There are many similarities that these two 36V string trimmers share to make them both great choices for lawn maintenance professionals and homeowners. They both have a 17-inch cutting swath, which works well if you’re trying to cut down heavy sections of grass. They also have the same line diameter range between 0.080-0.105 inches, which gets loaded into a bump and feed trimmer head. Additionally, they have the same three-year limited warranty with their respective brands.
That’s about where the similarities end, though. The Makita string trimmer has the power equivalent to a 30cc gas trimmer and comes with a variable spread trigger with three speed options — Milwaukee only comes with a high and a low. Milwaukee states that their string trimmer has up to 2.5 HP of peak power. To compare that to Makita’s 30cc power, we plugged the numbers into a cc-to-horsepower converter and it gave us two HP — meaning that Milwaukee’s has more power than its Makita counterpart. To add to that, Makita’s highest speed is 6,000 RPM, whereas Milwaukee’s is 6,200 RPM.
However, Makita comes with a cool and very useful reverse rotation feature that makes getting untangled in vines and other obstructions an easy endeavor. Milwaukee’s string trimmer does not come with that unique function. Lastly, weight needs to be compared as well. Makita’s is kind of heavy at 10.6 lbs, which doesn’t include the dual battery weight, but Milwaukee’s is heavier at 11.8 lbs.
