Overall out of the box it looks to be a great sturdy and light weight battery power string trimmer. Worthy of 5 stars. BUT... I have yet to test this out due to this was Black Friday item and now winter time, will have to wait until spring and summer. As of now I was able to check and or test out the battery and charger. Battery came partially charged about 20% to 40%. I decided to charge the battery to full charge thereby also testing the charger. The charger : At first plug in, both red and greed light simultaneously flashes ONCE (a good sign). Upon connecting the battery, the charger started to hum from silent to loud and started to smell like something is burning. ( I got nervous and disconnect and unlatched the battery and unplug from the outlet.). Back to reading the manual (still not clue). But my understanding was the cooling fan. Research some YouTube videos. Conjured up some courage to try again. Plugged in the charger and connect the battery. Same thing as stated earlier. Held my breath and left it connected and allow it to charge (supposedly). I made sure after 15 min. to check up on it just to make sure it had not started to catch fire or exploded. So far so good. After 1hr on the charger, went to check on it; press on the battery power button and the indicator light was solid on 4 bar and 5 bar was flashing (good sign I thought). After 1 and 1/2 hr went back to check again and Bam! battery was fully charged. BUT the charge still was humming, noise was not loud but you can still hear it. Conclusion was that the loud noise was the cooling fan working to cool the charger while it was charging. This needs to be clearly stated in the manual. Once battery was fully charged I decided to dry operating the trimmer, connect the battery and squeezed both levers and Bam!......IT works. Other than that, so far I have a working product/item. Can't wait until spring/summer. Finally : I recommend this. Update (December 2023) : Got a chance to test this item on my backyard in December month. This trimmer works and operation really as expected and better than others I have own. It has power. Did the whole backyard filled with dried and dead weeds (still standing) just fine without using anymore string. I did not even notice that the string was jammed but was able to finish my yard. (Note : Possibly string can be easily jammed or even ran out without even knowing it, only that the string got shorter or too short). The battery used was 2 bars to do my whole backyard. Good sign that one full charge can and will do my whole front and back yard.

The braided string used by this trimmer is much stronger and performs much. It is more durable so it cuts through heavier brush that bogged down my old trimmer. When you get into a chain link fence the string isn’t eaten up before you can pull back. The 56 volt battery delivers more power for longer so you can get the job done quickly without problems. I also have an EGo mower and the batteries are interchangeable so when you have huge job to do one can be charging. The batteries charge quickly and last a long time. The only improvement I would suggest is the trimmer should come with a shoulder strap. The trimmer is well balanced to alleviate the added weight of the heavy battery. When I was younger the weight wouldn’t have bothered me, but as a senior citizen a shoulder strap would extend my work time and allow me to finish the job sooner. As it is I take more breaks.

I purchased this trimmer based on Consumer Reports’ recommendation. However, I regret not researching how it would work for me beforehand. At 55 years old and fairly out of shape, with nerve issues in my non-dominant hand and arm, I encountered some challenges. The trimmer itself is a beast—it’s huge and twice the length of my previous one. The battery adds to its top-heaviness. I had to watch YouTube videos to learn how to reload the trimmer line, which wasn’t too bad once I got the hang of it. However, due to my arthritis, winding the line can be challenging. I wish I had upgraded to the power-load option. The factory pre-loaded line it comes with is inadequate, so be prepared to replace it soon after trying it out. On the positive side, the trimmer’s power is impressive compared to my old 20V, half-sized trimmer. It does go through a lot of line quickly, though. The trimmer’s extreme length (6ft+?) and battery weight left my out-of-shape body in pain afterward, particularly in my back and chest. Unfortunately, there’s no way to adjust the length. Overall, it’s an awesome tool for the young and able-bodied, but if you have physical challenges, consider whether the power-reload feature would make a difference. The trimmer’s unwieldiness and top-heavy weight might be problematic for some.

This is one great weed eater - I read the write-up and purchased it because of the light weight, in addition to it being battery powered. I was surprised at the ease of use and the power delivered to the cutting head. I have a bank that is a bear to cut; the EGO's light weight and balanced operation made the clearing of the bank easy. The run time of an hour+ allows for a goodly amount of work.

Plenty of power for my needs. I recently retired my old battery single string trimmer, and needed a replacement. I was going to go back to gas, but these battery ones sure seemed plenty powerful at a better price point. When I hit the trigger, you can feel the whole unit twist with power. It is a serious machine. The first use, I did my whole yard, and a few extra weeded areas, and barely affected the battery level. The thicker string certainly goes through the brush. So far I am really happy with my purchase.

SOOO nice not to have to deal with gasoline and oil. Charge lasts long enough to do entire yard (60' x 160') with several gardens/trees and fences to trim around.

Great machine, arrived in a timely manner

Like any other the string gets caught and you have to take it apart to clear the jam. Otherwise it does an excellent job.

I like that it is environmentally friendly also don’t have to wear earmuffs I would like to see the battery last longer maybe if they had a five amp hour battery instead of a 2.5

The battery which has a 3 yr warranty became defective after 2 yrs and less than 25 hrs on it. Ego will not honour the warranty as Amazon purchased this item from an unauthorized distributor. Buyer beware. Check where Amazon purchases the product for warranty information before you buy.