Buy Wisely

I tried these 3 strimmers for light tasks in our garden (edges, round trees) and then husband Andrew took them to the allotment to try them on tougher tasks.

Budget: The Tesco cordless grass trimmer (£36.96) has an average runtime of 15 minutes (charge time 3-5 hours) is medium weight and uses a nylon line cassette to cut. It was relatively easy to assemble with a telescopic shaft and adjustable handle that can be adjusted according to your height. Suitable for light garden work. 0845 600 4411; www.tesco.com

Affordable: Gtech – ST05 Lithium Trimmer and Edger (£69.95 online) is very light and uses easily replaced plastic blades to cut. Very easy to put together. Rechargeable Lithium batteries charge in 3 hours and run for up to 30 mins. It looks great, but like the Tesco trimmer is really only suitable for light garden work 01905 345 891; www.gtechonline.co.uk

Investment: Heavy duty and heavier in weight, the Hitachi CG18DSDL 18v Cordless Grasstrimmer with Li-Ion battery (£299) from hitachi-powertools is a professional tool for tough tasks. It was the fiddliest to assemble (I’m not good at reading and following instructions) but was in another league to the other strimmers. Because of its weight it was more tiring to hold, but it did a great job on light and heavy tasks. One of its best features is that it is incredibly quiet – no more disturbing the neighbours with this one! It has been awarded a Quiet Mark in acknowledgement of its reduced noise level. Uses a nylon line cassette to cut. 90 minute charge time with 30 minutes run time.