Best Walk Behind String Trimmers

The push string trimmer can essentially be seen as the bigger, more mature counterpart of the weed eater. Although the functioning of these devices is relatively identical, the push trimmer variant is significantly more hefty and robust in terms of its performance.

If you need a yard trimmer that takes no prisoners, this is a great tool to consider buying. However, it’s important to buy something worthy of your hard-earned cash. Our mission here is to help you choose the best walk behind string trimmer for you, so let’s start by looking at our top five products in this category. 

Contents

Best Walk-Behind String Trimmer Reviews

1. EARTHQUAKE 28463 M205 String Trimmer

EARTHQUAKE 28463 M205 Trimmer with 150cc 4-Cycle Viper Engine Walk Behind String Mower, Red/Black

  • Huge all-terrain wheels: performs well on rough and uneven terrain
  • Five-year warranty
  • Not a lot of noise or vibration
  • Lots of power without too much bulk
  • The collapsible handle makes it easier to store 

This model is meant to go where lawnmowers cannot. Its wheels are so huge that they can roll right over those small gaps and ruts, and they don’t go flat because they aren’t inflatable. As a result, this thing is surprisingly easy to maneuver on rough ground.

This is a gas-powered trimmer, and it’s equipped with a nice big 150cc engine. This gives it enough power to get through just about anything in your yard. At the same time, the manufacturer has done a good job of minimizing noise and vibration.

2. Southland Outdoor SWFT15022 Field Trimmer

Southland Outdoor Power Equipment SWFT15022 150cc Field Trimmer, Includes Oil

  • Can tackle tough weeds with a powerful 150cc engine
  • Easy to maneuver
  • Manual recoil easy-start system
  • Changing trimmer string is easy
  • 2-year warranty
  • Comfortable and well-padded handle
  • Cutting swath: 22 inches

This is another powerful gas-powered trimmer, with a powerful 150cc engine like our first choice. This one is a little larger, but it’s still pretty easy to move around, and it’s excellent at chopping those large and troublesome weeds.

This one definitely gets some points for the fact that the strings are easy to change. Each side has one loop that is secured in place, and which is very easy to replace. It also has an easy-start feature, which seems to work quite well.

3. Remington RM1159 Walk-Behind String Trimmer

Remington RM1159 159cc 4-Cycle Gas Powered Walk-Behind High-Wheeled String Trimmer - 22-Inch Trimming Mower for Lawn Care, Black

  • Chops with a little more power than the rest with a 159cc engine.
  • Extra debris shield on the right side for extra safety
  • Ball-bearing wheels are very smooth and easy to turn
  • Easy to change strings when needed with a Single-loop string attachment.

This is the most powerful trimmer on our list, boasting a 159cc engine. You might be surprised at how much difference that extra 9cc can make. This thing is an absolute destroyer of weeds and brush.

It’s good that this one has an extra debris shield because this machine means business. It takes the largest strings available and is easy to change (like our second option).

4. Southland Outdoor SWSTM4317 Wheeled String Trimmer

Southland Outdoor Power Equipment SWSTM4317 Southland 2 Cycle Wheeled String Trimmer, Black/red

  • A perfect medium-duty trimmer
  • Very light and maneuverable (only weighs about 39 lbs)
  • Adjustable swivel head for hard-to-reach places
  • Very fuel efficient
  • Very easy to turn and maneuver
  • 35% more powerful than most handheld weed-eaters

This one is much smaller than the others, but it makes up for its relative lack of power with other benefits. This is the lightest and most maneuverable trimmer on our list and might be compared to a chariot in terms of how it moves.

You can adjust the head of the trimmer to numerous different angles, making it much easier to reach corners, borders, and other difficult areas. Overall, this is a great light-duty/medium-duty trimmer at a very reasonable price.

5. BLACK+DECKER 3-in-1 Lawn Mower, String Trimmer and Edger

BLACK+DECKER 3-in-1 Lawn Mower, String Trimmer and Edger, 12-Inch (MTC220)

  • 3 Tools in one
  • Be warned: although it does all three it is not the best tool for any of them. It’s a case of jack of all trades & master of none.
  • It is extremely cost effective.
  • Very lightweight and easy to store
  • The battery is convenient and quick to charge

This is the only battery-powered tool on our list, so it doesn’t offer the same raw power as a gas-powered trimmer. However, this trimmer is three tools in one, making it the most versatile tool and the best bargain on our list at the same time.

You can use the tool with a wheelbase so that it functions like a lawnmower, or you can remove the main unit and use it like a weed-eater. With a simple turn of the trimmer head, you have an effective edger. This trimmer may be small, but this thing does it all.


Choosing the Best Walk Behind Weed Eater

 In many ways, this machine is kind of like a cross between a weed-eater and a lawnmower. Thus, you can evaluate them using some of the same rules. For instance, all of these machines require a reliable and powerful engine to do their job.

Choosing A Power Source

This is the most important decision of the process. You will usually have a choice between 4-cycle string trimmers, 2-cycle trimmers, and electric trimmers. Each of these has its strengths and weaknesses. 

Electric weed eaters are a lot more convenient, and you don’t have to worry about buying or storing gasoline/oil. However, these things never offer the kind of power that you can get from a gas-powered model. When you choose an electric or battery string trimmer, you are sacrificing power for convenience, which might be a good thing for your situation.

Gas-powered string trimmers are the strongest, but they are more expensive to run. They also tend to be a lot heavier and bulkier. This is the kind of trimmer you get for maximum power. These weed eaters are generally used for commercial purposes. For large or heavily overgrown areas, this might be the right choice for you. 

2-cycle trimmers use a mix of gas and oil, which adds an extra step to their use. That also means one more fuel component that you have to buy. Still, these engines are very efficient on fuel and much quieter overall. If you find these advantages to be worth the extra trouble, you might want to look for a 2-cycle model. 

Cutting Swath And Engine Size

When shopping for a walk-behind string trimmer, you want to get a relative idea of how much cutting power it can deliver. The whole point of this machine is to bridge the gap between lawnmowers and huge cutting tools (like a bush-hog, for instance).

If it doesn’t offer a lot more power than your lawnmower/weed-eater, it probably isn’t worth getting. 150cc seems to be the standard size for most gas-powered models, but we have already seen that many power levels are available.

As for cutting swath, this will have a lot to do with how quickly the trimmer can get the job done. If you have a small yard with a lot of corners and crevices, you might actually find it better to go with a smaller-swath option.

Can a Walk Behind String Trimmer Take The Right Kind Of String for My Needs?

Before you purchase a machine of this type, you should definitely look at the sizes of string that it can use. As with many jobs, the tool has to be sized for the task, so choose your string size accordingly.

In most instances, your best option is to go with the trimmer that offers you the widest range of usable string sizes. That way, you will have more options to cover a wider range of situations.

Conclusion

While all of these products offer high quality, we think the best all-around choice is the Southland Outdoor SWFT15022. This one offers the greatest amount of cutting power at the lowest cost, and its disadvantages are very few (and very small).

The Southland SWFT15022 offers a very high power level at a reasonable price, as well as comfort and maneuverability combined with high reliability. The obvious runner-up would have to be the Remington RM1159.

The Remington trimmer offers the highest quality on the list, but its high cost kept it from taking the top spot. Still, you are likely to get good results out of any one of these choices. We hope you have enjoyed this article, and we bid you a good day.

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