This trimmer has been phased out in favor of model 51357, which has a 4.0 amp motor in place of the 3.6 amp motor on the 51353.
The motor is powerful enough to handle grass that has grown up for a month or two, but it was clearly designed for grass that is trimmed every week or two.
I was surprised by how well the .065" line (thin by commercial standards) handled woody vines and thicker weeds.
This trimmer is perfect for any residential user with less than a mile of fence lines to trim. It's not built for commercial duty, but it could survive heavy use. The trimming probably takes about 5% longer, though, because the motor isn't as powerful as a gas-and-oil-fired trimmer.
A residential user would save more time than that by not having to mix any two-cycle fuel, but if the trimmer is being used more than 10 hours/week, it's only practical for people who really care about clean air.
The line feed system takes some getting used to. It doesn't require the huge amount of force that a commercial-grade trimmer requires. Bumping it too hard can knock the line out of place, and then the user has to unscrew the cap on the bottom (no tools required, it just takes a minute or two).
When the trimmer first arrived I was disappointed, because it felt too light. It won me over in the first minute of use, though.
The shaft is long enough that I can use it, but anyone much taller than I am would have to stoop too much (I'm about 6'2", and I would recommend this trimmer to anyone under 6'4"). The handle can be moved up and down on the shaft, so short people will have no problem with this trimmer.
Speaking of the shaft, it is some sort of composite material. I didn't like it at first, but weight is important, and it's definitely strong enough to stand up to years of abuse.
There are a few changes I would like to see made so that the trimmer could be used commercially:
Replace the 4-amp motor with a 6-amp or even 8-amp motor
Make the shaft longer
Build the foot guard out of a stronger material
Install .095" line rather than .065" line
increase the cut width. Commercial-grade trimmers are 17", this trimmer is 15"
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