This is my first grass trimmer and I'm so glad I invested in this Ryobi cordless version! It helped me get a handle on our overgrown lawn and now I can use it for the borders. If you've got a lot of trimming to do, I highly recommend having two batteries available, especially if using the 30cm setting. The only thing I would suggest to Ryobi is having clearer instructions -- especially for how to extend the blue string. Took a lot of Google Searching and a few YouTube videos to find the answer.

Good little strimmer. Got telescopic one hoping it was longer. I am 6 foot 2inch and fully extended it is rather short. Hard work if bad back. Could do with being 2-3 inch longer at least.Battery usage good after a 4 amp hour, 20mins ready for a break.Auto line feed works well, extends 1/4 inch when you start. If breaks, start a couple of times.May need a new spool, definitely a new white cap as this is plastic and will wear out.Plastic guard feels a little brittle but so far ok.This is a single line strimmer and not strongest. It will trim grass edges and weeds but clumps of grass or woody stalks will cause it problems.However it is certainly convenient to just whack in a battery and do a bit without extension cords or petrol. Not rewound the spool yet but ... MoreGood little strimmer. Got telescopic one hoping it was longer. I am 6 foot 2inch and fully extended it is rather short. Hard work if bad back. Could do with being 2-3 inch longer at least.Battery usage good after a 4 amp hour, 20mins ready for a break.Auto line feed works well, extends 1/4 inch when you start. If breaks, start a couple of times.May need a new spool, definitely a new white cap as this is plastic and will wear out.Plastic guard feels a little brittle but so far ok.This is a single line strimmer and not strongest. It will trim grass edges and weeds but clumps of grass or woody stalks will cause it problems.However it is certainly convenient to just whack in a battery and do a bit without extension cords or petrol. Not rewound the spool yet but don't think it will be a problem. Takes 1.6mm but will try 2mm if I can get it to fit.

Sorry RYOBI but I expected better. Previously had a corded flymo strimmer for years held together with tape. It was easy to use close to plants and on its side to get a nice clean edge to the lawn. The RYOBi is cumbersome so you end up with a very uneven cut. On edge trimming very difficult to control as you have to hold it above the grass as opposed to letting it roll. I guess it is only good if you have long grass you want to chop down and are not bothered about it being even. Its back to the old strimmer for me and this one will just sit in the garage. Hey ho!

Below average

I bought this as a replacement for existing trimmer. Not at all excited about it. It does the basic job but every time you pull the trigger it spits out line and cuts it off if you want it to or not. If it catches on a clump of grass or a twig it does the same. The spool of line will not last long at all. I don’t feel the spring that allows the feed is strong enough and allows line to feed out when it shouldn’t. Very disappointing. Not at all good enough from Ryobi. It’s not expensive, but it’s junk.

Do not recommend

I still have a Black and Decker (6 Years) love it but unfortunately the charger has failed. Had the option of buying a new charger or a new line trimmer chose the latter, the Ryobi. Big mistake, I thought it had ‘auto’ line feed, it doesn’t, I have to manually feed the line. AND constantly as it chews thru the line. My Black and Decker had a guide wheel, fantastic, this thing is hard to guide. What used to take me 10 minutes now takes me 30 minutes. Oh by the way , I’ve had this thing for one week and used only once, was going to take it back to Bunnings for a refund but according to their returns policy they won't take a used item! So I’ll probably send it back to Ryobi and cut my losses. Definitely y going back to Black and Decker

