Ego Power+ STA1500 Attachment Review
Pros: Fantastic at weed eating, easy to use
Cons: Requires additional motorized head, decently loud
Manufacturer: EGO Power
Our Verdict
Compare to Similar Products
 This Product
Ego Power+ STA1500 Attachment | |||||
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| Awards |  |  |  | | |
| Price | $129 List $99.00 at Amazon | $399 List Check Price at Amazon | $195 List Check Price at Amazon | $140 List | $179 List $207.00 at Amazon |
Overall Score  |
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| Star Rating | |||||
| Pros | Fantastic at weed eating, easy to use | Easy to use, great battery life, low noise | Inexpensive, quiet | Lightweight, relatively quiet, easy to service | Relatively inexpensive, exceptionally powerful |
| Cons | Requires additional motorized head, decently loud | Not the lightest tool around, pricey | Not the most powerful | Not super powerful, short battery life | Loud, throws debris everywhere |
| Bottom Line | This versatile tool takes out dense vegetation with ease | Ergonomic and easy to use, this is one of our all-time favorite cordless yard tools to use when clearing weeds | If you are shopping on a budget and don't need an extra powerful tool, then this is the string trimmer for you | If you need a string trimmer in your tool arsenal but don't have much money to spend, this one is the one to buy | If you don't mind sacrificing some comfort in order to save some cash, this is a good value option |
| Rating Categories | Ego Power+ STA1500... | Makita XRU15PT 36V | Black+Decker LST136 | Craftsman V20 Weedw... | Ryobi 40V Expand-It |
| Weed Eating (30%) | |||||
| Ease of Use (30%) | |||||
| Battery (25%) | |||||
| Noise (15%) | |||||
| Specs | Ego Power+ STA1500... | Makita XRU15PT 36V | Black+Decker LST136 | Craftsman V20 Weedw... | Ryobi 40V Expand-It |
| Line Feed Mechanism | Bump | Bump | Auto | Button | Bump |
| Cutting Path (in.) | 15 | 15 | 13 | 15 | 13-15 |
| Shoulder Strap Attachment | No | Yes | No | No | No |
| Measured Sound Level from 36" Away | 104.6 dBa | 85 dBa | 85.9 dBa | 84 dBa | 105 dBa |
| Measured No-Load Runtime | 21 min. | 88 min. | 43 min. | 35 min. | 43 min. |
| Number of Speed Settings | 2 | 3 | 6 | 2 | 1 |
| Measured Weight | 12.4 lb | 10.4 lb | 7.8 lb | 7.0 lb | 12.1 lb |
| Nominal Voltage | 56 | 36 | 36 | 20 | 40 |
| Tested Amp-hours | 2.5 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 4 |
Our Analysis and Test Results
Unlike the majority of the other products in the group, the STA1500 isn't a standalone string trimmer. This product attaches to the Ego Power+ Power Head which is powered by the standard 56-volt Ego batteries. This can be nice if you are planning on buying additional yard tools, as other compatible attachments (edger, hedge trimmer, pole saw, bristle brush) are usually less expensive than buying standalone versions and are more compact to store. Unfortunately, this system can be quite an initial investment if you don't already own the Power Head, with a bundle pack of the STA1500, Power Head, battery, and charger costing quite a bit more than any of the standalone string trimmers we have tested.
Performance Comparison
Likes
Right from the start, the STA1500 impressed us with its weed-eating capabilities, being one of the most effective trimmers to date at clearing unwanted vegetation. This trimmer has tons of power and was able to smoothly cut through just about any plant that we pointed it at. It absolutely flew through patches of dense grass and sliced through thick-stemmed weeds without a hint of a struggle. The STA1500 also feels quite nimble to operate, allowing you to clean confined spaces fairly easily.
The STA1500 has a bump dispenser for feeding more line and it isn't a huge pain to replace the string when the time comes.
The handle is really comfortable and nice to grab, with the entire trimmer feeling quite well-balanced and easy to hold.
It weighs just under 12.5 pounds, which is a little lighter than average for the string trimmers we have tested.
Dislikes
While we did appreciate the STA1500's unbridled power when cutting through thick vegetation, this turned into a liability whenever we tried to do detail work or precise cuts. It is difficult to maintain a constant speed with what we found to be an overly sensitive trigger, making it hard to be confident when trimming around delicate items. It's hard to use this string trimmer as an edger, as it doesn't feel great to hold vertically and we usually just ended up cutting trenches with the STA1500's abundance of power.
You do have the option of two different speed ranges with this trimmer, but the low power mode still feels like overkill for precise tasks. The battery life on this weed eater is also a bit of a disappointment, only lasting for 21 minutes in our runtime test when the STA1500 wasn't even cutting anything. This cordless string trimmer is also one of the loudest models, but we did appreciate that it wasn't especially high-pitched or whiny.
Value
The Power+ STA1500 is a pretty good value if you already have the requisite motorized head or are planning on buying enough other Ego yard tools to make the investment worth it but most budget-conscious shoppers would be better served by other options.
Conclusion
The Ego STA1500 is a great option if you already have Ego yard tools or are willing to commit to sticking with the brand for a while but there are other options we would recommend over this one if you are solely looking for a string trimmer.
— Michelle Powell and David Wise
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