining your garden - and making the neighbours jealous.

Top 15 Best Strimmers of 2022

How we did the test

Our tests are independently conducted and reflect the test editor's honest and objective opinions. Selection of products and test results are in no way influenced by manufacturers, retailers or other internal or external parties.

Every professional strimmer was used to cut grass and larger areas of weeds. The ultimate challenge was areas of tall nettles and young thickets of wild raspberry bushes. However, for the majority of the time they were tested on different types of tall and short grass. They have also been tested on wet grass.

We investigated the following aspects to provide accurate strimmer reviews:

  • Performance: What height grass can the strimmer cope with? Does it strim as effectively throughout its battery life? How quickly can it cope with clearing different types of grass? How does the result vary when the grass is damp or over industrial landscapes?

  • User-friendliness: How easy is it to assemble the garden strimmer? How easy is it to start? How can you adjust it? For example, is there a telescopic handle and can you set the strimmer head in different positions? Does it have any edge trimmer functions that mean you can go close to objects without damaging them? Is it a cordless strimmer?

  • Ergonomics: Can you strim throughout the entire battery life without getting pains anywhere in your body? How stable does it feel in your hands? Is it easy to use in inaccessible spots? What is the noise profile like?

  • Battery life and charging: How long does the strimmer run before you have to recharge it? How long does it take to charge the battery? Can you see how much battery life there is left? Can you see how much it has charged?

  • Functions and accessories: Has the strimmer got any extra functions? What accessories are included?

1. Husqvarna 115iL - BEST CHOICE STRIMMER 2022

Strong, user-friendly and well designed in almost every way

Power source: Battery Voltage: 36 V Measured battery life: 36 min/48 min (max/eco) Measured noise level: 83 dB/78.1 dB (max/eco) Charging time: 70 min Cutting mechanism: Line and spool Battery capacity: 4.0 Ah Automatic line feed: Yes Miscellaneous: 33 cm trim circle diameter with two line system

Husqvarna 115iL (1x2.0Ah)

In our opinion, the Husqvarna 115iL is the best battery operated cordless strimmer of 2020 because it's a powerful strimmer that coped with almost everything we put in its path. It trims thick and dense tufts of grass with no problems, and the same applies to weeds, such as nettles and misplaced raspberry canes. The only time that the strimmer somewhat struggled is when very dense grass is also damp. In these instances, you can hear the motor is having to work harder and the speed drops. When this happens, you sometimes have to lift the strimmer head and repeat areas more carefully. But this is only under extreme conditions and this remains one of the best trimmers for long grass and difficult garden areas. Under normal to difficult conditions, there are no problems in efficiently trimming large amounts of weed and brushwood. The Achilles' heel is thin tufts of grass which occasionally get stuck in the strimmer head and wind around it. Fortunately, this doesn't happen often, and even then, only with grass that's at least 50 cm tall. Another flaw is that you can't angle the strimmer head, which is a disadvantage if you're trimming slopes.

The Husqvarna 115iL has a good design and high build quality. Despite the garden strimmer being heavy, this isn't something you notice when you're strimming. The balance in the machine is excellent. You can easily adapt the strimmer to your height by releasing a control, pulling out the lower part and locking the control again. Tool-free solutions like this are user-friendly and what buyers appreciate. There's a small but clearly marked power button, together with a button that starts an eco-mode which reduces the strimmer speed. This is handy when you're cutting not too dense vegetation and don't want to use the battery unnecessarily. In this mode, it's relatively quiet for a strimmer. In the normal mode, the noise level is medium-high, but it has a nice muffled profile. The 115iL is a user-friendly, well designed and powerful strimmer that's suitable for homeowners with mixed weeds and grass - primarily on flat ground.

Well-balancedpowerfuluser-friendly designquiet eco-mode
Tall grass can get stuck in the strimmer headfixed strimmer head

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2. Stiga SGT 500 AE - BEST BUDGET CHOICE STRIMMER

Well-designed strimmer with several different functions

Price class: Budget Power source: Battery Voltage: 48 V Measured noise level: 83 dB Cutting mechanism: Line and spool Battery capacity: 2 Ah Weight: 3.4 kg (excl. battery) Measured battery life: 15 min Automatic line feed: Yes Miscellaneous: 30 cm cutting width, two-wire system

Stiga SGT 500 AE (1x2.0Ah)

The ** Stiga SGT 500 AE ** is an easy-to-use, strimmer in the budget segment. One advantage of this machine is that you can use the battery for several of your other Stiga products, should you have any.

