are the$200 Echo trimmers at Home Depot better than $100 Homelite trimmers? ,for twice the money ,only have small yard to trim ,looking for longevity with less problems ,my Ryoby trimmer lasted 14 years ,my Homelite just died at 7 year old ,only have a 60 x 90 lot ,so not much mowing ,and yes i get gas that is supposedly ethonal free

Echo trimmers in my opinion have no equal. I'm still using the same one that I bought new in 1998. You can buy cheaper trimmers but they simply won't last as long as an Echo.

Echo is good, I have Stihl.

Out of those two.... Echo is better. if little yard.... have you considered battery operated?

I've got a gas Snapper and it's fine but I'm seriously considering the Dewalt 60v battery unit.

If you have a small yard and you want ease of use, don’t even mess with a gas trimmer. Get one with a lithium battery and never look back. It’s like a different world. Pick it up and squeeze the trigger. It works all the time every single time and it is instantaneous.

I agree with Devnull. Top notch. I have one that has to be around twelve years old or more. When going along a fence runner you still have to hold on to it or it will want to make you run behind it. I finally serviced it myself last year but after a few weeks of stellar performance something happened. I finally had to take it to a pro for a rebuild. That cost me about as much as a new cheaper trimmer model would and I asked why I should just do that. The- trusted - mechanic told me that was in no way apples to apples to what I had and to keep mine. He could have sold me a new one. if he wanted. I use tru-fuel and recommend it.

Along this same line I had always bought inexpensive B&S push mowers and thought I was happy to do so. Two years ago tried one with a Kohler motor but the inside of the deck got all bent up on something and I yanked it off and gave the mower to a friend who uses it in the country not minding the obscene amount of clippings in the air. When reshopping same ole same-o I noticed all were poorly designed, allowing clipping to immediately coat the air filters. I decided it was time to try a Honda- engine at least, but after shopping ended up buying the buying a proper Honda mower. This one is self propelled and I got to say- it is a better mower all around and in every way than anything I ever used ( and I used to cut lawns for a company) and a friggin joy to use- and it wasn't a lot more $$$.

All that to say- buy better stuff and be happier. I liken it to the old adage that I can't afford cheap scopes.

I have Stihl.

RoundUp is better than both of them.

I got 6 foot wide yellow patches of dead grass along all my fences and down my entrance road.

Life is good

👍

I have used both Echo and STihl, would be a waste of money to try any other brands. IMHO

Buy the echo.

I have the Echo Lithium-Ion battery trimmer and it's a beast.

My next trimmer and mower.

Echo

Buy Echo or Stihl, you only cry once. They just....work.

have a Stihl Chainsaw and Husqvarna trimmer and leaf blower. No complaints with any of them

Only Echo I have is a smaller leaf blower, maybe 10 years old. All I do to it is add fuel, starts on the second pull every time.

Looking to add a straight shaft weedeater and a small chainsaw. Strongly looking at Echo for both. I don't have any Stihl products, but a couple of Husqvarna's. for my small curved shaft weedeater I'm always dorking with the carb settings to make it run right. Every few weeks it seems they have changed.

I run Stihl chainsaws, but the Stihl weed eater I had sucked schit.

The snapper mo betta.

I bought what I saw on landscapers rigs the most, Echo.
I haven't regretted it.

My echo trimmer and blower start 100% of the time on the second pull. The way you load new line into the head is worth the cost of admission alone.

Rem shooter: "Honda" is the answer to the question you should be asking (whats the best trimmer for the money, easiest starting, most dependable, best harness, easiest to string, longest lasting, best performing etc etc etc!)!
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

I have two Stihl chainsaws and a Stihl weed eater. Next one will be Echo.

Ahhh, good ol Roundup... Haven't gotten around to contacting those lawyers on TV yet. Still breathing and not blind so maybe I'm alright.

Stihl or Echo both good. My echo chainsaw is over 30 yrs old and going strong. Stihl weed trimmer about 25 yrs old.

I had an Echo Extended reach(10') hedge trimmer with a articulating head that I used for 12 years trimming over 400' of cedar hedgerow, both sides and the top. The thing ran like a top all those years, and I sold it with the house when we left. Buy the Echo!

I've got a Troybuilt that I'm very happy with. Around $150 or so, electric start (using a power drill), and I've got a leaf blower attachment and a tiller attachment. I use it pretty hard, and got no complaints. I use Startron fuel additive to combat the damn ethanol gas.
7mm

I have an Echo SRM 3100 weed eater that is well over 35 years old and still running, its my brush blade weed eater.

Also have a Stihl FS-130 (my second one, first one blew up after about 5 years, dropped valve through the piston) that I use most of them time now, its a brute.

Can't go wrong with either one.

Echo is want the lawn services use over here. see them on there rigs all the time. I have the Echo weed eater / brush cutter and the brush cutter is king for busting trials in the swamp. I have the Echo pole saw too, they both start every time.

I run string trimmers a couple hundred hours most summers at work.Had a Honda Honda might be the answer for a lot of things but its not the answer for trimmers slow throttle response have to warm up I gave the one I had away.I would say Echo or Stihl I like Echo better another thing about a Honda you better have a very good pair of gloves if you run one for a couple hours your hand will sting for a long time.Funny thing is the dealer who I bought my Echo from knew that when I said I was replacing a Honda first thing he said was makes your hand numb don't it?

You won't be disappointed, Ed.

Echo. Don't overlook shindaiwa either.

Echo and Shindaiwa share technology. I have a Shindaiwa set up for cutting weeds or brush and the 22 cc Echo set up for string trimming. The 5 year homeowner warranty on the Echo is a deal maker. Homelite sells on former reputation at the big box stores and is only a shell of its former self.

I’m all for high powered internal combustion engines, when needed, but for a 60x90 lot, the lithium battery jobs are the ticket. Don’t have to mess with fuel. Quiet. Hell, you can weedeat at sunrise and the neighbors won’t care. Get one that shares batteries with a blower, and you’re really set.

It’s not about having the “best tool”, it’s about having the “best tool for the job”. No real need for a high-powered gas model, unless that’s just your thing.