When it comes to outdoor power equipment, we’re diehard gas engine types at Popular Mechanics. There’s just no getting around the energy density of liquid fuel. And when you burn liquid fuel in an efficient engine, you make a tremendous amount of torque available through the engine’s driveshaft.But battery-powered yard machines are closing the torque gap between themselves and engine-driven equipment. It’s much like what we saw happen with cordless drills and saws. We’ve been repeatedly surprised at how capable this new breed of electric power equipment is, as we saw in our battery-powered chainsaw test, our chainsaw grudge match, and our test of a battery mower that also included leaf mulching and bagging.Now Echo ups the ante further in the competitive cordless market with a line of 58-volt lithium-ion outdoor power tools, including a string trimmer, a leaf blower, a hedge trimmer, a chainsaw, and a walk mower. All of the tools have brushless motors to optimize the current that the battery provides. Two different size batteries are available: a 2 amp-hour and a 4 amp-hour version, with the tradeoff being that the smaller battery is lighter and recharges in 30 minutes versus one hour for the full-size battery. (Of course, it provides less run time.) The benefit to the homeowner is choosing what’s more important to you: weight or run time.For now, the line is sold exclusively at The Home Depot and is backed by an attractively aggressive warranty: five years for homeowner use and two years commercial use, including the tools, the batteries, and the chargers. Even riskier, perhaps, is the 90-day money-back guarantee.None of the machines skimp on mechanical substance. Here are the specs you need to know:String trimmer$269 (4 amp hour battery and charger)Variable speed triggerHigh/Low switch to choose between run time and power14 to 16-in. cutting widthTakes either .095 or .080 trimmer lineRun time: estimated to be 90 minutesCordless blower$269 (2 amp hour battery and charger)Variable-speed triggerCruise control for long sweeping sessionsRun time: estimated to be one hourHedge trimmer$269 (2 amp hour battery and charger)24-in.-long bar¾-cut capacityRun time: estimated to be 90 minutesChainsaw$299 (4 amp hour battery and charger)16-in. barside-access chain tensioningRun time: estimated 112 6-in-dia. cutsMower$499 (4 amp hour battery and charger)21-inch composite deck7 deck height adjustments3 handle height settingsRun time: estimated to be 40 minutesRoy BerendsohnSenior Home EditorRoy Berendsohn has worked for more than 25 years at Popular Mechanics, where he has written on carpentry, masonry, painting, plumbing, electrical, woodworking, blacksmithing, welding, lawn care, chainsaw use, and outdoor power equipment. When he’s not working on his own house, he volunteers with Sovereign Grace Church doing home repair for families in rural, suburban and urban locations throughout central and southern New Jersey.