Overall performance is sufficient to allow you to deal with small bushes and medium-thick tufts of grass. You can tell from the sound that the engine has to work harder on the medium-thick tufts, and with thick tufts you have to strim a little bit at a time for it to cope.

The SGT 500 AE isn't suitable for larger properties with fields or coarse weeds. The strimmer is strong enough for that sort of work, but isn’t efficient compared to some slightly more expensive models. On the other hand, the SGT 500 AE works really well for trimming the edges of your lawn where a robotic lawn mower can’t reach, for example.

One advantage of this model is that you can turn the trimmer head 90 degrees by pressing a button and rotating it. This makes it easier when you're strimming along edges. The support wheel in the housing is another plus because once you’ve rotated the trimmer head, you can then use the wheel to get a nice even result.

We measured the working time at 15 minutes, which is fine in terms of competition in the same price class, but it’d still be nice to see a few more minutes on the clock.

Easy to store

The build quality is decent. The strimmer squeaks a bit and the plastic feels a bit flimsy, but it’s well-balanced and easy to carry around. The grip is comfortable to hold. Although there’s some vibration, it’s pretty limited given the price class. The strimmer also worked fine throughout the whole season. It also started for season two without any problems.

You can partially dismantle the rig to make it easier to store the strimmer for the winter.

The Stiga SGT 500 AE is suitable for anyone looking for a strimmer trimmer for the average garden, where you have some edges along the lawn to be tidied up or for those who have a plot with slopes that can't be cut with the lawn mower.

Practical support wheel on rotatable trimmer headEfficient on simpler tasksPractical design for winter storage
Can't really handle thick grass tufts or areas of brushRather short battery life

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3. Stihl FSA 60 R

Really time efficient and comfortable grass trimmer

Power source: Battery Voltage: 36 V Felling type: Line reel Battery capacity: 4 Ah Dimensions: Adjustable length mm Weight: 3.1 kg without battery Measured battery life: 18 minutes Automatic line feed: Yes Other: Steel bar

Stihl FSA 60 R Solo

Stihl FSA 60 R is a grass trimmer with great performance. Although the battery life is far from best in test, this trimmer is very time efficient. You don't need to walk over the area several times or walk slowly, as it will have time to trim the grass no matter how fast you are. The FSA 60 R also has a fairly large trimming diameter. All in all, this makes the slightly limited battery life marginally negative.

The grass trimmer has a good splash guard – it is made of plastic but feels robust. It also has the traditional steel arch at the front of the trimmer head, which you can fold down to avoid damaging trees, plants and furniture. Unfortunately, you cannot set the angle of the trimmer head.

The handle is adjusted by releasing two torx screws. Unfortunately, this requires tools. Nowadays, there are smart click-on systems that would have been more appropriate given the price.

Comfortable to trim with

The trimmer has a child safety lock via a separate button that only needs to be pressed at the start. The battery is located at the back and is easy to insert and remove. There is also a loop on the trimmer so you can hang it on the wall.

FSA 60 R is nicely relieved of vibration and well-balanced. It is not very heavy, so there is no need for a harness.

As a result of the slightly higher engine speed, the sound profile is somewhat unpleasant, but nothing that will bother you, and you should always trim with ear muffs anyway.

The Stihl FSA 60 R is suitable for those looking for a powerful and fairly ergonomic grass trimmer. Its big advantage is how quickly you can trim large areas.

Very time efficientgood trimming widthhigh performanceergonomic
Slightly short battery lifehandle adjustment requires tools

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Stihl FSA 60 R Cordless Grass Trimmer (Power Unit)

£159.00

STIHL FSA 60 R Cordless Strimmer SET

£169.00

STIHL FSA 60 R Cordless Brushcutter (TOOL ONLY)

£169.00

4. Black+Decker BCSTE636

Flexible grass trimmer with cord feed via button

Type: Battery-powered grass trimmer (36 V, tested with 2.5 Ah) Operating time: 32 minutes Felling: Wire roll (automatic line feed) 330 mm trimming circle diameter with double wires Weight without battery: 3.2 kg

Black & Decker BCSTE636L1 (1x2.5Ah)

The Black+Decker BCSTE636 is a grass trimmer with great performance considering its price. It managed almost everything we exposed it to, from thick tufts to ordinary grass on the edge of the lawn. However, it cannot cope with very tall grass, as it gets tangled in the trimmer head.

