As any experienced gardener will tell you, there’s really no such thing as versus when talking about gardening equipment. Especially not when the equipment is designed to perform similar tasks.
Unfortunately, not all of us have the budget to splurge on every single gardening tool we want. So what do you get when it really counts – a strimmer or lawn mower?
Well, let me start by saying that both mowers and strimmers have their own way of doing things – and very well so if I might add.
But looking at the top rated lawn mowers, it’s clear that they’re built to handle the heavy lifting and downing of most of the thick, long grass.
Garden strimmers on the other hand are more at home following up, trimming what the mower couldn’t and even creating delicate details in your lawn.
So imagine what you could achieve if you team those two tools together – short, quick, and neat yard work. Just to give you a clear idea of what each excels at, let’s have an even closer look.
Lawn Mower vs Strimmer: The Good and Bad
Lawn Mowers: The Good
Mowing grass is hands down the most labour intensive part of maintaining a decent lawn. Not only does it ensure a safer and healthier compound, it also has a huge effect on the final quality.
That’s why you need to make sure that you use the right tool for the right job. Mowers keep the turf growing at just the ideal height to keep the entire lawn thick, green and healthy.
Most people end up going for gas or electric powered models, but there are plenty of other types available. You could even opt for push mowers if you’re looking o go green and use a little bit more elbow grease to get things done.
Mowers have blades on the underside that rotate to slice and cut off grass as you more along. Push mowers are more practical for small lawns while riding mowers make more sense in larger lawns. It’s all about getting something that’s not only practical, but also lines well with your current budget.
The Bad
Lawn mowers may excel at literally mowing down thick, long and massive lawns. However, they’re really bad at edging and doing some of the delicate work. Just try using a mower to cut grass around a tree or lining up the fence-line without missing patches.
Truth is, you’ll only get as far as the edge of the mower will let you. This will leave paths several inches wide along the edges and long patches along objects in the yard.
Strimmers: The Good
Strimmers on the other hand are used to give your lawn that professionally manicured look that is simply impossible to achieve with a mower. A strimmer is just a short, hollow metal pole with a rotating head and string or blade on one end, and an engine or motor on the other to drive it.
The rotating head can either be fitted with a blade or more commonly, a plastic or nylon spool of cord. The cord rotates at a high speed to tear off grass and other plant matter.
Like mowers, strimmers use either electricity or gas but are far much portable. This gives them a unique ability to edge the lawn, trim grass along immovable objects and trees and even tidy plenty of areas that mowers imply can’t reach including under a hedge, along the fence and along other edges.
Strimmers are also ideal for cutting down long nettles, brambles, and all sorts of weeds in the yard.
The Bad
As great as strimmers are, I can guarantee that you’d be very hard pressed if you had to mow an entire yard with a strimmer alone.
Even with one of those strong bladed models, just hovering the thing over your yard all day is enough to leave you severely fatigued and cramped up. A few hours in and you might just run out of elbow grease.
Final Verdict – Strimmer or Lawn Mower?
There’s really no other way of putting it – What a strimmer can do, a lawnmower can’t. And what a lawn mower can do, a strimmer would be really hard pressed to match.
Mowers are definitely cut out for heavy lifting and more efficient with large lawns. However, they’re essentially useless in tight areas and near edges.
Strimmers on the other hand are great for reaching all the areas a mower just can’t and adding in some detailed finishing touches. Put the power of a mower with the manoeuvrability of a strimmer and you’ve got the ultimate tag team for lawn maintenance.
