A clean lawn edge is what makes a tidy yard look professional. The grass can be patchy and the beds half-weeded, but a sharp edge along the path tells the world someone cares. A string trimmer (line trimmer, whipper-snipper, weed-eater — pick your name) is faster, more flexible and easier to live with than a dedicated edger for most home gardens. Here are the trimmers that earn their place in our shed.
Our team’s top picks
EGO Power+ 56V String Trimmer
- POWERLOAD head — fast line reload
- 56V battery, brushless motor
- Carbon fibre shaft
- Edger conversion model available
Greenworks 40V 14" String Trimmer
- Auto-feed head
- Light at under 5 kg
- Battery shares with Greenworks platform
- Excellent value
Stihl FSA 90 R Cordless Trimmer
- AP-system battery — Stihl pro range
- Brushless, balanced shaft
- Quiet, vibration-controlled
- Built to commercial standards
Worx 20V GT Revolution Trimmer/Edger
- Pivoting head converts in seconds
- Telescoping shaft fits all heights
- Wheel attachment for clean edges
- Light enough for one-handed use
Husqvarna 525LST Petrol Trimmer
- 25cc two-stroke, professional duty
- Smart Start system genuinely starts first pull
- Carbon fibre and steel shaft
- For long sessions on rough ground
What to look for in a string trimmer for edging
- Battery cordless is enough for most home lawns — petrol is overkill unless you're cutting paddock.
- A 40V or higher battery has the punch to edge against compacted soil; smaller batteries struggle.
- Bump-feed heads are simpler; auto-feed heads are faster but jam more often.
- A pivoting head that converts to an edger is genuinely useful — most home gardens use the edger mode 70% of the time.
- Look for a thicker line (2.4–3.0 mm) for edging duty; 1.6 mm is for trimming around delicate plants.
Frequently asked questions
Battery or petrol string trimmer?
Battery for everything under one acre. Petrol if you're cutting paddock or working off-grid. Modern 40–56V battery trimmers handle home lawns happily and don't require fuel storage.
Why does my trimmer line keep snapping?
Either the line is too thin for the job (use 2.4 mm minimum for edging), the line has dried out (soak overnight in water), or you're hitting concrete and timber too hard. Lift the head off the surface for cleaner cuts.
Bump-feed or auto-feed?
Bump-feed is simpler and more reliable. Auto-feed (like POWERLOAD) is faster when it works but more prone to jams. For occasional use, bump-feed is the right call.
Do I need a separate edger?
For 90% of home gardens, no — a string trimmer with a pivoting head does the job. A dedicated edger only makes sense if you have very long, very crisp formal edging that you maintain weekly.
Bottom line
If you only take one thing from this guide, it is that quality matters more than spec on paper. The picks above have been chosen because our team uses them or trusts them — not because they are the most expensive or have the flashiest marketing. Buy once, garden often.
