A trimmer for your grass not for your beard (Black & Decker Reflex Trim n Edge Gl540GGB)

Member Name: blissman70

Product:	Black & Decker Reflex Trim n Edge Gl540GGB
Date:	30/09/09 (44 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: lightweight and easy to use, gives great results

Disadvantages: the 'line' and 'spool' can be a little irratating at first

As any regular readers who have been kind enough to read some of my recent review will know that I am in the midst of many household chores at the moment, both inside the house and around the garden.
As with the winter months heading our way I have been more busier in the garden than normal, adding those final touches to the freshly nurtured lawn, one of those things being the 'strimming' of the lawn edges and the rough patches which my lawn mower struggles with.
So, with the mower failing to handle certain parts of the garden, and the chainsaw being a little over the top for the job needed, it was time to pull out the 'trimmer', or I as I call it, the 'strimmer' out of the shed.
This particular strimmer has been in my possession for a while now and, although it did have one annoying fault to start with, it has been of good service throughout our time together.

** SPECIFICATIONS...

* 700 watts
* 330 mm cutting width.
* 'Reflex plus' line feeding system.
* Middle mounted motor for better balance.
* Soft grip handle
* Edging function
* 10400rpm cutting speed
* Telescopic shaft
* 1.65 line diameter
* 3.2kg in weight

** IN CONCLUSION...

When I first bought this it was a little infuriating, no, I tell a lie, it was as annoying as an itch on your back that you just can't reach. The reason for the utter annoyance was that the cutting line seemed to run out quicker than a cheetah on roller blades, the so called 'line feeding system' working a little too well if you ask me.
Anyway, I decided not to give up on this strimmer, mainly because of how much I had just spent on it, and instead tried different techniques in using it, and also different ways in winding the line around the spool.
So, after a few test runs, and quite a bit of 'cutting line' I finally figured out the way to run the machine without it spitting out miles and miles of line all over my garden.

Once I had worked this out I found this machine to be a cracking way to trim those edges around my garden, the way you simply twist the main shaft to get at those edges, leaving a perfect straight side all around.
It does look like it may be a handful to control, what with its trigger hiding gently beneath the funky looking and very curvy handle. The solid front grip handle giving your none trigger hand the ability to manoeuvre the strimmer around with such ease.
The actual shaft is of good quality, curving ever so gently downwards towards the rather basic looking cutting spool area, which in turn is a little protected by a very generous black semi circle of plastic, which does help protect you from any flying debris that you may hit, such as stones, sticks or even wild life.

It has a good size cutting range to help you tackle those difficult stubborn areas where your mower wont reach, making your lawn look like the pitch at Wembley stadium, only without the hordes of angry fans throwing things at you.
It may not be the tallest of strimmers but once you get the hang of it this simply helps in how easy you can manoeuvre it round the garden, and with it weighing just over 3kg you'll be able to cart it around for hours on end, although unless you've got a garden the size of Buckingham Palaces then you wont need to cart it round for hours.

In fact, for me, the hardest part of using this machine is when the line does run out and you have to add more onto the 'spool, which I initially found that winding the line around it was a little tricky but, as with most things, after a few attempts it soon became as easy as threading a needle, and I did find that the tighter the line was around the spool the less likely it was to run out with in minutes.

In all, a great addition to anyone's shed which is brimming with gardening equipment. It is so easy to use and, in the average size garden, will take a matter of minutes to trim around those edges, giving a perfect finish to you lawn.

So, if you want one of these little beauties then you can have one for around £70, but, as I always say, do shop around as there's always a bargain to be had.

Summary: Your lawn will love you for using this on it