Ratings & Reviews for Kobalt 40-volt Max 12-in Straight Battery String Trimmer with Edger Conversion Capable (Battery and Charger Included)

Fatal Flaw - Spool Cap

AT first I was so pleased with this tool. After a few times of use the cheap thin plastic spool cap broke. Thinking this was part of the guarantee, I wasn't surprised when right on the box it said 'Except spool cap'. I was so pleased with the rest of this trimmer that I sucked it up and called the manufacturer to order a replacement. They will charge you around 11.00 with shipping. Two weeks later I finally was up and running again. Yes - I was very careful not to rest/bang the trimmer on ...

Next time

The power is awesome. But I had to return this because of the autofedder system. This system didn't work very well. I really want to test it again once this system had been improved

Battery life not to good.

The product has good power and the battery charges pretty fast. My only issue with it is that the Battery doesn't last very long on a full charge, especially if you get into some thick weeds.

Flimsy design, poor string handling

I bought this about a year ago to replace a noisy gas trimmer that was probably 10 years old. I was hopeful the new high-voltage lithium battery technology would provide similar power, without the constant fiddling a 2-stroke engine requires. This trimmer has been a big disappointment and I regret the purchase. First, the string is very difficult to wind and then never seems to feed out consistently. It is not a bump feed design, but instead is supposed to feed a small amount each time the trig...

Multiple Returns

I give up on this brand after 3 returns/exchanges of the same product in one season. The edger did not get me through the season, I kept having to return it because either the battery would fail to charge or the device did not work with a charged battery. My edger/trimmer would last maybe 1 month on average, sometimes more. There is some design flaw with the battery. I left it plugged in all the time to a dedicated protected outlet, and one time plugged it in to a surge protector, but the batter...

good cordless trimmer

I was excited to get a battery powered trimmer and this really hasn't disappointed me at all. The battery life has been pretty good so far (I can do my whole property twice on on charge). You can only use 0.65" line, which is a bit of a bummer, but works for trimming grass, as it's meant to. Amazingly, though, I haven't had to refill the line in the five months I've used it. I would also say that my trigger hand & arm can get tired after a while, but maybe I haven't yet found the optimal positio...

Not worth the money

I live in East Texas where our mowing season normally lasts from mid February until late October. I am not a professional landscaper and lawn care comes down to keeping my wife from nagging about the lawn, and keeping the neighbors from reporting me to code enforcement. I normally mow every other week and it takes about an hour and 1/2 with a push mower including very light weight weed eating. The lot my home is on is less than a 1/4 acre with flower beds along the front of the house and a chain...

Not good for short people

I like to "angle edge" my lawn. With this trimmer I can't. It's built for tall people. When I try to angle the trimmer, it's design prevents me from properly accessing the lock release and trimmer buttons. Kobalt needs to build a "curved shaft" trimmer, just like some other brands.

Where're the Ergonomics?

This works fine on light grass, but it's uncomfortable to use. Occurs to me, when they put the electric motor on the bottom, they missed the opportunity to re-design and re-define the trimmer industry by making it more user friendly. For example, why the straight rod with only electric wires in it? Why the linear grip and handle? Seems a healthy bend in the top of the rod and a pistol grip would make this a lot more ergonomic, shipping and manufacturing issues aside. As it is, my hands wore out ...

BAD DESIGN

Every time you let off the trigger it feeds the line and cuts the end off.. waste off the line! The battery dies too soon. Would be o/k for a town house but I have 1/3 acre with 1/3 of it chain link fence, will go though 2 batteries trimming.

Overall it does the job

I've had this trimmer for 2 months. I have used it about 5 times. Overall I am happy with the trimmer. It does well on my quarter acre lot. I am able to get everything trimmed and edged in 30 minutes and half a battery. Strong enough for light grass/weeds. A couple negatives, it holds awkward when trimmimg. I'm 5' 10" and trigger is almost in my arm pit. Also the trigger is a strong squeeze. My hand cramps 10 minutes in. I added a strap to hang it on my shoulder while trimming and that has made ...

GREAT PRODUCT!

I got tired of pulling cords around all the time, just a hassle. I used my neighbors battery powered black and decker and it was great but the con to it was it was to small for me. So my wife and I went to check them out and I said I'll get it a shot. And I promise I used it one time so far and it just chops weeds whatever you want thing just keeps on going and going consistently. It's a great buy for the money and your get one battery and a charger great deal a must buy for sure!

Broken spool cap search

I had the same problem and experience as Larry and JoeK. The tab on my spool cap broke off while trimming the lawn. So I decided to make a quick trip to the local Lowes to get a replacement. After searching for 10 minutes a clerk asked if he could help. I explained the need for a replacement part and he indicated that they do not carry the Kobalt cap (but they do carry other brands). OK, that's fine - I figured I would just go on-line to Kobalt's website and order a replacement part. Ala...

I was skeptical, but this is an excellent product

I was very skeptical of buying a battery powered trimmer. Would the power be enough? Would the battery last long? Could this handle every job I could run into? I have been pleasantly surprised by this tool. The power is real, routine trimming goes by effortlessly, and even overgrown sections of my yard are no match for this tool. I have yet to try something that this couldn't take out. It is worth noting, this battery life is perfect for routine trimming, but if you have a lot of tough overgrown...

Not a bad product...until something breaks

This was actually not a bad weed trimmer, until a part broke. A tab on the line spool cap broke Lowe's does not sell a replacement. So now, I have to buy a new trimmer because a piece of plastic broke. Lowe's sells caps for other types of trimmers, but ironically not for Kobalt. All in all, if you get this, pray nothing breaks. P.S. Be very vigilant on battery care because a replacement is $100.

Beware! can't get some common replacement parts

Two big complaints - 1. auto-feed sticks and you have to interrupt the workflow to turn the unit upside down and press the "line Release" button while pulling out more line (a big pain in the butt). 2. You can't get some very common parts. Try to order a replacement spool cover 34121186-5. You can't. You have to scrap the whole trimmer. But covers for Kobalt's competitors are easy to get - Amazon, Ebay, manufacturer etc. This experience with Kobalt, which I take to be synonymous with Lowes, has ...

I read the other reviews but order it anyway

The trimmer is fine, but the string and the way it feeds is a real pain. Since my gas trimmer was a pain too, I guess I'm better off as it starts with a push of a switch.

2 Trimmers stopped dead after a month

This trimmer works quite well...when it works. I bought my first trimmer at the beginning of summer. After about a month of use the trimmer stopped dead. It would turn on for a second or two then go dead. The battery was fully charged and there were no other issues with the trimmer that I could see that would keep it from working. So I returned it to Lowe's and exchanged it for another exactly like it. I figured the first one was just a lemon and I did like how it worked. After a month, same thi...

Do not buy!

Trimmer line does not feed. I have to stop and manually pull line out about every three minutes. This occurred with 4 different spools of line. Extremely frustrating.