Black and Decker Blade Telescopic Grass Trimmer review: Why this budget buy is my new favourite tool

Telegraph

04-08-2025

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What is the Black and Decker BCSTR918 18v Cordless Resin Blade Telescopic Grass and Edge Trimmer?
This is a low-priced, humble-looking garden strimmer that easily stands up to its more expensive competitors, including Stihl, Ryobi and Gtech. The big selling point is its resin plastic blades, which offer excellent cutting power, although you can also switch to a softer cutting line for navigating hard edges that the blades may damage.
You can adjust the height, making it easy to use for both trimming and edging and the best thing is that, as a cordless, battery-powered tool, you can take it anywhere. It's lightweight and easy to store.
Garden strimmers and edgers are usually used in conjunction with a lawn mower on grass to get a good finish. If you want a seriously tidy garden, consider investing in one of the best hedge trimmers and a garden shredder to turn your cuttings into mulch or compost.
How we test strimmers
As a keen gardener, allotment owner and author of the book Grow a New Garden, I take gardening tools seriously. To judge the Black and Decker, the most important criterion was how effectively it cut back the tough weeds at my allotment. It also needed to be lightweight enough to manoeuvre around my garden, easy to set up and put away, intuitive to use and solidly constructed.
As more and more tools move towards battery power I also considered runtime and the overall balance between this, the weight of the tool and the power it delivers. Preferably, it should be powerful and long-lasting enough for difficult jobs.
When we're looking for the best strimmers, each of these criteria is scored out of 10 to arrive at a final ranking. You can read my findings below. The Black and Decker trimmer scored so well that we now consider it the Best Value garden strimmer on the market.
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Performance
Score: 9/10
While the Black and Decker Trimmer is a budget tool, its performance is anything but. The default resin blades give it an edge over many others on the market, delivering noticeably more cutting power than a line. It's useful when cutting through tough weeds like dock, nettles and thistles.
There are many circumstances where a line is preferable, however. For instance, if you are cutting grass next to a raised bed, around the base of a tree or near any other hard surfaces in your garden, resin blades may cause damage and could break. Being able to switch between the two makes the Black and Decker more versatile than most.
Design
Score: 9/10
The rotating head is another great feature and means you can position it well for tasks like edging. Its guide wheel also ensures you don't cut into the soil by lowering the tool too much and causing damage.
The tool is part of Black and Decker's PowerConnect range, which uses the same battery system (sold separately) for several different tools, in much the same way as the Stihl FSA 60 R Cordless Strimmer shares its battery with other Stihl tools. So, if you already have a Black and Decker 18V battery, you can use it here, saving money and storage space.
Handling
Score: 9/10
Weighing in at just 2.2kg, this tool is not quite the lightest cordless strimmer tested, but it's not far off. It only requires one battery to operate, helping to keep the weight down, too. This means that, coupled with its adjustable parts, it is comfortable to work with for extended periods. There's no shoulder strap though, so it likely wouldn't suit professionals tackling larger lawns.
The plastic blades, while extremely effective, can't be used too closely to a hard surface as they can break. Replacement blades are mounted onto the handle, so it's easy to replace them even when you're in the middle of a job. They easily are installed. You just hook them onto the rotating motor while the tool is switched off.
Energy performance
Score: 9/10
I found its battery performance better than a lot of the other strimmers on the market. Black and Decker offers two options, with the higher-rated one offering an impressive 40-minute running time.
There are also two settings to choose from, so you can configure the tool for easier jobs like cutting soft grass, or harder ones such as tackling weeds. If you want to employ the higher power setting, the battery life will be reduced. But while testing on weeds that were well-over knee height, I found that it coped easily without the switching to the higher power setting. It's nice to have it if needed, though and you can certainly notice the difference.
Value and quality
Score: 10/10
At less than £100 (even for the bundle with an included battery), the Black and Decker strimmer falls into the category of budget tools. What makes it our Best Value buy is its versatility; as an edger and trimmer, it's effectively two tools in one.
Luckily, its quality is also excellent, even when compared with tools in a much higher price bracket. A regular gripe with power tools is that they can feel flimsy. But while this tool is lightweight, every part of it feels reassuringly robust, from the motorised components to the adjustable shaft, handle and head. Made from a combination of tough plastic and steel, it strikes a good balance between quality and cost.
Technical specifications
The Stihl FSA 60 R Cordless Strimmer is our Best Buy strimmer, but at £174 without a battery, how do the two compare?
Should you buy the Black and Decker 18v Cordless Resin Blade Telescopic Grass and Edge Trimmer?
There are better trimmers out there in terms of power but if you're looking for a lightweight, robust strimmer for odd jobs around your garden or allotment, the Black and Decker 18v Cordless Resin Blade Telescopic Grass and Edge Trimmer delivers quality at a good price point.
Yes, if:
You want a good all-rounder
You want to switch between blades and a cutting line
An adjustable design will suit you
No, if:
You want one with a shoulder strap
You use a different brand's battery system and don't want to buy another battery kit
Black and Decker 18v Cordless Resin Blade Telescopic Grass and Edge Trimmer FAQs
How do the resin blades compare to a traditional strimmer line?
Resin blades are better at cutting tough weeds and long grass as they provide a cleaner cut. However, strimmer lines are better for soft grass or strimming around hard objects. Resin blades may break if they come into contact with a hard surface, whereas a strimmer line will bend.
How long does the 18V battery last on a single charge?
The 18V battery can last up to 40 minutes on a single charge, when using the tool on the lower power setting. If you increase the power (by sliding the button on the handle), you are likely to get around 20 to 25 minutes of runtime instead.
How easy is it to switch between grass trimming and edging modes?
The cutting head rotates easily; just press and hold a button and twist the head until you hear a click. Then you're ready to go, using the guide wheel on the ground to help you cut to the right depth.