Black & Decker NS118

The purchase from Amazon was flawless; the trimmer was on by front porch within three days of the order placement. Amazing. Be careful opening the box. I got a nasty paper cut in my eagerness to rip off the… box top with brute force. Inside the box everything was expertly packaged and protected with egg carton quality cardboard shell. Luckily operating the machine is simple because the direction sheet leaves much to be desired. It displays as many languages as a United Nations guide, but all in small print, all directions overly succinct. What you need to know is on the direction sheet but not necessarily easy to find because of a lack of clarity and organization. The small pictures provided require the use of a magnifying glass. The pictures aren't annotated with text, just numbered sequentially. In the Yard When one buys a yard toy he doesn't really need, especially one that costs a hundred dollars, expectations and hopes are high. To this reviewer's relief, Black and Decker's cordless trimmer exceeds all expectations and far surpasses any preconceptions of performance and utility. Without clear directions I did have a bit of difficulty attaching the tool's handle, but after that little chore it was all uphill. So far this handy trimmer has performed flawlessly from one end of Spud Acres to its brother. On one charge I trimmed the front beds, the edges of the asphalt driveway, and most of the beds in the backyard. With extra batteries it's a snap to replace a spent battery with a fresh one. With the batteries included with my other Black and Decker cordless yard tools, and the Firestorm 18V battery bought recently, I have 6 batteries for the three tools. Even if a battery is attached to each tool, I still have two fresh batteries on standby on the chargers. Recommendation This tool easily rates five stars. It's quieter than my other two trimmers, has more than adequate power for my needs, and is easy to maneuver. At first I thought that the pull down edge guide was a useless gimmick, but it actually works very well. Also the automatic line-feed feature is wonderfully convenient. NOTES - Be sure to remove tape from the line cutter and the spool. This bit of advice is not mentioned in the directions. I bought three spools of prewound line when I bought the trimmer, but learned from the directions that one can use bulk line to rearm an empty spool. I like the convenience of using spools ready to use.

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I read the other reviews on this one prior to purchase. I wanted something that could provide enough power to clear some leaves from the yard and also be used by family members for the more normal day to… day operations (blow deck, blow out garage, blow grass trimmings, etc.). This blower is very light so it is easy to use. It has a large "toggle" type flat switch for easy on/off operation. It is very nice for the day to day work and can be used for some moderate leaf clearing in the Fall. You will need a gas or plug in variety for the heavy duty work. I am happy with the purchase though. It does what I had hoped it would do and the battery lasts long enough between charges to complete these tasks.

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