The Best Weed Wackers and String Trimmers of 2024 (2024)

If you’re looking for the power of a gas string trimmer without the fumes, racket, and weight, then the Kobalt 80-volt is the one for you. While all of the best weed wackers we tested cut through most reasonable underbrush, the Kobalt electric string trimmer is one of the few that cut through everything in one pass. Long grass, bittersweet vines, small saplings, even bamboo—it shredded it all.

All that power and the massive 80-volt battery that drives it doesn’t seem to come with additional weight or balance problems. At just over 11 pounds, the Kobalt 80-volt string trimmer is right in line with the rest of the lawn care tools we tested. In terms of balance, it is easy enough to get in and around objects while keeping a level cutting height. It is also maneuverable enough to turn on its side to edge around driveways or walkways, making it a great choice for landscaping pros and novices alike.

This said, this is a large weed wacker, not meant for tight spaces, so if most of your work involves tight quarters, then you may want to choose a smaller option. If you’ve got a lot of areas to cover, however, then the Kobalt 80-volt string trimmer is a great choice at a solid price.

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As the lightest and quietest of the larger weed wackers that we tested, the DeWalt 13-inch cordless trimmer is very easy to use. The low weight only comes with a minor sacrifice in power. While it didn’t cut through thick underbrush quite as quickly as some of the others, it could get through some heavy-duty growth, particularly for the relatively low price.

This said, the design of the spinning cutter head lends itself to getting bound up. Several times while I was cutting through longer growth, particularly bittersweet vines, strands wrapped around the spinner head, slowing or even stalling the trimmer. This was the only weed wacker where this happened.

Another drawback of this trimmer is the very small shield. My legs were under constant assault from clippings, dirt, and rocks, far more so than any of the other devices I tested. However, if you’re wearing jeans like you should be, then this shouldn’t be a problem.

The DeWalt trimmer works with a much broader set of battery-powered tools. If you’re already invested in the DeWalt lineup, then this is a great trimmer for the price.

At 56 volts, the Ego is one of the most powerful battery trimmers that we tested. And it shows. This is another machine that cuts through just about anything without hesitation. When it comes to pure cutting power, it’s comparable to the Kobalt.

That said, when the string starts to fray and shorten, there’s a much greater reduction in cutting power than the other weed wackers. This isn’t a huge problem—tapping the machine on the ground to extend the string is easy enough—but it does make for a few moments of frustration as you’re working.

The other, and more important, issue with the trimmer is the balance. I never found a comfortable position on the shaft for the handle. No matter how I held it, the cutter head kept dipping forward, making for uneven trimming and a pretty ugly end result in a lot of places. A previous reviewer with a smaller body frame had tried this model and found it well-balanced, so this may be more connected to my body size and shape than the design of the weed wacker.

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This is an absolute monster of a trimmer. If you put it in front of something, it’ll cut it. I brought this into my backwoods to cut back some ivy and underbrush, and I didn’t even really have to pay attention to what I was cutting. Everything I touched just disappeared. For heavy-duty trimming, it’s hard to beat the reliability of a solid gas weed wacker, particularly since you don’t have to worry about battery life.

This said, there are two significant drawbacks to all of that power—volume and fumes. Like all 2-cycle engines, the Husqvarna is loud, and it puts out a significant amount of exhaust. If you can live with this and need more power than most electric trimmers will give you, then the Husqvarna is an excellent option.

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If the only thing that matters is raw power, then a gas trimmer is what you’re looking for, and the Echo is a solid choice. Just about anything it touches gets cut. It’s actually a case of sometimes seeming too powerful—when I went to cut a piece of bamboo with it, it didn’t just cut the bamboo. It sent the pieces flying about 10 feet. Getting in and around my shed, it’s strong enough that it can damage the wood as well. For most homeowners, a gas trimmer is simply more power than you need.

Beyond the question of power, this had a few small quirks. First is the balance. To use it comfortably, the motor compartment rests against my elbow. And that gets hot. Not painfully hot, but enough to notice. The second drawback is the volume. Gas trimmers are very loud, and the motor only sits about two feet from your ear. Finally, like all 2-stroke engines, this one is very smelly, especially on startup.

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$312.28 from Walmart