I am kc8prz (ham call), Mikey. I have been around a long time and I am currently retired thru disability. So hello everyone. Thought I would give my two cents worth on the new Hitachi trimmer, as also found, part for part identical to it's brethern Tanaka. This would be the Hitachi (Deluxe) CG22EASSLP straight shaft grass trimmer with an extra long 60 in. solid steel drive shaft and an anti-vibration system we are to talk about. This is about my 20th trimmer to date with a handful of them being gas. To start with, and get it out of the way, the trimmer is done in a stinky ass, sick looking, slightly grayish tinted, green with gray, black and orange accents on various parts. John Deere looks good in green and Weedeater does green real well too. But this is a very sad shade of green. This shade of green would need lots of vitamines and a psycodilic acid trip to improve it's image. Enough! Now the good stuff.. I tried to find as many of the starting lineup trimmers that the various companies offered and did extensive research on each. Some of the outstanding things about this Hitachi are it's industry leading 7 year warranty for consumers. Also a solid steel drive shaft with a lifetime warranty, as with a lifetime warranty on it's solid state ignition system, according to the service reps I talked to in this area. Shoot me if I misquote something that was told to me. It comes with a special "EASY pull assist" to crank it over and at no added cost to get it that way as was not the case with the Echo trimmer @ $50 dollars extra. Also, I think, it has a Walbro carb on an industrial rated motor. I weighted mine at a hair under 10 lbs. with fuel (outstanding). My stature is small so weight, size, and balance were very important to me having 12 bad disc's in my spine. I found the trimmer to be lite in operation and well balanced. The 21.1cc rating is a fooler as the unit has gobs of power. I bought the Tanaka manual feed head and tried some Hitachi .095, some Oregon with the arimid fiber in it at .118, and some Oregon Max at .130, all being round. All performed very well and lasted a long time. My propritary 2 cycle fuel mix is a one third Lucas, two thirds Sthil Ultra (was what I had left laying around) at 32 to 1 ratio. Plus some Lucas ethenol helper and the standard StaBil. The Hitachi liked it a lot. Unintentionally thrown together but it seams to work real well with no smoke.. This unit is a high reving HOT little monster so I made sure it had a little heaver oil ratio w/silicone and 93 gas grade octane. Dealing with Cincinnati "Summer blend" gas here, UGH!. The Hitachi whipped and hacked it's way through everything without a sweat. Modifications?? Well I did order a mid shaft Echo handle (new) for $12 online. The Echo handle is covered with a cushier grip surface than the hard plastic the Hitachi has. I did find the unit running very well balanced but hardly perfect though better than most. A bit better than average noise level. Lots of torque reminding me of the days of the old 1968 Plymouth Hemi Roadrunner. Above average gas mileage and ultra easy effort to start only needing one pull. For me and my ergonomic fitup puts the off/on switch in a bad location. I bumpted it to "off" a couple of times.. Uh, pardon me if I made it sound like the trimmer is just for little frail people because it's not, it's for everybody. A large commercial Lawn Care service could do a lot worse with many other "so called" commercial/profesional products then owning a bunch of these Hitachi (Deluxe) CG22EASSLP's.. To note, I also own a Gravly Zero Turn mower Im nuts about. A very durable, well thought out and built mower. So in conclusion, The Hitachi is easy to drive with lots of power. The unit is well designed, heavy duty, lite weight, ugly, and overall well built. I am very very impressed. I bought this online for $189 at Home Depravation,.....ah (Depot). This thread is getting long in the tooth otherwise I would tell you what I diden't like about all the others. Let me know if you want that. Also, one more thing I want your comments and opinion on. I bought this from Amazon today. $38.78 Only 16 left in stoc Arnold Extreme WLX-3105 Professional Grade String Trimmer Line .105-Inch x 660-Feet .. order soon. FREE Shipping too. Delivers the durability and performance the professional landscaper demands Cuts nine times more area than residential lines Tough enough for edging and cutting through think vegetation One reviewer wrote the following: I've only used this line a few times so far but it's incredible compared to the line that came with my string trimmer (Husqvarna titanium). I rarely have to bump the head for more string even when going through very heavy grass and thick weeds. I was even able to take care of small wild rose bushes (Word of warning. This string is incredibly hard and durable. This can be dangerous around trees with soft bark or otherwise, fence posts, etc. Don't go anywhere near vinyl siding. If you can keep a trimmer head loaded with the softer stuff for delicate areas. If not just be extremely careful. Updated: I had the opportunity to try some edging with this string on a Husqvarna 327ldx. It worked amazingly well. My word of warning should be extended to include brick! I have a brick lined garden and found this string will actually chip brick. I don't mean it will abrade it, it chips it. I tilted the string to the soil and just edged the garden to the ground making sure not to hit the brick after the first instance. Edging the sidewalk was super quick and long overdue. Awesome string. Whatdoyathink about deal and line type and quality?.....Thanks to all, Mike.

