Makita 18Vx2 Brushless Loop Handle Line Trimmer
VerifiedMPNs: DUR368LPT2 and DUR368LZ11 reviews
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Very Disappointed – Very disappointing considering price point not Japanese now made in China with one of the worst line changers I've ever encountered I worked with brush cutters professionally for years but this has one on the worst functioning trimmer heads I've ever come across so hard to put line on and no longer Japanese quality but cheap Chinese.
TERRIBLE customer service, and not the quality and reliability that I was expecting. Died 2 months out of warranty – I had this model delivered in Jan 2021 - the motor failed in March 2024. Makita told me to take it in for a warranty inspection, attaching a 5-year warranty certificate - which I did - only to be told repair would be $212.30! I asked why they sent me an email with a warranty certificate staying 5-years warranty (on the proviso of registration)… Read more
implying the fault would be covered under warranty - and I have been ignored ever since!
Awful customer service. If they are going to run the business like that, they're going to fail in the long run, and they deserve to.
The trimmer itself was never actually that good - battery life is poor, it was expensive ($500), it needed $300 of batteries, and it the motor burned out after 3 years and probably only about 30 hours of use.
Pretty bad experienced overall.
I've got a lot of other Makita tools and I used to think Makita was a great brand - but this experience has left a pretty bad taste and they've lost me (and maybe anyone who I have a moan to about this experience). I'm buying some battery adaptors off eBay and switching to Dewalt as I have some of those tools and they last forever.
As for a battery-operated brush cutter - nice idea, but the battery life just isn't good enough for acreage. I'll just buy a Honda petrol brush cutter - something that will last for years and years and be useful for more than 20 minutes at a time.
Another quality Makita product! – This line trimmer is so good, the variable speed function, and ease of cord replacement is first class. I think this is the most functional Makita I’ve bought, I don’t know why I waited so long! Show details
Would never own another petrol line trimmer for home – I own a property maintenance business and as such have a large amount of makita tools. When it came to buying a new line trimmer for home I bought the dual battery makita and use 2 x 5.0ah battery's. My experience over the last several years has been fantastic, it's powerful, quiet and incredibly long lasting for a battery tool. I did replace… Read more
the head with a venom bump head and use good quality lime and have very little bad to say except I find the strap useless due to size and design.
I use this primarily at home but have at times used it on jobs where I have run it for 2 or more hours slashing metre high grass and am endlessly surprised.
I would definitely recommend it for standard residential block/home owners and would not go back to petrol.
Never go petrol again – Powerful, easy to use, no fumes or heat or hard starting like a petrol model. Great because it can be transported inside a vehicle and doesn't matter if it's upside down or sideways. I have a Honda which I will never use again. Dual battery lasts plenty long enough and you need a break by the time they're done. 3 speed choices and reverse gives… Read more
cutting options on soft or long grass. Line system tricky until you get used to it. Battery powered tools are the future.
- +1
This battery line trimmer has replaced by petrol ones & my physiotherapy bill has reduced in the process – This was a gift from my wife, on my birthday, 2 years ago. Previously - I have used bent shaft & straight shaft grass trimmers. I decided to move to an electric unit so I do not need to have any petrol for any of my gardening tools [I have an electric mover & shredder]. Why did I pick the Makita? a/ I have other Makita 18V tools and saw the… Read more
benefit of having 2 more batteries and a double charger b/ I have always had good experienced with Makita i.e. reliability, durability c/ they offered a generous warranty d/ they [Total Tools / Makita] had a deal where you could receive a free blower
My experience with this line trimmer has been good.
The batteries offer instant use - no messing with fuels - no need to service motors - no straining elbows or shoulders trying to start a temperamental petrol motor (as I've gotten older, this has become a real consideration). I used the supplied head for a while until I needed to do some heavier work. I bought the Makita replacement head with plastic blades. This was OK until it was not OK. I bought a wire brush head - used that for a while but felt that while it was OK - it was adding a bit more weight to front end. Maybe just my guess - but I felt this may put too much strain on the motor. I bought a metal blade for this unit. I have been using that for 6 months now and find it works brilliantly, albeit I need to be a bit more careful when trimming edges and near wooden fences than with the plastic line. I have a rear yard that is ~ 15mt x 10 mt; with sides ~ 30 mt long. I have used this at my in-laws place to butcher the blackberry bush & thick shrubs & succulents. This was done with a blade head and not the plastic line.
Weight? OK for me, maybe the single battery units weigh less and would be more convenient for some people. I found the weight to be OK. Size? It is OK if you don't plan to transport it; I take it to my in-laws and need to do some tetris style manipulation to fit it in a 2006 Toyota Corolla hatch (folded rear seats - partially sitting on the driver's armrest). It may have been good it it split into 2 for transport - then again this may introduce a potential point of failure. Balance? I did play around with the position of the loop handle to get it to the preferred length and balance.
Other features? The ability to adjust the spin speed and spin direction is something I've played with; I'm sure it means more to some users.
Battery Life - A big job - I ran this for about an hour, multiple times, without ever running out of juice; at most down to 2 bars from 4. - Small light jobs are done without any drop in the 4 bars. Price? Paid $550; There are cheaper units out there; but as I haven't done this as a side-by-side comparison I cannot say if these would be better value or not. I acknowledge I (my wife) paid a premium - that was offset by the 'free' leaf blower (rrp $300)
Quite? yep....battery vs petrol is like chalk vs fingernails on the black board level of difference.
Bottom line As I have ready charged batteries I use this much more frequently than my earlier petrol line trimmers - but that has more to do with petrol vs battery. I find the Makita Line trimmer to be a reliable unit that I enjoy using and use it frequently. I've found my sweet spot - using a metal blade for easier cutting.
Can't trust Makita line trimmers – Makita are disgraceful the way they deal with recalls. I’ll never buy a Makita product again because of the way they dealt with my situation. I bought a Makita line trimmer from Bunnings. I used it a handful of times, 5 at most, until I realised it was defective a couple of years later and found there was a recall notice on it. I took it back… Read more
to Bunnings to have it ‘repaired’ by a Makita authorised repairer.
After I got it back, I spent months trying to get it working without any success, then just started borrowing line trimmers from friends and family.
I tried to get it going again this year and took it to a Makita service centre at Keilor Park in October and they said an angle grinder had been taken to it and that's why it’s not working. I dealt with a donkey who was the service manager who just had a good laugh at my predicament and suggested I did the damage – brilliant customer service! Yeah, so every tool I have that doesn’t work, I unscrew the casing and go to work on it! Don’t have an angle grinder also by the way. What a drongo!
While Makita think it’s a joke and have no concept of customer service, $200 is a lot to families who have little to no additional income to spend these things.
My advice is to avoid Makita like the plague.
Very dissappointed – Needed littlest replacement part in head that slipped off while feeding line through. Makita don't supply you have to buy a whole new head. Wait time for this part extremely long still waiting. Had to buy cheap edger while waiting. Very dissappointed. Show details
Made me realise that I will never buy another petrol engine – This electric whipper snipper does everything my big petrol whipper snipper does, but better - it's quieter, lighter, less tiring, cleaner, less hassle, more precise and has electonic smarts. I enjoy using it. So far it has handled everything I have thrown at it - including 1.5m phalaris grass. The batteries outlast me - I need a rest after 30… Read more
minutes. If I want to keep going, changing to my spare batteries will take 10 seconds. Side by side, it makes my petrol Husqvarna look like something that belongs in a museum.
- +2
Pro's and con's – This is the first battery operated trimmer I have owned. ( DUR368A / 368L )We are on two acres and its not lawn, its paddock 1.What I like about it is it is light weight and really simple to use, being a small framed woman its a huge plus The line trimmer is really easy to thread, compared to other trimmers I have owned, and it has a reverse… Read more
button on it so I don't have to keep stopping to clear it out if something gets tangled in it
For me it seems to cut just as well as the petrol trimmers. Its very quiet and no more struggling with a pull cord to start, its just a simple light touch of a button and its off, and I dont get the bruises that I used to get with previous trimmers. ( not sure why, objects like stones or tree branches don't fly as far when you strike them ) Also no more messy petrol its just a matter of slipping in two batteries, and appears easy to use if your are right or left handed
2. What could of been done better is make it more adjustable. I find that the two levers you need to hold at all times for it to work, is a bit far back for me, so I do ache a bit after awhile and my hands ache from holding in the levers. The over the shoulder strap is not good for posture especially for me as I usually am snipping for a few hours at a time. Batteries that last longer as when they start to go flat , the cutting isn't as efficient
3. What I don't like is it comes with two batteries ( that is used together ) but a fully charged they don't not last any longer than half hour. I have purchased two extra batteries ,so I can swap them when the first two go flat but they take over an hour charge again making it a long day while waiting for batteries to charge
I also had to take the harness off my old trimmer and place on the Makita to even up my posture and minimise aches
I paid $569 at bunnings and because of having to buy extra batteries and use my old harness I think this is over priced.
Am I happy over all yes , much happier than struggling with the heavy, messy, hard to use trimmers. I give it 3.5 and if the battery life was better it would of been a 4.5,
From Petrol to Battery – As a skeptic of transitioning over from anything Petrol to battery this was my first test. After reading negative reviews on battery garden products I wasn't very optimistic. Now after owning the DUR368LZ for two years I would never go back to a petrol whipper snipper, the inconvenience of buying, storing fuel, the smell and the trouble of… Read more
starting the machine are things I don't miss one bit. This whipper snipper is awesome, I use my two 5A batteries which generally last around 30 minutes which is plenty to get my 1300m2 yard done. Its has plenty of grunt and has reverse for releasing jamming. It is light well built and reliable unlike petrol models. The extracting cable mechanism works very well with a soft push on the ground. Highly recommend this product. Currently looking at a battery lawnmower but they appear to have a long way to go to make them worthwhile, then again if they impress as much as this machine its probably worth a go regardless of reviews.
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