You may also want hearing protection, depending on your trimmer. Electric string trimmers typically aren’t loud enough to pose a risk, but more powerful gas-fueled models are significantly louder.

Need a string trimmer to clean up your yard? The new Self-Winding String Trimmer from Ego might not be one you've considered, but it should be on the list.

Another Ego model, the ST1502SA Power+ 15″ String Trimmer with Rapid Reload has a manual line-load system that is tedious compared with the push-button load system of our top pick.