..

Straight Shaft are what pro's use... they are a lot more durable as the drivetrain assembly is straight and not transferring torque through a curve.

I have a Stihl FS56. It's a great weed eater. Clears brush like a knife through butter. Extremely powerful, easy to start and relatively cheap. The only thing I find with the straight shaft is that it can be awkward when edging and you need a certain angle and have to hold it up high.

The easy feed spooling system for the cord makes life super easy.

No regrets with the purchase.

Unless you have a seriously wild large property or you are using it for commercial work or you're a small engine mechanical wizard - I would skip the finnicky gas trimmers and get a good quality simple low maintenance electric trimmer.

But if you really need a gas unit for one of the above reasons - straight shaft is the best choice.

I've had a curved shaft gas model before, they're crap and have horrible balance. A straight shaft model has good balance, which is very important when trimming flat. Plus if you want to achieve the "pro look" edging job of the flower beds and walk ways, a straight shaft is the only way to go!

buy the Stihl profession series, not the cheap home/consumer ones if you want it to last.

whistlepig wrote: ↑Unless you have a seriously wild large property or you are using it for commercial work or you're a small engine mechanical wizard - I would skip the finnicky gas trimmers and get a good quality simple low maintenance electric trimmer..

Having had an electric trimmer I found that the cord was a big hassle particularly when you have to move around all over your property, front and back yards. It's just a real pain. I bought a Stihl FS-36 trimmer and have been using it for 22 years now. It's great although starting it is a bit of a pain. It's probably a bit gummed up inside since I've never really done any maintenance on it other than change the plug. I'd never go back to electric. if you have a very small yard then I can see electric being the best option.