XUX01ZM5 36V (18V X2) LXT® Brushless Couple Shaft Power Head with String Trimmer Attachment, Tool Only

Should I have purchased this sooner. Using the gas trimmer was always a hassle. By the time I mixed the oil and fuel, yanked the pull start for an eternity, I always got a work out before even started trimming. Was always skeptical about battery powered lawn tools. The ones I had tried had limited power, low battery life, poor ergonomics, etc. This lawn care line from Makita changed all of that with their 36 V 5ah power tool line. Makes it very easy to maintain my yard. It is a little heavy, (smaller person here) but very manageable when you wear a strap with it. It doesn’t come with this strap in the box. But I emailed Makita customer service with a screen shot of my Amazon invoice as proof of purchase, and they set one out next day at no additional cost. Has a very hefty feel to the unit. Doesn’t feel like a toy like many other battery-operated string trimmers do. Uses a standard string trimmer bump feed head and line. Maximum line width according to the instructions is less than 2.3 mm square or round. Make sure to tighten the head on the string trimmer very tightly. When you release the trigger, the unit stops spinning on a dime (good safety feature) but causes the head to come unscrewed if it is not installed properly. Has three speeds to conserve battery life, but battery life is long enough to complete trimming on one charge for a normal suburban yard. Uses the same batteries as the other 36V (18 V X 2) tools from Makita. Previously I purchased a Makita reciprocating saw that came with four batteries and the dual charger. I use these same four batteries on every Makita tool I own, So when I add to my collection I only have to purchase the tool sans the batteries. Much cheaper! I purchased the hedge trimmer attachment separately and use it to trim 9 foot tall shrubs. Has power to cut through three-quarter inch diameter limbs on my burning bush. Any larger and it struggles. But the quick change out of the features to switch from string trimmer to hedge trimmer requires no tooling. Comes with a really nice storage bag. Too nice to put a string trimmer in. But I guess if you’re traveling with it and don’t have a pick up truck, it would be handy. It is actually a nice enough bag for toting sports gear. Awesome tool.

Before the Makita, I was a die hard small engine proponent. For some things, gas is likely still the way to go. However, the power head on this model is truly impressive in the output delivered and the run time I get out of it with various tasks. It bogs down less than my old admittedly smallish 25cc two stroke power head. It worked well but I always wanted a bit more power. This Makita performs at least as well, and likely better power-wise, and it is very handy to use without the mess, noise and maintenance of the gasser. I get up to two hours of constant runtime depending on the task. While manageable, the unit does have some heft to it. I never used a harness prior to this, but found a harness helps me use the system a lot more comfortably and for a lot longer with less fatigue than without. it was not cheap or an easy decision to buy into a whole new ecosystem. I have many Trimmer Plus (universal-type) attachments. Those will not adapt to this Makita so to get brush trimmers, pole saw and the like, I had to shell out a bunch more cash and am left with a pile of Trimmer Plus attachments I cannot use. Even so, I do not regret the decision. The Makita system is on a completely different level. The connecting mechanism and drive shaft are very sturdy and looks and feels like it will withstand a lot heavier use. The tools attach securely and stay in place, unlike many Trimmer Plus style offerings which are far lighter duty, cheaply engineered and tend to loosen up quickly during use. Those issues are absolutely not present with the Makita system. I have a pole saw, two different brush trimmers, the string trimmer and a pole saw, plus extension. All these tools make the Trimmer Plus system look like cheap toys, and all have worked so well that I do not miss the gas engine at all. If it's in the budget, or you need reliable and durable tools you can use all day every day, this would be my choice. Definitely would buy again. Suggest factoring in a dual battery charger and at least four batteries depending upon your anticipated needs. For weekend work in a smaller residential lot, and without a lot of sawing or heavy brush clearing, two batteries may be enough.

Makita quality. Quiet, fast, and powerful. Works perfectly (I admit I just got it today and used it once). Two observations: 1. Tighten the trimmer head REALLY tight or it spins right off when you release the trigger. 2. Mine came with Makita carry case 195638-5 (sells for $100 if purchased separately). Great quality bag and I absolutely wasn’t expecting it. This unit came with a smaller bag too. Advice: I bought this powerhead/trimmer combo (no batteries) from Amazon Warehouse and then bought the blower combo that came with 2 extra free batteries (came with a total of four 5Ah batteries) and the dual rapid charger. I also bought the stick edger which is exceptional in quality. I paid in separate purchases because Makita is currently offering $25 off each $100 purchase. I also bought from merchants listed under “other sellers” who offered free shipping and didn’t add tax. I believe I got the best possible deals. I will update this review after I’ve used this longer.

