Makita XRU15PT1 36V (18V X2) LXT® Brushless String Trimmer Kit with 4 Batteries (5.0Ah)

I have been using a Makita RBC251 trimmer for more than 20 years. That model has a gas engine (2 stroke) which has worked well all those years, powerful, well balanced and a good deal lighter than the 4 stroke trimmers of that time. But it was time for a change, I decided to get the Makita 36 volt model. OK then, here is how this electric version compares to my old 2 stroke Makita tool. First off, the weight and balance are very close (Makita engineers probably used that old tool as a reference point) and they look pretty much alike as well. The electric version is quiet and doesn't require mixing gas and oil or any arm straining starting exercises --- but it does have a significant lag in spin-up time. Gas version spin-up to full speed was less than a second vs the electric at three times that. I should mention that I was using FULL POWER. My weed cutting action is typically tall weeds and some with thick stems. I tried the two lower power settings and quickly decided full power was what I needed. In that mode, it had equal power to my old gas trimmer (impressive!). Battery life was fair at that setting and for my use. I got 40 minutes of use before I was down to half charge (two bars). I estimate a reasonable run time to be 1 hour so that I would leave some charge in the Li-ion battery pair. Recharge on the new (discharged) batteries was about 2 1/2 hours. From the half charge state, about an hour. Getting an extra set of batteries with the tool ensures I will be able to do any weeding needed in one continuous session. I am very satisfied with this new tool and I do recommend it. Update: The trimmer cord (green) that comes with it was used up at about 1 1/2 hours. It required many "taps" and broke off a couple of times. After the second break, I took out the remaining cord and tossed it. The cord used on my Makita gas trimmer was .095 dia (Orange) vs the .080 (Green) trimmer cord. I put that Orange cord on the electric Makita. It was much better! It lasts a lot longer (fewer taps needed) and it cuts better at medium power. So much better that I ran it at med power for all of my lesser weed cutting needs. Makita says use .08-.09 dia. cord and the .095 is the closest larger size, though the trimmer head is rated for several larger size cords. Bottom line: The Orange cord works better on this 36V trimmer IMHO.

Best electric weed trimmer ever! I’ve gone through several weed trimmers, both gas and electric. This one easily hangs with the best of them. For the homeowner, the 4 batteries is enough to have one set fully charged while the other is in use. We have a half-acre plot with plenty of shrubs, trees, sidewalk, and rock edging that all need cleanup with the trimmer. I can do our entire lot at full power at least 4x before needing to swap out the batteries. It’s plenty powerful enough for everything I’ve thrown at it and never had it stall out once. It’s plenty light enough, no obnoxious 2-stroke noise or smoke, and has instant power with no constant throttle bumping to keep it alive. No carb cleanout every spring! No fuel mixing or storage! No 2-stroke oil! Bonus that the batteries are Makita standard and can be used in other portable tools. I’m an ICE gearhead, but this electric trimmer has converted me for life!

Great features, automatic, reverse, 3 speeds and balanced. This review is early in my ownership of it and I'll revisit it in a few months to update. So far it works great. Did a little yard cleanup/trimming to see how it works and feels. Really well balanced. The automatic feature let's the trimmer decide which speed is needed. Starts off on the low speed and as demand is increased the speed increases to match the load. Feels comfortable to use also. It was a really great deal with the 4 batteries and a double quick charger. I can also use these batteries with all my Makita cordless tools. Extremely convenient to not need special batteries and charger. 1 year later and this is my favorite weed wacker I've ever had.! I will never buy another gas weed wacker again. I also got the 36 Volt blower, equally great.

I tend to let our fenced in back yard go much longer between mowings than the front, thanks to the HOA. I enjoy landscaping when I can devote time to it, but there's precious little of that to go around, so I focus on keeping up the front. Tired of the constant battle of a keeping a gas trimmer purring happily only to be a loud, vibrating, and smokey adversary most of the time, I turned to a greener, more quiet option. Yes, electric trimmers have been around for some time but they never really could keep up with a fine-tuned gas trimmer. Too weak, no stamina, or more work and aggravation with a corded trimmer.. Until this trimmer. What caused me to give this a shot was the advancements I've seen over the years with battery powered tools I use at home and for work. Drills, drivers, saws, vacs, and lights have exponentially grown better with advances in battery and motor technology, wrapped in increasingly rugged, ergonomic frames. With a collection of Makita tools, and thoroughly pleased and reliant on their dependability, adding this trimmer to my line-up made sense, if it could live up to my needs. 4, 5.0aH lithium ion batteries and a dual dock charger? Yes please! No more gas or oil? No more spark plugs.. clogged fuel lines, cracked primer bulbs, scalding exhaust.. belching smoke.. but I get a powerful, long-lasting, virtually maintenance-free trimmer? Take my money! Edging along the driveway and curb, managing drain ditches, along fences, around and under hedges, flower beds, and the raised bed garden; that incline I hate to push mow, creeping vines, saplings too close to the house foundation, stubborn growth under the boat trailer I can't reach with the mower.. on one set of charged batteries. I ran out of juice before the Makita did, looking around with nothing left to trim in less time than with the gas trimmer I'd have had to fill up 2 or 3 times.. Yes, the guard is so laughable it really only serves to keep the trimmer line in check, but you should be wearing closed toe shoes, pants, eye, and hearing protection regardless. You get some clippings flying around, so what. They all do that. Cut down the stuff you can't get your mower to, hose off the head, "guard", and shaft, hang it up on the wall and pop the batteries in the charger and go get a shower. Or are you just now putting more gas in your trimmer to finish the back yard? I'll purchase the next, better generation trimmer when I wear this one out. Based on my 8 year old tools that see nearly daily use and this thing's performance after this summer and fall, that'll be in 2030. Maybe by then we'll have some decent trimmer line!

