.....Update......

I'm 5'10" and went and checked out the Stihl trimmers in person. I actually think I prefer the way the FS46 feels in my hands, with the extended-length curved shaft, versus the FS55 with straight shaft & round handle. Could I be wrong?

Are the Bike Handles worth it? (ie, FS55 with Bike Handle)...it's $50 more than the round handle version, and it's $50 more than my price-cap.

Any other thoughts are welcome, unless someone REALLY recommends one of the 4-stroke Cub or Sears products, I'll be buying either a STIHL or HUSQVARNA.

Thanks, Ben

I know you want to keep the price down but with how much trimming you have on 5 acres, I'd say you are a good candidate for a commercial model like the FS80/90 or a dreaded Echo 230/260. The Echo's really are good machines. I am not familiar with the 2000 models though.

If you can, consider a used model off of Craigslist. You can pick up a good deal there.

Ben,
If the Stihl feels good, I'd go with it. I bought an FS45 2 yrs ago & I mow 2 acres with lots of trees. Never a problem, easy start,easy load string & plenty of power. I too prefer the curved shaft & at your height the FS46 should be a good fit. You'll also get much better service from a Stihl dealer than at one of the big box stores. They'll have your machine gassed & ready..good luck
Frank

Don't overlook Kawasaki's gas trimmers. However, I guess it's harder to find a dealer that carries Kawasaki.
My dealer carrys Stihl, Echo, Redmax and Kawasaki. I'm 6'2" and for me, the kawa felt the best. The shop owner (female) told me she thinks the kawa's are the best, and uses one herself on her ranch. Apparently, one of our towns big yard service outfits swears by them also. So, I went with KGT-27A. It's their more expensive one, as it has an aluminum outer shaft to reduce weight. But, their other model might be in your price range. It was the same price as Echo's 230 I believe, but has a 27cc engine (which I think is bigger than the similarly priced Echo model). It's a 2-stroke engine, which I prefer over 4-cycle.
I would think for you height you'd want a straight shaft as opposed to curved shaft. My understanding is that curved shaft models are for shorter people. I could be wrong.
Good luck, let us know which one you get.

What string where you using on your Echo?

The reason I ask is I had a 24cc Craftman that could only use the .080 line and it would take about 30 minutes to do the back secion of my yard with a hill that had lots of 'monster' weeds. I had to bump the head all the time since it would eat the line and not cut the weeds down. I hated trimming that section.

That unit died and I replaced it with is an Echo SRM210 with the .095 string. I can do that section in 10 minutes now and I hardly go through any line. It powers right though it.

I was originally going to get a brush cutter blade but my dealer said that the .095 line would take care of my problem and he was right.

My SRM210 has the 21cc engine and if you are not using the .095 line, i would try it before spending the money on a new trimmer unless you want a new one. :)

Hi,

I have a Honda HH 31 cc trimmer. This is now on my third season with it. Very reliable. This is now an older model since I bought it 3 years ago. The equivalent now has a larger 35 cc engine.

The trimmer has a straight shaft and I prefer that to a bent shaft because that head is further away from you, and you get better power delivery.

I use the 0.095 (I think that is right) cord from home depot and that is pretty good at going through grass, weeds, and those thorny bush things, long trailing stems, which seem to grow wild everywhere. The cord I use is the standard round stuff, and even with this it powers it's way though.

I have used the Bike handles in the past, but I prefer the round handle. Easier to store in the garage and overall less bulky. I would however recomend the bike handles, and a full harness as opposed to just an over the shoulder strap, if you want to use a circular saw blade instead of weed-wacker cord.

Warmest regards, Mike.

jettix2
With 5 acres and 50 trees to mow around, I would go for the ECHO SRM-260. I have an old SRM-2601 straight shaft that has lots of power. I just ordered a new SRM-260S that has the same size engine and is a commercial grade trimmer. I can understand you being dissatisfied with what sounds like an under-powered ECHO, but you can't blame that on ECHO. You just need to spend a little more money and get one with a larger engine. By the way, the warranty for homeowners on the 2007 ECHO line is 5 years.

Charles Ranheim

I am on the Stihl Bandwagon because they went way out of their way to take care of me when they could have turned their back. I had a friend by my saw in the States and ship it to me in Germany. Even though they are made here, they cost almost twice as much as you folks pay. After about 30 minutes of use, the connecting rod came loose. Took it to my local dealer and with a bottle of Jack Daniels for the mechanic and got the saw back in 3 days. I just bought a trimmer from them because they checked the suggested price on the Stihl USA site and discounted me half the difference then loaded me up with goodies that more than covered the other half. I'm always in a hurry so got the FS130 with the 4-mix engine and harness/handlebars. So comfortable to use that if you had a third hand, you could drink a beer while mowing. They told me that the straight shafts are less maintenance than curved and of the straight shafts, the solid shaft is best (at least FS90). I wrote to the Stihl website awhile back and desribed my situation (about 8 miles of fence, some ditches and a couple of right of ways) and a guy suggested that if I had the FS90 or FS110 (depending on how heavy the growth) that I wouldn't have to do more than routine maintenance (spark plug and filter) for a long time if ever.

Good Luck

I just purchased the stihl fs110. So far I like it a lot. Not too heavy and lots of power. Based on your application you should get a commercial trimmer with as much power as you can affort. The fs90 from stihl was $300 and the fs110 was $350. The bike handle models are more money.
At first I thought it was heavy but when I brought it home and picked up my old trimmer, my old trimmer felt like a tank compaired to the fs110.

So nobody has any experience with the Cub Cadet trimmers? I was wondering about those also. Primarily the CC 5075SS model. I have a Cub tractor that I like a lot but didn't even know they made trimmers until I saw them at HD.
The only online reviews I could find were poor but they were a couple years ago on earlier models....

Cub Cadet is now made by MTD, like Yard Man, Troy Bilt, Ryobi and several other low-end brands. Avoid them. I have a 3-year old 31cc Troy Bilt that is noisy, stumbles and doesn't make much power. My 21cc Echo runs rings around it, even comparing new to new, weighs half as much, and makes 2/3 less noise.