Love the power, light weight and Convenience of battery powered tools. Always having gas powered I never thought I would like or get the results I would want from battery power tools. I now have several Makita battery powered garden tools and saws. My husband first laughed at me when I started buying them, and now he uses them all the time.

...but this thing is a mildly life-changing tool. Crucially, its value is entirely based upon having sufficient batteries - and that they are charged! So your investment in this tool is actually investment in a system... I've been using this driver for a brush-cutter attachment, cutting field grass down to the dirt - heavy use bordering on abuse, to be sure. I bought 8 non-Makita 6A batteries (after 2 returns/replacements, I have 6 left which are Good Enough) and with 4 chargers I'm able to run this tool consistently through about 5 pairs of batteries before I run into the end of what's charged... Power is a little lower than a HD Stihl, and again, you're limited to time available in your batteries. But string trimming tends to be less about power and more about carrying your tool from place to place, and this excels at that. No liquids leaking, no hot exhaust port, no ****ing carb jets to get clogged. You depress the trigger and it spins. Reliable! And what power difference there may be, is what I'm seeing whilst cutting field grass, down to dirt, with a metal brush blade. With the string head mounted and doing trimming rather than brush cutting, it's remarkably pleasant to work with this thing. I bought a Makita 18v string trimmer last year and haven't taken my Stihl off the wall since then, and I manage about 3 of our 6 acres. I bought this one because we bought another property which I'm maintaining, and I'm doing pruning saw work as well... It's been a real pleasure to NOT have gasoline cans in the back of my Subaru!

Bought this for home use. Battery life was suprisingly great. I used the string trimmer steadily for about 20 minutes and both batteries (5.0 oem) were still at 4 bars. The string trimmer (came with string pre-loaded) is very powerful in fact I only had to apply about 1/4 of the trigger pressure before it was cutting through the weeds real well. When full trigger pressure is applied it's very aggressive which is nice to have when needed. The instructions don't say how tight to screw on the string head so I snugged it at first but it fell off so I cranked it a bit more the next time and it seemed to stay put. The bump feed works good and the head is easy to replace string on although the pastic clips are stiff and small so getting the string reel apart for the head may require a standard (straight blade) screwdriver unless you have small fingers but is otherwise well designed. The only down side is that the batteries end of tool is heavier so it takes a bit getting used to (might not have been a problem if they had sent me the harness like they were supposed to!) Packaging came fairly beat up and a lot of after market tape so I am guessing this may have been a return that no one used which is probably why there was no harness. Everything else inside looked untouched. It had never been assembled and it was clean. Overall happy with the product. Irritated with amazon though as they sent this tool 2 weeks after they shipped out all the attachments I ordered for it. So I had to look at all the pretty attachments that I couldn't use because of the "essential items only" shipping prioritization policy allowed them to send all those right away but not the tool that runs them?!?! Non of these are essential items... Oh well they are all here now minus the harness. Good tool, bad packaging, missing the harness, hypocritical and confusing amazon pandemic shipping policies.

Works better than I expected. I use to sell Makita tools to Fire Departments and have always loved Makita tools. This one is no different. The power and adjustability make it very handy. I use it around a wedding venue and it last longer on one charge than I thought it would. This year we have had a wet spring and I have used it a lot. Always with zero issues. I am looking at adding other attachments when I can. I love the reverse feature. It can be a bit tough to use without it turning off because you basically have to remove your hand from the handle to push the button and it turns off before you get it back on the handle. That is my only complaint and it is pretty petty. The fact that it has reverse so I don’t have to unwind the baling wire or hoses I have wrapped around the bead is pretty amazing to me.

I bought this in 2022. I use it every week from May through October in New England. I have a 3/4 acre lawn, but there is a lot of weedwhacking needed. This is a workhorse. It is VERY easy to use, it offers different speeds, which is handy when I am around my house with a lot of tall glass windows/doors as I can set it on slow and still do the job without busting a window! I always used Echo or Stihl gas powered , as they were solid and reliable, but I will never go back. I will buy this same exact model when this one finally goes, but I don't see that happening anytime soon! Great job, Makita, I love this thing!