The trimmer has some smart solutions despite being so cheap. You have a space at the back where you can rest your arm and thus relieve your hands. You have two power settings so that you can vary the engine speed according to the task at hand, and thus save battery power if necessary. Operating time is long at 32 minutes, measured in the toughest performance mode.

Ideal for trimming slopes

The trimmer has some vibrations but an OK balance. A clear advantage is its low weight and the tiltable trimmer head, so you can trim slopes, edges, and other angles without having to hold it in an uncomfortable position.

BCSTE636 has a seamless setting of the rig, so that you can adapt it to how tall you are. Another plus is that it is wire fed at the push of a button – you don't have to dunk it down on the slope each time. Most people will appreciate how versatile it is thanks to these two functions, and it is a clear advantage for pensioners.

During the season, the Black+Decker BCSTE636 was a contender for the test winner position, until it suddenly broke. The overall quality of the construction is a little more plastic than many others. The problem that made it break was that we used it for grass that was 30–40 centimetres high. It twisted into the trimmer head and destroyed it.

Otherwise, the Black+Decker BCSTE636 is a really good grass trimmer both in terms of functionality and performance. You can expect a slightly lower construction quality, and that it won't handle tall grass. But it’s still good value for money, especially if you have more B+D machines with the same voltage so you can share the battery.

Tiltable trimmer headgood performancevariable shaft lengthwire feed via buttonlight weight
Low construction qualitycannot handle tall grass

5. AL-KO GT 2025

Long battery life and good cutting result

Power source: Battery Voltage: 20 V Measured noise level: 84 dB (measured) Cutting mechanism: Line and spool Battery capacity: 2.5 Ah Dimensions: Adjustable length mm Weight: 2.4 kg with battery Measured battery life: 24.5 minutes Charging time: 200 min (stated value) Automatic line feed: Yes Miscellaneous: Edging wheel User manual: PDF

AL-KO GT 2025 Solo

The AL-KO GT 2025is an easily adjusted cordless strimmer with arguably the best battery life around. It’s easy to assemble, but it would have been nice if the assembly process was tool-free like many of its competitors. As it stands, you need to use four screws. But this is neither difficult nor too time-consuming.

Once it's assembled, the strimmer is easy to adjust. Replacing the spool is simple. The strimmer is also good at feeding out the line when required.

And it's very easy to adjust the strimmer head angle. You can rotate the extra handle around simply by releasing a knob – or change the angle of the handle. This means you can easily find a really comfortable working position regardless of whether you’re strimming along the fence or under garden furniture.

But the machine suffers from considerable vibration, which can be unpleasant over time. It’s also quite heavy for a relatively small strimmer and plasticky piece of gardening kit.

Long battery life under simple conditions

The AL-KO GT 2025 has a single line that it uses to strim with. It does a really good job of handling thick weeds. For example, individual raspberry canes in light vegetation pose no issues at all.

But it does sometimes struggle with very thick, dense grass. Areas of very green grass that's developed into large tufts tend to slow it down, although it doesn't get completely stuck. Now and then, the long grass winds itself around the strimmer head. For that reason, there are better strimmers for long grass out there.

We managed three sessions of normal vegetation before the spool runs out. But there's a handy extra spool mounted on the side of the strimmer. The operational time is very good and the battery charging time is exceptionally fast – at just under two hours.

Overall, this is a decent strimmer if you've got an average-sized garden with mixed vegetation, as long as you don’t have large areas of high, very dense and thick grass. The long battery life is its main advantage because you’ll get quite a lot use before it needs recharging.

Long battery lifebracket for spare spooleasy to adjust
Installation requires toolsrather bulky

6. Husqvarna 315iC

Performs well under normal conditions

Price class: Medium Power source: Battery Voltage: 36 V Measured noise level: 73.4 dB Cutting mechanism: Line and spool Cutting width: 33 cm Battery capacity: 4 Ah Measured battery life: 28 minutes (7 min/Ah) Automatic line feed: Yes Operating instructions: PDF

Husqvarna 315iC Solo

The Husqvarna 315iC is a well-balanced, light strimmer offering good performance combined with a user-friendly design.

It manages, without complaint, to trim tufts of grass, things like young raspberry bushes and the like as well as areas of green brush. And this is more than enough for the average homeowner.

On the other hand, the strimmer does start to struggle a bit when faced with really dense tufts of grass. We noticed the sound of the engine increasing and also that some of the grass is simply battered down rather than cut.

