Not sure if I've ever seen this addressed and it's a user question rather than a repair question, but is there any consensus on best quality string trimmer line? Was doing some trimming today and not real happy with the line I'm using. What I have now is Pulverizor Professional Grade .095. Using it on a gas Troy-Bilt.

 

I don't know that brands make a difference but I always try to use the heaviest line my weedeater will take.

 

I used Oregon Starline til I ran out and found a great deal on heavy square cross section stuff in a 1000ft roll...for like $5. Looks like the Oregon Gatorline might be good as well.

 

I think everyone is doing it wrong, we use .095 or .115 on a low power weedeater which is like trying to cut grass and weeds with a broom stick, we are usually much to close to the grass/weeds, if we use the thinnest line available and cut with the tip of the line rather than the base of the trimhead we will do much better job and the type of the line is much less important. Learned it from my sister. Have a good one. Geo

 

I agree that thinner line does better unless you're trimming heavier stuff with woody stems. The square and triangular lines seem to do well, and I think the age of the line is maybe as important as the type. Older line breaks and wears away faster. Nice limber new line works best.

 

There was a YouTube video I saw the other day with this exact title, the best trimmer line. I don't recall the details but it should be able to be found with a YouTube search.

Also, I agree that it is the tip of the line that does the cutting, not the edge.

 

Cheese, you hit an additional point. Does this stuff have a shelf-life? The stuff I have is probably two years old and it crossed my mind that maybe it got brittle as it got older and a fresh roll (of anything) would hold up better.

 

I use this one. I am convinced round line feeds better than any other geometric profile. Just my opinion.

 

That thought had also crossed my mind. Wonder if anyone's ever done a study on round v. square v. hex v. whatever and how well they come off the spool or through the little round hole in the head when feeding.

That spool looks like about a 50 year supply for me.

 

Several years ago I bought a bulk coil of trimmer line at Harbor Freight. It had a funny feel to it and when I wound it on the spool of my Weedeater model 509 it did not feed well at all. Shortly thereafter the "Tap-and-Go" head failed completely and since the tool was at least 25 years old I could not get any repair parts. The HF string just sat in the garage collecting dust.

Fast forward to last year and I now have a Ryobi string trimmer that I connect to the battery for my riding mower. Once the initial load of string was used I rewound the spool with the HF string, fully expecting it to fail. Nope, it works very well indeed. I tried it again a few weeks ago and still works just fine, I cut some privet hedge that was overgrowing onto my driveway as well as that %$*&#@ English Ivy.

So, in my limited experience it is more the technique of the user and less the material used by the trimmer that is the most important factor.

 

The line is made from nylon usually and degradation depends on storage conditions. I had some hanging on a nail out at my tool shed and the sun shone on it part of the day. It didn't last long... it still felt limber but when you loaded up the trimmer with it and started working, it broke over and over. I have more that I stored in my shop and it lasted longer but eventually got a chalky coating (dried out exterior layer?) and became to frustrating to use because it kept breaking off in the head and I'd have to take the head apart to feed the line back out. I'm convinced that it begins degrading after the second it is created and storage conditions affect the rate of degradation. I have some that has lasted for 5 years and still works good but seems to have more memory from being coiled up. Lots of factors at play.

 

You are correct. 840 feet would be better suited to commercial users.

The package I have is much smaller. The photo I used is all i could find with the same product description.