I un-fondly muse of yanking four score and seven million times on the starter cord of a gas string trimmer that sat idle for the winter. A breathless carb gummed by gooey regret led to a breathless me with phooey regret. 2 strokers are great if used frequently, maintained during down time, you enjoy mixing fuel & oil and love rebuilding carburetors. For me, it was time to go electric. I bought a corded electric trimmer; it was weak and required long extension cords. But then the clouds parted, the angels sang and we received this DeWalt 60V Max FlexVolt string trimmer, a pro quality unit that drains the gas and cuts the cord. Can you hear the harps?
DeWalt 60V Max FlexVolt String Trimmer – It’s No Laughing Matter
You may think electric yard tools are a joke. Been there – scoffed at that. But cordless power tools continue to become more and more capable. And that includes battery powered landscaping tools, which now compete in a very real way with their gas sipping counterparts. There are even respectable battery-powered lawn mowers, something we all would have chuckled at once upon a time.
60V 3Ah Cordless Power That Lasts
Back in 2015, we reviewed the DeWalt DCST920PL1 20V MAX string trimmer. That’s a great trimmer, no doubt about it. But the new 60V MAX FlexVolt version is even better! The 60V model has a wider (15″, dual line) cutting swath, more power and higher top speed. And the included FlexVolt battery is compatible with all DeWalt 20V MAX, 60V MAX and 120V MAX power tools.
Get Triggered With The DeWalt 60V MAX FlexVolt String Trimmer
Mind you, we mean “triggered” in a good way! The FlexVolt string trimmer has a 2-speed variable trigger with safety lockout. Low speed does perfectly well in most cases and maximizes battery run time (as does the efficient brushless motor).
When you really need to power through dense weeds, switching to high speed will mow down any doubt that this really is a legitimate replacement for gas trimmers (in case you weren’t already convinced).
Easy Wind Spool With Bump Feed
Reloading the line spool is quick and easy. More so than some others I’ve used. Also nice is that the line is advanced by the traditional “bump feed” method (where you bump the bottom of the cutting head against the ground) familiar to most gas trimmer veterans. This is by far the best way of doing it, unlike the clunky “feeds a little bit every time you squeeze the trigger from a dead stop” way my old corded trimmer worked.
A Brushless, Gear-Driven Motor Head – DeWalt 60V MAX FlexVolt String Trimmer
No matter what I did, it never felt like the trimmer struggled to keep up. Even as I trimmed heavy wiry weeds or thick stands of crabgrass along a chain link fence. The guard, however, is a bit on the small side and some debris does get past it. So make sure you’re wearing eye protection when using this tool (or are near someone else using it). But you should be doing that anyway, with any string trimmer.
Get A Handle On The Situation With The DeWalt 60V MAX FlexVolt String Trimmer
We found the unit to be well balanced and comfortable to hold. At around 12-1/2 lbs (with the battery), it’s more than a pound lighter than the 40V MAX version. But over time, it does get a little heavy. And I wish it was about 2″ longer on the front end so you can stand straighter and reduce the load on your back.
Trim And Proper – Cleaning Up The Edges
Whether you call it a “string trimmer”, “weed wacker”, “line trimmer”, “weed whip”, “whipper snipper” or “strimmer”, one thing is for sure: it will get into places your lawn mower can’t. A mowed lawn just doesn’t look as good if everything is traced by a line of uncut grass and weeds.
In the end, I was very pleased with how well the DeWalt 60V MAX FlexVolt string trimmer works. It’s billed as a professional grade tool for everyday heavy-duty use and it actually performs like it’s up to the task.
Not only does it work as well as advertised, there is no issue with long term storage, no gas/oil mixtures to deal with, no frustrating starter cords to fight and no biennial carburetor rebuilds to fuss with. Nor do you have to run long tangles of extension cords. Just pop in a battery and immediately get to work. I don’t know about you, but this is exactly the kind of hassle-free string trimmer I’d prefer.
Buy the DCST970X1 DeWalt 60V MAX FlexVolt string trimmer kit w/ battery and charger for just under $250
Or get the bare tool (DCST970) for just under $180
About the DeWalt FlexVolt platform:
Trim line replacement procedure:
