Beyond the Mower: How to Choose the Right Strimmer or Brushcutter

Your mower keeps the lawn in shape. But every garden has the bits it can’t reach.

The edges along walls and fences. The long grass around trees and posts. The overgrown corner, the ditch, the verge, the tangle of brambles down the back. That’s where a strimmer or brushcutter earns its place — and for most Irish gardens, it’s the second most useful machine you’ll own after the mower.

This is the first in a short series on the garden kit that goes beyond the lawnmower. We’re starting with strimmers and brushcutters, because choosing one confuses a lot of people. Here’s how to get it right.

Strimmer or Brushcutter — What’s the Difference?

The terms get used interchangeably, and that’s the first source of confusion.

In truth they’re the same family of tool, just set up for different jobs. A strimmer uses a spinning nylon line to cut grass, weeds and soft growth — perfect for edges, borders and tidying. A brushcutter is the heavier-duty version of the same machine, able to take a metal blade for cutting through thick, woody growth like brambles, nettles and dense scrub.

Here’s the useful part: most petrol machines are both. They come with a line head for grass and accept a metal blade for tougher work, so you switch between the two depending on the job. That’s why picking one is less about the name and more about the power, the handle and the build.

Loop Handle or Bike Handle?

This is the single most important choice, and it maps directly to the type of work you’ll do.

A loop handle (often marked “S” in the model name) is compact and easy to guide one-handed around obstacles. It’s lighter, more manoeuvrable, and ideal for trimming, edging and working in tight, awkward spaces around a garden.

A bike handle (marked “T”), also called a cowhorn handle, has two grips like handlebars. It gives balance and control for sweeping a blade across large areas, and it’s far more comfortable for extended work and heavier cutting. If you’re clearing rough ground rather than tidying a lawn, this is what you want.

Get this decision right and the rest falls into place — because the handle type broadly tracks the size of the job.

Matching the Machine to the Job

The simplest way to choose is to be honest about what you’re actually cutting. Our Oleo Mac range covers the full spread, and three models map neatly onto three very different needs.

For a typical garden — edges, borders and tidy-ups. If you mainly want to finish off after mowing and keep edges sharp, a light, nimble loop-handle machine is ideal. The Oleo Mac BCH 250S is a 25cc loop-handle petrol strimmer weighing under 6kg, easy to handle in confined spaces, with the option to fit a blade when you need it. For most domestic gardens, it’s all the machine you’ll ever need.

For larger or rougher gardens — long grass and light brush. When you’re taking on bigger areas, longer grass and the odd patch of scrub, you want more power and the balance of a bike handle. The Oleo Mac BCH 400T steps up to a 40cc engine and a cowhorn handle, and it ships with both a line head and a three-tooth brush blade plus a double harness — so it’s ready for grass and brush straight out of the box.

For heavy-duty and rural work — brambles, verges and reclaiming ground. For the toughest jobs, long sessions and genuinely overgrown land, you want a pro-grade machine built to be worked hard. The Oleo Mac Sparta 441T is Oleo Mac’s “Tough-tech” brushcutter — a 40cc bike-handle machine with a sturdier shaft, a thicker 3mm cutting line and a three-tooth blade, designed for daily, demanding use. If you’re maintaining a smallholding, paddock or a lot of rough ground, this is the one built to keep going.

Cutting Heads and Line

A quick word on what does the actual cutting, because it affects how the machine performs.

For grass, these machines use a nylon line head. Oleo Mac’s Tap & Go and Load & Go heads let you feed out fresh line without stopping — a tap on the ground releases more as it wears down. Line thickness matters: a 2.4mm line handles grass and light weeds, while a thicker 3mm line, as on the Sparta, copes with tougher, heavier growth.

For anything woody — brambles, saplings, dense nettles — you switch to a metal blade. A three-tooth blade is the versatile all-rounder, and it’s included with both bike-handle models above. If you’ll only ever cut grass, you may never need the blade; if you’re clearing ground, it’s essential.

Comfort, Harness and Vibration

The machine that feels fine for five minutes can be punishing after an hour, so comfort features matter more than people expect.

A shoulder harness carries the weight for you and makes a real difference over a long session — the lighter loop-handle machines use a single harness, while the bike-handle models come with a double harness that spreads the load across both shoulders. Anti-vibration systems, which separate the engine from the handles, reduce fatigue and make the machine far more pleasant to use for longer. If you’ve a lot of ground to cover, don’t overlook these.

Safety and Protective Gear

Strimmers and brushcutters throw debris at speed, so protective gear isn’t optional.

Eye protection — safety glasses or a mesh visor — is essential, along with sturdy gloves, long trousers, and boots rather than trainers. Ear defenders are strongly recommended, as petrol machines are loud. Always keep the guard fitted, clear the area of stones and debris before you start, and keep other people and pets well back while you work. A metal blade in particular deserves respect and a clear working space.

Sizing Up for Irish Conditions

Our climate is made for fast, heavy growth — and for strimmer work.

Warm, wet summers push grass, weeds and brambles on quickly, and verges and rough corners can get away from you in a fortnight. As with any garden machine, it pays to choose one with a little headroom rather than one working flat out at its limit — a slightly more powerful machine cuts damp, dense growth more cleanly and with less effort. One practical note: these are two-stroke petrol engines, so they run on a petrol-and-oil mix rather than straight petrol — easy once you know, and we can set you right on the correct ratio.

Getting It Right

The choice comes down to a few honest questions: are you tidying a lawn or clearing rough ground, how much of it is there, and how long will you be at it in one go? Answer those and the right machine is usually obvious.

You can browse the full strimmer and brushcutter range to compare, and if you’d like a hand matching one to your garden, the team at CLMS in Carlow is always happy to advise — and to keep it running with servicing and repairs down the line.

And if you’re building out the rest of your garden kit beyond the mower, it’s worth a look at our hedgetrimmers, multi-tools and leaf blowers too — the tools that handle everything the lawnmower leaves behind.