We also found that grass longer than 20 cm easily gets tangled between the strimmer head and the bracket, so the machine comes to a stop. You then have to either remove this by hand or alternatively give the machine a lot of power so the centrifugal force shakes it loose. Which works best depends on how tangled it is.

How long you can use it

Because the 315iC is so well balanced, it’s not much of an effort to carry it, even without a harness. Vibrations in the two grips are also fairly minor.

The design is easy to understand and simple to work with. However, we'd have liked to see the option to angle the trimmer head, which would have been useful on slopes.

The battery life is also on the poor side, and a good bit shorter than we’d expected, especially given that the strimmer doesn’t stand out in terms of power compared to its competitors. You have enough time to trim an area of about 10 m2 with a 4-amp battery.

The Husqvarna 315IC is a user-friendly strimmer offering good performance for those who keep on top of their garden maintenance.

Good performanceWell balanced and lightUser-friendly design
Sometimes gets tangled up in long grassTrimmer head can’t be angledRelatively short battery life

7. Stihl FSA 45

Compact, high-performance but not very user-friendly strimmer

Power source: Battery Battery: 18V Dimensions: 110 mm Weight: 2.3 kg Measured battery life: 17 minutes Measured noise level: 76.9 dB Charging time: 210 min Cutting mechanism: Plastic blades (can also use line spool) Battery capacity: 2.0 Ah Automatic line feed: No User manual: PDF

Stihl FSA 45 (1x18V)

The Stihl FSA 45 is one of the strong trimmers with blades (double plastic) in the head, which clear both grass and tough weeds very effectively. You can easily replace the plastic blades by unclipping them from the strimmer head and clicking in new ones. It includes a couple of extra blades, which are tidily attached to the machine. You don't get many, but on the other hand, they're very tough and you only need to change them every four or five sessions. You can also install a spool of line instead of plastic blades if you wish. Assembly of the strimmer itself is straightforward and only requires two screws. However, the battery is built in and you can't disconnect it for charging – instead you have to plug in the entire strimmer. Nor can you change batteries with other products from the same manufacturer or swap between two batteries so that you can quickly get back to work. The FSA 45 is special in another way, in that it includes a small plastic "key" that has to be inserted into the machine before it will start.

The FSA 45 is a neat strimmer in terms of size, and feels well-balanced and light when you hold it. Ergonomically, the user-friendliness is admirable. However, when it comes to actually cutting the grass, it's considerably less easy to use. This is largely because you have to slide a button forwards while at the same time holding in another button and handle to start the machine. Not to forget that it comes completely to a stop every time it runs into too much resistance. In other words, you can't simply lift the strimmer head to get it started again. This means that you have to do the starting hand movement over and over again during one trimming session. This rapidly tires out both hands and wrist and can lead to cramp. Because it has a key that you can pull out as a safety function, we think that this is unnecessarily fussy. The battery life is good, and it runs at full speed during the entire session. The machine is also superbly quiet.

Compactpowerful strimmingversatile
Built-in batteryoverly fussy safety features and settings

8. Bosch AdvancedGrassCut 36

Easily adjusted strimmer for simpler areas

Power source: Battery Voltage: 36 V Weight: 4.1 kg Measured battery life: 17 minutes Charging time: 70 min Cutting mechanism: Line and spool Battery capacity: 2.5 Ah Automatic line feed: Yes Miscellaneous: 30 cm trim circle diameter with two line system

Bosch AdvancedGrassCut 36 Solo

The Bosch AdvancedGrassCut 36 is a strimmer that maintains a quiet noise profile and can cope with normal amounts of vegetation in a time-efficient manner. This strimmer easily removes long dry grass in a short time. The same applies to weeds such as young raspberry canes and sparse nettles. But for a 36-volt machine we would have expected better performance. It's immediately obvious that it has to struggle where the grass is more dense and greener. Particularly if it's a bit damp. This makes the noise more obvious. After a while, it starts to get stuck in the grass rather than chopping it off, which makes it jerk irritatingly. However, the cutting time is reasonable, and the line reel lasts for a long time, even though the machine tends to feed out more line too easily on some occasions.

