Stihl FSA 50 Cordless Grass Trimmer Review

Design and features

• Adjustable shaft length
• Adjustable cutting head angle
• Converts to an edge trimmer

First of all, this is an incredibly well made lawnmower. The steel shaft trigger, blade guard and handle feel very good, and there is no rattling or rattling during use.

Weighing just over 4kg with the AK20 battery, I thought this cordless lawnmower would feel heavy. Thanks to Stihl’s excellent ergonomics and balance, it doesn’t feel heavy at all. The length of the shaft can be adjusted by about 20cm to suit gardeners of different heights, and the front loop handle can be adjusted for a relaxed position and locked in place.

A center collar on the shaft allows you to rotate the cutting head, turning the cutter into a powerful planing tool in seconds. The cutting head uses a bump feed, and it feeds a new line every time you touch it to the grass. In my opinion, bump feed is better than automatic feed because it is more economical and there are fewer moving parts that can go wrong.

Down on the business end of the lawn mower, there are many repairs available. The cutting head angles so that it always runs on the grass, regardless of its height. Flip the switch round to the “E” setting and the head drops straight down to stop the grass instead. And another smart idea from Stihl, you can fix it with your foot and you don’t need to bend down. Notably, a cordless lawn mower like this one makes different lawn jobs easier.

Powered by a powerful AK system, the battery fits into the back of the tuner and helps keep things balanced and comfortable. And the 28cm cutting width is wide enough to clear decent swathes of tall grass.

All including a very comfortable lawn mower. The only place that might cause problems is where you want to store it. Although the length of the shaft is adjustable, it does not fold or split into two pieces. Therefore, if you have limited storage a small lawn mower may be a better option.

Working

• Slight vibration even at high speeds
• It was extremely quiet
• Active variable speed trigger

Assembling the FSA 50 for first use took me about five minutes. The loop handle opens and tightens in place by hand, but you’ll need a cross-head screwdriver to attach the blade guard. The flower guard goes into place without any fuss, but I had to be careful to avoid scratching the plastic.

It’s good to see that Stihl includes safety glasses in the box, and they’re big enough to go over most glasses. Safety is always a priority when using a lawnmower, so it’s a welcome addition to the FSA 50.

The lack of noise this breaker makes is surprising. If you really want to avoid annoying the neighbors, cutting at low speeds is almost silent. Speed ​​control is easy too, thanks to the sensitive trigger. I found it easy to keep it at a low enough speed to preserve battery life but kick it up to full speed if needed. Additionally, the cordless lawnmower design helps keep noise levels low for quiet operation.

The two-stage safety trigger may not be to everyone’s taste, however. To activate the breaker, you need to engage the rear and side safety switches before the variable speed trigger will work. It’s an effective security feature but fiddly to get used to.

Lack of vibration is another welcome feature. Even at full speed, the FSA 50 didn’t push much vibration into my hands. It is definitely an easy cutter to use, even for a long time.

I used an AK20 battery in the breaker, rated to power the breaker for up to 50 minutes. The smaller AK10 will give you 25 minutes of cutting, and the larger AK30 battery provides an hour of use.

Although the trimmer comes with a line cutting head and a 1.6 mm circular line, you can swap it out for a Polycut 3-2 cutting head with plastic blades to double your working time. Good to know if you have too much brush to clear.

However, if you have a large garden to tend to you may want to look at the FSA 50’s big brother, the powerful Stihl FSA 70R instead.

Should you buy it?