Which petrol strimmer should I buy?

If you have been shopping around for a petrol strimmer, you will have been confronted with a number of options. Before you pick your petrol strimmer, don't pick it on the basis of being the most expensive one you can afford. Make sure the one you want is suitable for the job you have in mind.

The first thing you must consider is the weight. If you can't handle the strimmer then you can't use it. This isn't just a case of weight, it also depends on where the handles are situated; you want to make sure that whilst you are holding the strimmer it rests as comfortably as possible. The only way to test this out is to go down to a dealership that holds a large variety of petrol strimmers, so you can feel the weight of each one. But, it is important to arm yourself with further information to make sure you're not swayed away from what you're after once you're in the shop.

When you know what you can handle weight-wise, engine size is perhaps the next most important thing. Petrol strimmers come in a variety of engine sizes, the general rule being that the bigger the CC the tougher the jobs they can tackle; although it is worth mentioning that if you intend to use your strimmer on things like hedges, although some models could tackle a hedge, you are ill-advised to do this as petrol strimmers were not designed for this purpose. If you have long grass or tough areas of weed, it's likely you will want to use a strimmer with a larger engine size.

Thirdly, find out more about the cutting tool. Most people will know about the nylon cord, as it is commonly used in cheap and cheerful petrol strimmers. Variations of this are used on high-end petrol strimmers, which feature multiple nylon cutting blades (far thicker and wider than the standard cord and suitable for dense material). Nylon is perfect for softer materials such as grass and weeds.

Tooth blades are solid all-in-one blades which usually feature rectangular 'teeth' strutting out from a circular disc. These blades are quite hard duty work and are suitable for soft materials and general modest brush.

The final type of blade most popular in petrol strimmers is a brush blade. These blades look similar to what you may see on a circular saw as they commonly feature a series of jagged cutting teeth around the disc. As they are designed for cutting, they can be used to strim more woody materials.

Finally, you need to make a note of the cutting radius. This is important as the cutting radius allows you to understand how long it is going to take you to complete the job; a large cutting radius will have the job completed in less time. If you have a large area to keep under control, you may find a small cutting radius makes the job impractical to tackle with a petrol strimmer. So, you may have to assess further options.  

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