In terms of design, the Bosch AdvancedGrassCut 36 is stable but somewhat unwieldy. For example, it feels rather chunky and front-heavy. We would have liked it to include a harness. At the same time, we didn't encounter any loose parts or strange noises. The strimmer is easy to assemble, and equally easy to adjust. However, the throttle in the handle is unnecessarily large and overly stiff. And it also runs slowly if you don't keep it completely depressed. This function is probably intended as a kind of environmental function that allows you to run the machine more economically at a lower speed, but we'd have preferred this to be controlled via a button instead. The function means that when you've run the strimmer for a while and have lost a bit of force in your hand without noticing, the motor will slow down and give you a worse cutting result. Just like in tougher vegetation, the result is that it can't cope with cutting the grass properly, getting stuck instead. But the AdvancedGrassCut 36 is otherwise a perfectly acceptable strimmer option. If you have good grip strength and a garden where weeds and grass aren't too dense, this is an ideal strimmer.

Time efficient in lighter vegetationeasy to adjustOK battery life
Slightly weak performanceheavypoorly designed throttle

9. GreenWorks GD24X2LT

Convenient feature for refilling line

Power source: Battery Voltage: 48 V Cutter head: Dual nylon line Battery capacity: Double 2 Ah Weight: 4.5 kg Measured battery life: 19 min Other: 33 cm cutting circle diameter with dual line system

Greenworks GD24X2LT Solo

The GreenWorks GD24X2LT is a cordless grass trimmer with an unexpectedly ingenious design for refilling new line. You Insert the line through the roller and wind it on by rotating the trimmer head. It’s a bit sluggish, but easier to manage than the alternatives offered by many of its rivals.

This grass trimmer has a split shaft. This is an advantage when you transport it, as it’s 1.75 metres long when assembled.

This model requires double batteries to start. While we quite like the idea of being able to run double batteries, as soon as you’re forced to do this the drawbacks of this arrangement become all too evident. Not only do you need to have two chargers, or a double charger, but it also involves a lot more fiddling about.

The impressive battery life we were expecting turned out to be a barely acceptable 19 minutes and 24 seconds. And this was when running it with two 2 Ah batteries.

The grass trimmer is well-balanced and we had no problems using it until it was out of battery life. It has a design that allows you to rest it on your forearm, making it reasonably easy to walk around with.

We were slightly underwhelmed by the performance of the GreenWorks GD24X2LT. It offers two modes, but in practice there’s hardly any difference between them. It trims the grass quite well. At first it feels dull, but this is very much a question of having the right type of line. It gets the job done, but when you consider how time-efficient it is compared to certain competitors, it falls short. And given its drawbacks, we consider this grass trimmer to be far too expensive.

Easy line refillingsplittable shaft
Slightly weakrequires double batteries to start

Strimmer

A strimmer is a useful piece of garden kit for the spring and summer when the grass grows most. It makes an excellent complement to a push, ride-on or robotic lawn mower. Lawn mowers rarely get right up against the edges of flowerbeds, fences, or into stony areas. That's when you pull out an edge trimmer to tidy up.

A number of different types of strimmer are available. They can boast a range of strimmer tools, together with different power sources (battery or mains). Historically, strimmers were petrol driven, but now the best battery strimmers have taken over the market. You can choose between line spool or garden strimmers with blade cutting performance. There are also models where you can use both types on the same machine. Plastic blades are useful if you have slightly coarser grass and weeds as they can cope with these tougher jobs and don't wear out as quickly. But a strimmer wire line is useful for efficiently clearing large areas because you can adjust the length of the line. However, if you pull it out too far it will quickly snap off. The advantages of a battery powered strimmer over mains power is that you don't have to deal with extension cables. On the other hand, you have to recharge it regularly. So it's important to choose a model with a short charging time and sufficiently long cutting time, bearing in mind your budget and your garden's strimming needs. Mains powered machines can be handy if you have a smaller garden or only need to clear areas close to your home; then you don't have to worry about the operating time. But even in this instance the best alternative is arguably to buy a battery powered machine with a slightly smaller battery.

You can also buy brushcutters. The difference between these two garden tools is that a brushcutter is primarily intended for removing undergrowth or even small trees. However, the majority of them can be equipped with line spools and used for strimming grass. The price for a brushcutter is significantly higher than for a dedicated strimmer, which is only intended for trimming grass and removing minor weeds. A brushcutter is petrol operated and, confusingly, is also often called a strimmer. The advantage of using the best petrol machines is that you can quickly get going again when the fuel runs out (no charge time!). And the disadvantages are the exhaust, the noise level and the fact that petrol will add to your gardening costs.

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