Best Commercial String Trimmer [Archive] - LawnSite.com?? - Lawn Care & Landscaping Business Forum Powered by Moose River Media

I am telling you guys.... I have run Echo for years. Since 1994 when I started doing this.

I ran primarly echo, but did try a Mariyama ( was back around 1996 and they were WAY too heavy ) ...... Tried a Robin ( was good, would buy another )..... tried a Honda four stroke ( was heavy and didn't like being run upside down while I edged, wouldn't buy another ) ..... tried a Lesco ( back around 1998, was good but wasn't holding up to the use and wore it out in 2 seasons )......

All the while I still had Echo as my main line of trimmers. Was happy with them for the most part.

And then a year or two ago I bought a Kawasaki trimmer - the one that sells for around 219$ to 239$ depending on where you buy it - and man I am telling you guys.... It is hands down the best trimmer I have ever used. It is one of the lightest trimmers on the market, and it has lot's of power, Much more power than the 26 cc Echos have. It has held up well to my abuse, I have not changed a thing on it and it still runs great.

I won't lie and tell you it has never failed.... It did loose a bearing in the lower gearcase, but it was replaced under warranty, and then just a week or two ago the flex cable broke in half, and a new one is on order to be replaced under warranty. These problems are most likely all my fault for not greasing the gearbox ever, and also not running a guard and lastly I run oversize string - .105 -

I paid right around 210$ with tax and as good as it has been I would pay 310$ for it and feel like I am getting a deal.

When the flex cable broke, I was in the middle of my route and I didn't have a spare trimmer on the truck. The Echo dealer was closer than my house ( where I have a spare trimmer just for these breakdowns ) so I just went over there and bought a new Echo, figuring it would be just about as nice as the Kawasaki and I would just get the Kawasaki all fixed up and sell it since I got about 2 years of good service out of it.... Well the Echo I bought brought back all the sour memmories of the echos I used to use. Multiple pulls to get started, no power for the first minute or so of use, rough running at low rpms, heavier, etc.... So my plan is to get my Kawasaki fixed, put it on the truck as a spare, Clean up the Echo and sell it, and then buy a new Kawasaki to use as my primary trimmer.

Anyway, long story... Sorry! But do yourself a favor and go check out a Kawasaki trimmer. All of the name brand trimmers will do good for you, some have some strong points, some have weak points, but all are " Good "..... The Kawasaki IMHO is hands down the best though from my experience.