n the handle, spin the
handle around, tighten the nut up again, and it's set up nicely for edging,"
You can tell right away that this is a pretty powerful little machine," he
adds. "It's not loud, but I can feel' that it's stronger than the trimmer I
have now." Bill, sturdy, fit and 5 feet 7 inches tall, found the Toro easy
to manage personally, but says that it is weighted a bit heavily toward the
head (the bottom of the machine), and therefore "might tire out people -
especially those whose arms aren't strong - after a long time using it." The
cord, Bill notes, is held securely out of the gardener's way.
Another Toro tester, retired dentist Sidney Winett, has more sand than grass
at his Atlantic coast home in Seaville, N.J., and so uses his string trimmer
mostly to whip leaves into mulch for his raised beds. "I clear out an area,
spread the leaves over it, make a few passes with the trimmer and the leaves
are shredded to my satisfaction," he explains.
Dr. Winett tried this task with the Toro electric trimmer and said that it
did shred his leaves nicely, but he felt that the machine itself was too
short. "I'm only 5 feet 6 inches tall, and I felt like I was stooping over a
The Toro 14 inch electric trimmer has a suggested retail price of $49.99 and
comes with a two year full warranty; available at power equipment dealers
throughout North America. Toro Co., 8111 Lyndale Ave. S., Bloomington, MN
55420; call (800-985-3500) to locate a dealer near you.
Jill Jesiolowski, an OG senior editor who grew up with the sounds of
full-sized farm equipment ringing in her ears, had been using a cordless
rechargeable electric string trimmer before we handed her the Weed Eater VIP
HandyStik rechargeable trimmer to try.
It took Jill just a few minutes to secure the HandyStik's recharger to the
pegboard wall in her garage (the only assembly required!), ...