NOPE NOPE JUST NOPE

I purchased this unit a little over 2 years ago. Honestly it is the worst ryobi product I have ever purchased. Here is why. 1) There is only one line exiting the head so only cuts half as good 2) the line constantly breaks inside the head and the line constantly unspools - a woefully thin line does not help either 3) there is not bump feed so you have to push a grey button on the head to make the line feed out 4) the motor is in the head of the unit making it bottom heady awkward to use (especially for edging) and it is woefully under powered 4) only suited to manicured lawns. If you need to cut tall grass or even weeds - forget it the weeds fall over in laughter at your efforts. The long grass gets wrapped around the snipper head and the unit starts smoking and ... MoreI purchased this unit a little over 2 years ago. Honestly it is the worst ryobi product I have ever purchased. Here is why. 1) There is only one line exiting the head so only cuts half as good 2) the line constantly breaks inside the head and the line constantly unspools - a woefully thin line does not help either 3) there is not bump feed so you have to push a grey button on the head to make the line feed out 4) the motor is in the head of the unit making it bottom heady awkward to use (especially for edging) and it is woefully under powered 4) only suited to manicured lawns. If you need to cut tall grass or even weeds - forget it the weeds fall over in laughter at your efforts. The long grass gets wrapped around the snipper head and the unit starts smoking and overheats. 5) the plastic slicer blade attachments - yeh right in under 10 minutes (I kid you not) they are chewed down to nubs and that is only from cutting grass. This is a severely under powered snipper, very frustrating to use - due to the constant stopping and starting to either pull line out or rethread the spool. This makes gardening cringe worthy. I liked my petrol Ryobi heaps better - at least it did the job. Now what use to take me 30 minutes (petrol snipper) takes me 2 hours of frustration. I am so glad I will be upgrading to the HP Expandit trimmer this Christmas.

This was a big disappointment... Ryobi batteries don't fit

After a lot of reviewing, I bought this product expecting it to be well made, like my 11 other Ryobi One products. Unfortunately this is not the case. The product comes without a battery, but as I already had 3 Ryobi 2.0 batteries I didn't worry. None of them fit. You have to jiggle and press really hard to get the battery on and then it is almost impossible to get the battery off. This was the case with all three batteries. Back to the shop (over half an hour away) to replace...Bunnings tried the product and agreed it was a problem. The replacement which was tried in the shop is just the same, so I got a refund. This seems to be a manufacturing problem and I would advise anyone thinking about buying this product to check that their batteries fit, because 3 I had ... MoreAfter a lot of reviewing, I bought this product expecting it to be well made, like my 11 other Ryobi One products. Unfortunately this is not the case. The product comes without a battery, but as I already had 3 Ryobi 2.0 batteries I didn't worry. None of them fit. You have to jiggle and press really hard to get the battery on and then it is almost impossible to get the battery off. This was the case with all three batteries. Back to the shop (over half an hour away) to replace...Bunnings tried the product and agreed it was a problem. The replacement which was tried in the shop is just the same, so I got a refund. This seems to be a manufacturing problem and I would advise anyone thinking about buying this product to check that their batteries fit, because 3 I had and 1 Bunnings had (a 4 ah) didn't fit well at all. I could not face struggling with this each time I wanted to change batteries. The whippersnipper is otherwise well made and really punches above it's weight, but unacceptable with such a poor battery attachment issue.

Underpowered

I bought this to replace an old petrol. Unfortunately this is horribly underpowered and struggles to cut anything but fine grass. While it can trim tougher grasses it will take a lot longer. If you need it to clear out tall tough weeds, then good luck.The cutting head is single sided. It isnt a bump feed, instead you need to stop/start the motor to make it extend which takes some getting used to.Being an electric and a One+ does make this very convenient. No having to worry about fuel or oil, or pull starting. Pop a battery in and go.So in the end I had to keep the old petrol. I use this to maintain the edges but when the going gets tough the Ryobi gets put away.I don't recommend this if you have an actual yard to maintain.

Very effective tool, and a well rounder - applicable in many situations.

Bought one 10 months ago, and it broke so I swapped it for a new one. Besides the point, it is a very good tool that makes lawn care much easier and efficient. If you have a small lawn, you don’t need anything but this. The head orientation settings combined with the telescopic neck and the adjustable handle make it useful for different situations and spaces but also easy to store. It does not use too much battery either, and the battery itself charges pretty quickly (~60’). The line can cut tougher grasses like buffalo, it is also pretty much ready to go right out of the box and not much assembly. It’s great and has made life so much easier.

Worth Considering

Purchased one of these to replace a Husquvarna petrol weed eater which I've had for years. I knew when I bought this that it wouldn't compete against the Husky for the bigger jobs, but for light trimming it seems to do a good job. I only have two gripes (so far):1. The line extends every time I start it, which seems wasteful and unnecessary; and2. No matter how much I tighten the wing-nut that is supposed to clamp the grip-handle on the shaft inplace, it still slides up and down the shaft while in use, resulting in an uncomfortable and unnaturalhand position.Overall I'm pretty happy with it though, and it's great not having to shag around with petrol/pull cords etc on the smaller jobs anymore. Just click in the battery & go!