This looks to be a well made string trimmer. It is heavy duty. And also heavy and tall. Luckily it comes with a shoulder strap or I probably wouldn't be able to use it for long stretches as I am not a big person. I haven't used it much yet, just tried it out for 10 mins once I assembled it. One thing on the assembly, the instructions are TERRIBLE. Diagrams are incomprehensible and the verbiage is clearly translated from Japanese. It wasn't that hard to figure out the assembly though. IMPORTANT-when you are attaching the string spool it screws on opposite of what you think (or any other screw). This took me a bit to figure out. I like that you have to press two buttons for it to run. Less chance of accidentally starting the rotor if you dropped the trimmer and it hit your finger. I have not tried the string feeder drop yet, so hopefully that works as smoothly as everything else. I hit a bunch of rocks and it wasn't fazed by that. I plan to use this trimmer a lot. I love that it comes with 4 batteries so you can be using 2 while charging two.

The tool is really great, but the bump-feed head it comes with is useless. I knew about that in advance, as all the reviewers mentioned they hated the head. For me, it wasn't just bad, it was completely non-functional. In the package, the head comes pre-filled with string from the factory. "Great" I thought, just put it on and the handle and start trimming. Worked fine for the first couple of bump feeds, then I noticed that there was only one string coming out, the other one was nowhere to be seen. Had to disassemble the head, and found that both strings had bound up so bad that it took wire cutters to get them out so I could re-string (see photo). Restrung once, twice, thrice-- each time it would work until it needed a bump, and then it would immediately get bound up on itself, essentially tying itself in a knot. When even the factory can't string the head so that it works out of the box, this is a real problem. However, like I said, reviewers all said they used a Speed-Feed instead, and the local Home Depot had bunches of them in stock. Once I put the new head on (be sure you get the one with the brass insert, or with the kit of inserts, as the brass one is what you need for the Makita), problem solved. It's a GREAT trimmer, did a mountain of 1-2 ft tall foxtails in my front yard and the batteries each still showed 2 bars when I was done. Also, reviewers had a hard time getting trimmings bound up in the head in order to try out the reverse feature, but I had some really thick grass next to plants and a couple of times I got a plant half-snagged into the head and tried out the reverse and it worked like a champ-- it immediately tossed off the snag and I was back in business, without even needing to bend down and deal with it. It's a really great trimmer that for some reason they put a completely nonfunctional head on out of the box. Fortunately, a Speed-Feed 400 can be had for pretty cheap and works great with it. Battery life seems pretty good, I've done an entire yardful without having to swap to the second set of batteries, but I'm glad to know I've got them. Power is great, seems better than my old corded Stihl. The main reason I went to a new trimmer was 1) the Stihl's head was troublesome and wasn't compatible with any replacement heads that I could find, and 2) the cord was a real headache, my yard is such that there were areas pretty hard to get to with an extension cord.

I tried a single battery version of Makita LXT line, it's about 2 and half benjamins everywhere I've seen it. That one was probably around the same power level as my Echo, gas powered trimmers. This monster is probably that strong if it were on 1.5, 1 is weaker, but good enough for standard work around the yard, weaker than 2, which was strong enough to do a great job edging a neglected landscape boarder along the front of my house. I also ran it for about 30 minutes (not constantly on, but going around my property switching between 1 and 2 power as needed) and the batteries were showing 3 of 4 on the meter. The other Makita was closer to an hour of use and I went through 2 full 5AH batteries I had fully charged and most of the 4AH battery that came with it. Overall, I am really impressed. I was hesitant to dump some of my equipment for battery powered items, but I have a mix of plug in and gas powered. I'm very happy so far with the Makita line, but not all of them are created equal. This was definitely worth the extra money and the 2 extra batteries were a big plus, so I can go "tool only" on the Makita LXT line now.

I own many Makita tools using their 18V system and they are all first rate. This thing is a beast and can do some serious "damage" on the highest setting. The other brand that I own is Milwaukee and I am also a big fan of their 18v system but this weed eater is lighter, more balanced and stronger. My first corded drill was a Makita from the 1970's. Still works great! Update: Don’t use 0.09 string or it will shut down under a load. Use a high quality braided 0.08 and your golden. Also, update to an Echo 400 universal Speed head. Love this thing. I am slowly migrating to Makita for everything cordless, the system is excellent. Everything works so good and is well made.