Oregon Magnum Square Gatorline .095-Inch
String trimmers frustrate more homeowners than probably any other tool they own. The reason? Most are using cheap, inferior trimmer line that delivers substandard results and breaks constantly, requiring frequent re-stringing of the spool. You will be amazed at how infrequently you will have to re-load this line.
I have exclusively used Oregon’s Magnum Square Gatorline in my landscaping business for more than seven years. Maintaining a sharply defined line between two different surfaces, such as a sidewalk and the lawn, provides contrast and tells passersby that the homeowner values attention to detail. This line gives me the cutting power and control to give my customers the well-maintained borders they’re looking for in very little time so that I can move on to my next job.
You don’t need to buy a sidewalk edger if you use this line because of how well it cuts through the turf that grows out onto the sidewalk over time. Just turn your trimmer on edge and maintain the correct depth as you walk with the trimmer. It takes a little practice, but soon you will be edging your sidewalks in no time at all. All landscaping companies do it this way because it’s efficient and it works.
The manufacturer produces Gatorline in several different styles: round, square, and twisted. The round lines is more for use on smaller properties with few weeds. I recommend the square or twisted line for homeowners who do casual landscaping as well as professionals, as the significant improvement in performance outweighs the negligible increase in cost many times over.
The square line minimizes hesitance and resistance, which keeps up the RPM of your trimmer head. The banks of our lake, which is just under two acres in surface area, would be pretty formidable to maintain if I had to use the cheap plastic line that most people buy at their local home centers. The Gatorline slices right through aquatic leaves and thick grass without bogging down the engine.
You want to run the thickest diameter line that a.) your spool will accommodate and b.) your engine can handle in order to get maximum cutting power. Most gas-powered trimmers will be able to run .095-inch line with no problem. I have several Husqvarna (223L, 326L, XXX) and Stihl (FS80) trimmers that are considered homeowner models – they handle this commercial-grade line with ease.
This line is made from reinforced nylon and features an armored exterior and a flexible core to resist breakage. Gatorline avoids a common problem with cheaper plastic lines known as “welding”, in which the line fuses to itself inside the spool due to high temperatures caused by the high RPMs of the trimmer head.
A 685-foot spool of this line lasts me for about a season and a half. That is with mowing eight customer lawns on a weekly basis as well as maintaining our own 18-acre property which requires extensive trimming around the lake, the trails, and our market garden. A homeowner with a standard suburban lot will easily see this spool last at least a decade.