Weed patrol.(string trimmers)(Buyers Guide)

String trimmers are America' s bestselling outdoor power tool for good reason. They can whisk away grass and weeds that grow around trees and fence posts, against the house, and in other spots your mower can't reach. Turn them on their sides, and they can edge a neat border between your lawn and a walkway. And because they do their trimming and edging with flexible nylon, rather than hard steel, they're safer than most outdoor power equipment.

Manufacturers are making string trimmers lighter and friendlier--attributes that help them appeal to older buyers as well as to women, who are involved in more than half of all purchases. The heaviest in our May 1998 test weighed 17 pounds; this time, none weighed more than 14 pounds, and several electrics were less than 5 pounds.

Cleaner-burning engines are another improvement. Federal law requires manufacturers to slash the exhaust emissions for new gasoline-powered trimmers by 70 percent by 2005, while California has required that emissions reduction since 2000. Most companies are ahead of the curve: Echo, Homelite, Husqvarna, John Deere, Ryobi, and Stihl have been developing cleaner engines since the 1990s. We tested three new California-only models to see how other low-emissions trimmers are likely to perform (see "Is It Easy Being Green?" page 41).

Best of all, you don't have to spend top dollar to get a capable trimmer. While the top-performing gasoline-powered models in this report are priced from $150 to $200, several that also scored well cost less than $100. Not all string trimmers work equally well for all jobs, however. Some are best for trimming taller, tougher grass and weeds. Others are easiest to use for edging. Still others we tested had little oomph for anything but minimal trimming--yet cost as much as far more capable models. Here's what to think about when shopping:

THE CHOICES

The 38 string trimmers in this report fall into three categories, each with distinct pluses and minuses.

Gasoline-powered trimmers account for nearly half of the more than 9 million string trimmers sold in the U. S. each year. We tested 19 such models priced from $75 to $200. Major store brands include Craftsman (Sears), Homelite, Ryobi, Troy-Bilt, and Weed Eater. Pricier brands sold at dealers include Echo, Husqvarna, John Deere, and Stihl, though you'll now find all except Stihl at Home Depot,Wal-Mart, and other retailers as manufacturers attempt to boost sales.