Too bad I didn't see this sooner. I had an old ECHO SRM 1500 and when I could no longer start it I purchased the Husqvarna 223L. For the 15 years I used the ECHO I did minimum trimming as I couldn't wait to be done with this dreadful chore. I was able to mow inside a large ditch in front of the house so I trimmed only around the house and trees. I had no problems with any of my other ECHO equipment but I was miserable every minute I used the ECHO trimmer. This was the only trimmer I ever used and I didn't know the difference. The only way I can describe my ECHO troubles is that trimming was difficult for me every step of the way, even though the trimmer appeared to work well. With the ECHO I started to avoid trimming whenever possible due to aching arms, back, legs, neck. I'm surprised I purchased another trimmer after my bad 15 year ECHO experience but the HUSQVARNA felt pretty good when I swung it around in the store. I took it home and used it for several hours the same day. It was excellent right from the beginning These two trimmers are totally different in handling, ease of starting, and durability. The HUSQVARNA is lighweight, perfectly balanced, easy to start, powerful, takes heavy duty as well as regular trimmer cord, has an easy to load spool, and almost floats across the brush as it anticipates my every move. I have nothing but praise for this HUSQVARNA trimmer 223L as it makes the chore of trimming almost enjoyable for me. After 2 years of use, the 223L has become MY FAVORITE piece of lawn equipment! With the Husqvarna I just finished 6 hours of continual trimming and am none the worse for wear. The ditch is too steep for my new mower so I've added 230 feet of ditch to trim as well as around the house and trees. I'm even considering using the trimmer instead of the edger I purchased, to trim the driveway and walkways, something I never would have considered with the unpleasant ECHO! I have nearly 2 acres of property and will now be using the trimmer in the back as well as the front of my property. I hefted a few other HUSQVARNA trimmers when considering which to buy, but none felt as good as this 223L. I don't know exactly what it is that is different but it is different enough to have made trimming one of my favorite chores instead of the most dreaded one. One big surprise for me is the ease of starting. The 223L has never required more than 5 pulls of the cord to start and once started, it does NOT stall! Whether it is cold or warm, it starts right up, usually on the 3rd pull. Every so often I try to start the old ECHO up. It remains impossible to start. This gives me great pleasure as I am trying to start it only as a game, not because I need to use it. Thankfully I will never have to use that ECHO trimmer again! I hope you continue to be pleased with your ECHO but I am sorry I didn't see this discussion when you were still evaluating which to keep.

Ehh I.M.O both Stihl and Shindaiwa are neck & neck "hybrid-4 is just a fancy name like 4-mix is for Stihl" they both work exactly the same. Ohh yeah and a correction I have Br600 blowers not 500 it just says magnum on the cover I thot they were 500's this whole time.. Since we've been looking at some interesting engines lately that take the road less traveled, a comment by rafe03 on this story about this hybrid engine that needs no oil in the crankcase and no oil pump either, but it operates as a 4 stroke. The fuel mix lubricates the engine like a 2 stroke. The fuel mix is drawn in through the crankcase and, by a very roundabout way, makes its way to the intake port, lubricating everything along the way. There's an animation on the Stihl site. "Cue Link" (http://www.stihl.ca/4mix/english/stihl4mix/mixprinzip.htm) And now you have whats called a 4-mix engine. Which is just basically a hybrid 2-stroke engine posing as a 4-stroke and with the power 2 back it up. Life used to be so simple, 2 stroke, 4 stroke, diesel. Now we have 2 and 4 stroke hybrids, 6 strokes, external combustion engines ..., and turbines and electrics and hybrids.

I realize this is a very old thread, but for the benefit of those reading reviews I thought I would share my experience. I've owned several Echo 210's. In terms of reliability the little echo is amazing. Not once in 12 years has an echo trimmer failed me in the field. I've had issues. Even broke a plastic piece on the carb that holds the throttle cable, even so I was able to put a zip tie on it and finish the day. And if I'm honest it broke due to my piling other tools in the back of the truck. Not Echos fault. The 210 is not exactly a powerhouse... Hey it's an entry level semi-pro tool. Echo should advertise them as "It just works". Year after year, use it knowing it will get the job done. In 2008 I bought a bigger Redmax trimmer. A bcz2401. Power on the Redmax was astounding, for a while. In all the years I've owned Echo, none have broken or failed under warranty. Redmax has failed in the field 5 times. Issues ranging from clogged screen to coil failure. Not once have I clogged a screen on an Echo exhaust. While it isn't hard to fix, it just shouldnt happen. Recently the Redmax failed again. It's out of warranty, but still very low hour (I've gone back to using the Echo). After this most recent failure I almost recycled the Redmax, it simply fails too often. I decided to try having it serviced by another dealer. The "new" service center recommended a carb kit, in installing it they found a defective diaphragm. Hopefully it will run as it should, but I will never have the confidence with it that I have with an Echo. Year after year, Echo just works. If it doesnt, I've yet to be disappointed by the installation of an "Echo re-power kit". It comes with everything to restore the original power (spark plug, air filter, fuel filter.) Also in 2009 I bought a Stihl fx 110. Maybe it wasnt setup properly from the dealer, others have said it should have lots more power. By the end of the first day the Stihl was in the back of the truck, my helper was using the old (6+ seasons) Echo. I probably sound like a company schill, but for my money and peace of mind, Echo is the clear winner. Btw if you regularly cut very tall or super thick grass the 230 is much torquier than the 210. It's surprising that such a small difference in cc delivers so much power. The 260 is simply a Hoss.