When it’s time to tidy up the yard around the home or farm, spending a short time cutting tall grass and weeds with a trimmer offers a lot of benefit for a small amount of effort. While trimming may seem like a simple task, it’s wise to consider your choice of trimmer line based on where you’re trimming. Trimmer line isn’t a “one-size-fits-all” type of product, but rather one with many options. Matching the right trimmer line to the application will pay off with better results and easier work.
Trimmer line is distinguished by two features: 1) The materials from which it is made, and 2) Its shape with the number of cutting edges. Here’s how these features affect the performance of trimmer line.
Your Choices in Trimmer Line Materials
Premium-quality trimmer line is made from either a copolymer blend or a co-extruded design. These types of trimmer line exhibit greater strength, reducing the breakage of the line while in use.
Copolymer Line
For copolymer line, two different materials are blended to create a line that exhibits high durability and stretch resistance. This blend of materials reduces breakage compared to a standard trimmer line.
Co-Extruded Trimmer Line
For the ultimate in strength and flexibility, co-extruded trimmer line offers best-of-class performance. Co-extruded trimmer line has a durable, soft and flexible inner core for strength with a tough, long-wearing outer shell. Co-polymer line delivers a longer service life with less line breakage, fraying and line welding.
How Trimmer Line Shape Affects Performance
Trimmer line comes in a variety of shapes, including round, square, hexagonal and 6-point star shaped. You should match the type of line you’re using with the task you’re trying to accomplish.
Round Trimmer Line
Trimmer Line with a round profile is a good general-purpose choice for light to medium duty trimming. Round trimmer line offers the advantage of wearing down less quickly and breaking off less often. It offers a nice trim that’s suitable for many yards. Round trimmer line comes in both red and green coloring. Red makes it easy to spot pieces to be picked up while green allows pieces to blend in and hide in the lawn. Your choice depends on whether you want to pick up the pieces or leave them behind to blend into the lawn. Round trimmer line also comes in both copolymer and co-extruded options.
Square Trimmer Line
Trimmer line with a square profile offers 4 cutting edges. Square trimmer line works well for tall, thick and heavy grass and weeds.
Star-Shaped Trimmer Line
Trimmer line also comes in star shapes with 5-cutting edges and 6-cutting edges. The increased number of cutting edges produces the cleanest and most even cuts, as well as works better for heavy duty trimming of coarse grass and weeds. Multi-edge trimmer line produces the most manicured and professional appearance. The cut is so clean that it even reduces the amount of browning of the grass blade tips.
The Bottom Line on Trimmer Line
Quality trimmer line will produce a neat and tidy lawn that boosts the appearance of your property. To keep your trimmer line in good condition, store in a cool dry place out of the sun. Good storage practices will keep your line strong and flexible for maximum performance.
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