Verdict

The Wolf-Garten 72v Grass Trimmer is a solid, if niche device with a couple of flaws and a high price that stops it from reaching true greatness.

Pros

• Fully Adjustable
• Nicely Balanced
• Reasonable run-time
• Useful extra head cover

Cons

• Expensive
• Shouldn't be used in the wet
• Feels slightly flimsy

What is the Wolf-Garten 72V Li-ion Power Grass Trimmer?

The Wolf-Garten 72V Grass Trimmer is part of the Wolf-Garten 72V Li-ion power battery garden tool range, an interchangeable battery system that delivers garden tools without engine fumes, tangled cables or short run-times. Other tools using the same battery as the Grass Trimmer include a hedge-cutter, leaf-blower and three lawnmowers. It has a running time of over 60 minutes, a telescopic shaft for quick and easy adjustment to different working heights, an adjustable tilting handle with an edging function, and soft grip handles for comfort and control when cutting. There is also a cutting head cover to reduce clipping scatter.

Wolf-Garten 72V Li-ion Power Grass Trimmer-design and features

The Wolf-Garten 72V arrived almost ready for use; all I had to do was attach the cutting head guard, which was a push-fit over the cutting head, and attach the secondary handle using a Phillips screwdriver. It has a straight shaft, with the motor sitting on top of the cutting head and the battery at the other end. The battery slid in easily.

You unlock the telescopic handle using the yellow soft grip nut, then slide the shaft up or down. When it is in the right position you lock it by turning the yellow soft grip nut again. The secondary handle can be adjusted up and down and rotated using a yellow over-centre clip. This is all very quick and easy to do.

The cutting head can be pivoted through about 60 degrees, in four stages, by pressing a yellow button on the side of the cutter head, tilting the head, and releasing the button when it is in the right position.

There is an additional add-on cover on the Wolf-Garten 72V that completely encloses the cutting head, preventing clippings from scattering too far, and effectively turning it into a mulching head. There is also a plant guard and a shoulder-strap.

To replace the strimmer cord, press in the two black tabs on the head to release the cover, withdraw the spool, wind new cord on, feed the ends of the cord through the eyelets, fit the spool back down into its housing and snap the cover back on. This is a satisfyingly easy job.

Wolf-Garten 72V Li-ion Power Grass Trimmer – charging and run-time

The Wolf-Garten 72V Li-ion is often sold body-only online, but needs a battery and a charger. The offer above includes the Wolf-Garten 72V Li-ion battery and Wolf-Garten Fast Charger. The battery has three green power-charge indicator lights. It slides easily into the charger, which works silently. A green light flashes on the charger while it is working; the light glows steadily once the charge is complete. The makers give a running time of up to 60 minutes, but when I used the Wolf-Garten 72V I only got 30 minutes run-time out of the battery.
It took two hours to recharge.

Wolf-Garten 72V Li-ion Power Grass Trimmer – handling and performance

The Wolf-Garten 72V is easy to handle because it is so finely balanced. With the telescopic shaft fully extended to work at my height, I found it was at the correct cutting angle when I just held it by the secondary handle. This meant that my other hand, controlling the trigger, carried very little weight. With the telescopic shaft adjusted, my much shorter girlfriend achieved the same easy balance, so the Wolf-Garten 72V is suitable for every height of user. It is even more comfortable to work with if you use the shoulder strap.
The machine felt slightly flimsy; there was a little bit of free play in the shaft adjustment and the adjustable head.

The Wolf-Garten 72V cut fast and well. It was good on short grass, but the design of the guard meant that when I worked in long grass, swinging right to left, the front edge of the guard snagged on the uncut grass. So the machine is most useful on a well-kept lawn. It handled young nettles and docks, but it couldn’t cope with young brambles. You can get an optional blade attachment to cope with rougher weeds, but the design of the guard would still make cutting them awkward.

The mulching head is a very good idea. If you are strimming along the edge of a lawn it stops clippings from being thrown untidily onto nearby paths and driveways. It also prevents any debris at all from being whirled up into the air, so works as a safety feature, especially if there are other people nearby. It took 10 seconds for me to cut a square metre of lawn grass without the mulching head, and 15 seconds with, so although the mulching head is good, it does slow the machine down. Also, the mulching head works far better on dry grass; damp wet grass bungs up the guard and makes a bit of a mess. To edge, you turn the Wolf-Garten 72V on its side; it does a neat job.

The Wolf-Garten 72V sounded quiet, and there was minimal vibration.  Because the motor is on the cutting head of the Wolf-Garten 72V, it should not be used in damp or wet conditions, which slightly limits its usefulness in a rainy country like the UK.

Why buy the Wolf-Garten 72V Li-ion Power Grass Trimmer?

If you had a large-ish garden that was reasonably well-kept then this would be a good strimmer for you. It’s also adaptable to different sizes and heights of user and nicely balanced, so anyone small or not particularly strong won’t find it difficult to work with. Overall, the Gtech ST20 Cordless Grass Trimmer is the better product for most people.

Verdict

Rather expensive for what it is but a nicely balanced, well-designed machine.

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