EGO ST1511E-T: One of the toughest lawn mowers around

The EGO has recently arrived in UK gardens, and it focuses more on oomph to compete with petrol-powered machines. The key to that is its battery technology, it’s big, bulky and, with 56V and 2.5Ah offered here, it takes few prisoners.

The ST1511E-T kit isn’t cheap, however. Its list price is £359, although £177 of that accounts for the battery, and you also get a large battery charger. Although it is intended for home use, it may be suitable for some professional use, such as impressive specifications. But does that justify the price tag for the average farmer, and does it deserve a place on the hit list? Let’s find out.

EGO+ ST1511E-T 38cm Line Trimmer Kit: What do you get for the money?

The EGO+ ST1511E-T is powerful in every sense of the word. It weighs around 5kg, although 1.3kg of that is taken up by the 56V battery. Also included in the kit is a multi-charger and a small shoulder strap with a well-padded pad.

There is a 2.4mm twisted line, which is a bit more than you’ll find on most other garden drills. As you’d expect at this price, it has a bump-feed spool, meaning you tap it down to stretch the line. I like that there’s also a button that powers the line back up, too – useful in delicate areas. As its name suggests, it has a cutting width of 38cm, which is pretty punchy. There is no edge trimming ability, and turning the machine 90° to do so is expressly prohibited in the instructions.

The ST1511E-T has two speeds, which are not offered in this class of machines. The boom extends by 15cm and the handle can slide up and down on the telescopic section, providing a good amount of adjustability for your comfort.

Its general build quality is as good as it gets, although the hard rubber plastic is not very well finished around the speed-adjustment shifter. Although the boom is carbon fiber, it resists scratches well, and there’s a reassuring heft to the boom adjustment lever and shoulder strap brackets – parts that sometimes feel flimsy on some filters.

How easy is it to use?

The EGO ST1511E-T requires very little assembly out of the box. The boom comes tilted, so you swing it straight and secure it in place with a hex bolt. Then it’s just a case of throwing to the line guard and attaching the shoulder strap.

There is an integrated lock/start button, which is operated by flipping the lock latch forward and depressing the variable speed trigger in one motion. The rubberised grip feels good in the hand, and is just the right width to get a good buy.

The handle can move on the boom, and it is very easy to adjust the length or height of the handle.

In use, the EGO+ is well balanced, and feels powerful enough for gardens large or small. There’s a comfortable place to rest the back of your arm on top of the headstock, too.

In terms of sound output, I measured the EGO+ at 89dBA – slightly below the EGO’s quoted figure of 95dB – which is pretty loud. I also measured 15.1mm/s of vibration, which is the rate at which the battery will have run out of time before reaching the limit of the maximum daily exposure regime.

During my no-load test, the EGO+ strimmer ran for 49 minutes and took 50 minutes to charge using the standard charger, which comes as part of the kit. The battery has five charge indicator LEDs, which light up at the touch of a button. And while it takes some pushing to get it into place, there’s an easy grip to remove the battery: flip it over, and the battery pops out.

To change the reel, you press a deeply recessed button on the side of the head to remove the cap. However, I found that the line would behave wildly, and would come off the spool. Luckily there’s a button to retract the line back into the middle, but it’s the devil’s job to make sure it stays there long enough to replace the cap.

How well is it determined?

I spent a long time trying to get comfortable with the ST1511E-T, adjusting the shoulder strap and telescopic boom length. The best position I found left me a little more bent than I would have liked; since there is no shortage of cutting power, the time I spent was very limited by needing to stop to stretch.

On a similar note, I’ve found that because the line comes off the spool so quickly, it can be difficult to weed out pesky weeds in road cracks. To do that, you’ll need to go even further.

Other than that, the EGO+ is surprisingly powerful: indeed, it made light work of long, wet grass, better than any cordless lawnmower I’ve tested. It really is a knife case with butter.

No wonder it cuts through thick brush and branches as if they weren’t there. EGO talks about its battery tools offering the same power as gasoline versions, and it’s true here. I liked that the chunky 2.4mm line rarely breaks – it depends on the task at hand.

The thin line of cutting is a double-edged sword, however. While it provides good visibility of what you’re cutting, it doesn’t do a good job of preventing clips from being thrown in all directions. Face and eye protection is a must, here.

EGO+ ST1511E-T 38cm Line Trimmer Kit: Should you buy it?

While the EGO ST1511E-T is aimed at the novice gardener, it can be powerful enough for other professional tasks, too. I found it equally at home mowing the grass next to the fence as it plowed through thick brush. There’s not much that can’t be beat with gusto, and if you’re looking for its full power in a cordless lawnmower, this is undoubtedly the best choice.

However, I found it uncomfortable to use for long periods of time, and the lack of programming ability counted against it. But if none of these are concerns, the EGO ST1511E-T will make an excellent buy.