Worx GT Lithium Ion Boasts Better Battery Life than Predecessor

Worx GT Cordless String Trimmer

UPDATE:  SINCE THIS REVIEW WAS WRITTEN, I'VE DISCOVERED THAT THE LITHIUM ION BATTERIES ONLY LASTED A SHORT TIME LONGER THAN THEIR NICD PREDECESSOR.  WHILE THE TOOL HAS SOME NICE FEATURES, THE BATTERIES ARE A DISAPPOINTMENT.  TOOL SKOOL HAS REVIEWED OTHER PRODUCTS WITH BETTER BATTERY LIFE.

Original Review:

The Worx GT is not a new tool.  You’ve probably seen the infomercial touting it’s merits for the last few years, but about a year ago, the tool was re-released with a 18V Lithium Ion battery.  I always liked the features of the original Worx GT, but wasn’t thrilled with the battery life of the old Ni-Cad battery.  While the battery worked fine when it was charged, I felt like mine only got a few charges before the battery died completely, and I heard that from several other people.

For this reason, I waited almost an entire year, using the Worx GT Lithium Ion periodically to see how I felt about this tool.  This time I think they got it right.  The Lithium-Ion battery is much lighter than the Ni-Cad predecessor, and the tool feels more balanced to me as a result.   The only down-side to this is that all those people that bought the Ni-Cad version either have to keep buying more of the inferior Ni-Cad batteries or buy a new tool because they are not compatible.

As always, since the trimmer is battery powered, there is not gas and oil to mix, no cords to pull to get the darn thing started and no smelly emissions.  In fact, because these batteries are so eco-friendly, the Worx yard tool line earned the Energy Star label.

Features:

The trimmer, with the LI battery installed, weighs just over 5 pounds, which is great in my book.   That’s 35% lighter in weight than most competitive cordless brands.   I don’t particularly care for doing yard wok and I want it to be as quick, easy, and painless as possible, and the weight of this tool helps with that.  The telescoping shaft easily adjusts to fit just about anyone’s height…even mine, and I’m 5’2”!  The trimmer cuts grass like a pro!  I have no problems getting up to fences, around trees, and over rocky areas.  I also like that you can easily adjust the angle to get under decks, and shrubs.   And if you’ve seen the infomercial, you know they talk about their unique line system, and as far as I can tell it works well,  and releases like it should.   It won’t cut through thick brush or sticks, but no string-fed tool wheel… You have to move up to an actual cutting blade for that.

Now, the Worx GT trimmer boasts that it’s 2 tools in 1. So, what’s the other tool?  It’s very easy to rotate the head and convert the tool to a wheeled walk behind edger, so that you can trim along walkways and driveways.  This is not my favorite feature of the tool.  It works okay, in my opinion, but the real draw to this tool is the grass trimmer.   To get really clean edges, again you need a blade and not a string-fed tool.

For the money,  I’d say this tool is well worth it and since the Lithium Ion battery is compatible with other Worx yard tools like the hedge trimmer (which I really liked) and the sweeper/blower,  you certainly get your money’s worth on the battery.  You can buy the Worx GT Lithium Ion on Amazon.com for around $120 or order it at the WORX website.

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