BLACK+DECKER POWERCONNECT Cordless 28cm Strimmer (without battery or charger), STC1820PCB-XJ

I have been a black and decker fan now for about 10 years now for some reason. I think it's because they're reasonably cheap and cheerful. The only real problem was the cheap batteries. However this has changed recently. I decided to get rid of all my old b and d stuff and start afresh. I now have most of the new range of 18 Volt tools and the quality of the batteries has vastly improved. I can now complete almost any job I start now without changing batteries and this new strimmer is no exception. The quality is reasonable, it feels quite robust and is easy to use, the main plus being that the battery doesn't go flat after five minutes. It's still going strong after about 20 minutes on the eco setting. Not sure how long it will last on the boost setting as it works fine on the slower setting. Also it's available as a bare unit with no battery or charger which means you only need one or two chargers and batteries for all the tools, this made it only 50 quid to buy on its own and means I don't have lots of silly chargers lying about. Most of black and deckers stuff is only supplied with a slow charger any way and I already have one. All in all good value for money.

One of if not the best cordless strimmers

Pros; Lightweight, grab & go like a dyson cordless vacuum, no need to travel for petrol, relatively inexpensive... Cons; Not nearly as powerful as even the cheapest petrol strimmers, a bit awkward to hold, trigger is not the most ergonomic, battery life is about 15 - 20 mins using my B&D 2.0ah drill battery. I have a few extra batteries so recharging & rotating is not a problem. Summary: If I had a typical townhouse back garden that I regularly maintained, I'd buy this again. But strimming the edge of a half acre lawn would take forever, so it’s back to petrol for me. Still, it is handy for quick jobs here & there...

This is the second one of these I’ve bought - the first one broke within a year. However when it worked it was excellent. Due to the failure of my first one I didn’t need to purchase this one with the battery or charger which thankfully reduced the price considerably. This is why I did it. So let’s see how long this one lasts. It strims very well (garden use only). The battery lasts very well, however takes a fair while to recharge. The auto system works. It is easy to change strim options for edging and back to straight forward. As said I think it was worth having another go with this product. We will see if it was a wise choice. PS couldn’t be bothered with all the flapping about it takes to look at warranty options, believe me life's to short going down that road.

My old strimmer was getting quite ancient and finally gave up the ghost. I already have two B & D tools with the same rechargeable battery so I didn't need another battery or charger. This made the price very affordable. My old strimmer was excellent for edging the lawns but the nylon cord broke far too many times. I tried all sorts of different cords but they still fractured at the hole in the spindle so one had to stop and rethread the cord too many times. This new one has a "fully automatic" reel which keeps the cutting cord at the correct length all the time. My first reaction on reading this was "Oh yes, I'll catch you out!". I have cut the lawn edges 6 or 7 times now and used the strimmer in it's other mode to strim around trees , etc and the cord hasn't broken once yet! I don't know how the automatic feed works but it certainly does very well. I'll have to take it to bits soon to find out!. A really great tool, very light and quiet to use.

I already had a Black & Decker drill so had two batteries. I bought the trimmer to replace a petrol trimmer that I had used for many years and have been very pleasantly surprised with this trimmer. It is very easy to use, is quiet, works very well and the battery lasts a good length of time in my big garden. I liked it so much that I replaced my electric corded hedge trimmer that was giving trouble, with a B & D battery operated one. It also has proved very good. I'm happy with both and can recommend them.

I like this tool because it is perfect for keeping the grass and weeds down around the edges of a garden, around the allotment plants and between cracks even though the line hitting the concrete tiles uses more line, still way faster than weeding by hand. I love that it's easily portable, lightweight and fits into my small storage box.

This is my 2nd purchase of the same strimmer and this one is even better value. Very easy to use as it is lightweight and the battery life is brilliant I have left at times for a couple of weeks in the garage not charged and still have been able to use it. If you are looking for a value for money strimmer but don't want to spend a fortune this would certainly fit the bill