Kobalt 80 Volt Trimmer Review 2024

Do you hate yard work, or regard it as one of those necessary evils? Looking for a cost-effective, eco-friendly way to help make knocking it out a snap? 

If you are, then you’re going to love our in-depth, hands-on Kobalt 80 volt trimmer review!

I purchased this monster not long ago to help me wage war on the grass growing in and around my tiny garden. And honestly, it’s overkill for what I’m using it for right now. But I have a longer term plan involving buying the full set of Kobalt’s 80-volt battery operated tools and hot swapping the batteries around as needed when I stop renting and get my own mini-farm, so this is the first of several planned purchases.

As you’ll see in the sections that follow, and the accompanying photographs, this brute made short work of the weeds in my little garden area, and after testing it around the rest of the house, and even loaning it out to my neighbor, I couldn’t be happier with the purchase.

We’ll cover everything this tool can do just below, and go over a few complaints that the machine has gotten, so you’ll be able to judge for yourself whether it’s the right model for you.

Let’s jump right in!

An Overview Of The Kobalt 80v Max Trimmer

Some Assembly Required

I should give some information about myself as a proviso. I’m a tall guy. 6’6” tall and broad shouldered, so for me, this machine feels like a perfect fit. For smaller folks, it’s likely to feel like a hulking menace in your hands, so when I say that it’s “fairly lightweight,” that’s true from my perspective, but it may not be true from yours.

You’ll get the machine in a single box, and once you unpack it, you’ll find that the unit itself comes in three pieces: The handle, which also houses the battery and the controls, and the “business end” which is, of course, the part that does all the weed whacking for you. The third section is the guard, which keeps stuff from flying back into your eyes when you’re using the trimmer. It attaches to the business end of the unit via four screws.

Also included in the box are the three manuals (one for the machine itself, one for the battery charger, and one for the battery itself). Note that the device comes with one battery.

When I made my purchase, I bought a three pack of extra trimmer line and an additional battery so I could use one battery while the other was charging, and I highly recommend this because it gives you a more versatile machine on the whole.

While it’s true that there is some assembly required to start using the Kobalt 80v trimmer, in practice, this amounts to screwing in four screws with a Phillips head screw driver and tightening two knobs.

The instruction manual outlines the assembly process, but even if you have limited skills in terms of putting stuff together, the odds are good that you won’t need them. Kobalt has done a great job of streamlining and simplifying the process. Total assembly time takes about ten minutes, and that’s if you have to go rooting around a drawer for a screwdriver!

Overall, the dimensions of the trimmer are 9” x 9” x 37,” and it weighs 13.22 pounds. Again, for me, this is a good weight and is light enough to use without breaking my back, but for some people, it might be slightly on the heavy side.

Note: Machine comes with a harness holder built onto it, so if it does prove too heavy for you, it’s easy enough to rig a quick harness and support more of the weight with your shoulders, rather than your arms.

Battery Life and Charging Time

This is an important part of our Kobalt 80 volt string trimmer review because previous iterations of this trimmer had a reputation for having battery problems. They’d simply stop working after a short period and wouldn’t hold a charge.

I’m happy to report that those problems have been solved.

One of the cool things about these 80-volt batteries is the fact that they’ve got a button built into the front of them. Press it, and you’ll get a readout of how much of a charge the battery currently has, from one to three bars.

I’ve found that each “bar” of powers is worth about 30 minutes’ worth of use, so each battery will last you about 90 minutes. Note that the trimmer has two speeds: low and high. For most jobs, the lowest speed will serve you well, but for big, burly weeds, you’ll want to use the high-speed setting, which will shorten your battery life somewhat.

When I got my trimmer, the battery was charged, and had two bars of power. That was more than enough to knock out the small job I had in mind.

I’ve seen batteries that charge faster, but I don’t have any real complaints about charging time. It takes about an hour, which, with two batteries, means that by the time the one you’re using is dead, the backup battery will be ready for use, enabling you to keep doing yardwork without interruption.

Note: These are Li-ion batteries, and are hot-swappable with all of Kobalt’s 80-volt, battery-powered line of tools.

Some Extras Included

This will be a short section, but important to paint a complete picture.

I was a little underwhelmed on this front. While the machine does come with everything you need to use it right out the gate, including pre-installed trimmer line, one battery, and a charging station, I wasn’t happy with just that.

As I mentioned earlier, when I placed my order, I also bought a 3-pack of trimmer line and a spare battery, and recommend this to anyone who’s considering buying one.

Strictly speaking, you don’t need those things, but they do give you more flexibility. It’s a pain to have to stop what you’re doing because you’re waiting for your only battery to recharge.

The Battery Charger

There’s not a lot to say here, because the battery charger is extremely simple to use. Simply find the nearest available power outlet and plug it in.

In the place I’m renting, there’s a convenient power outlet located just above a small shelf in the living room. Since I have a small place and space is at a premium, I decided that was a decent home for my “charging station” and to put the batteries when I’m not using the trimmer.

Note: Remote included in the picture doesn’t go with the Kobalt trimmer. It’s actually the remote for my Eufy robotic vacuum, which is another fabulous little machine!

Power And Capability

This is the other critical part of our Kobalt 80v trimmer review. After all, it doesn’t really matter if the charge time and battery life is good if the machine can’t do what you need it to do. In this respect, you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

One of the biggest complaints people have about battery-powered tools is that they tend to be underpowered as compared to their gas or plug-in electric counterparts.

While that’s certainly true if you’re looking at 20 or 24-volt tools, 80-volt tools pack a ton of power that doesn’t fall off precipitously as the battery charge starts to get low.

With tons of power comes a corresponding amount of capability. Don’t let the fact that this is a battery powered trimmer fool you. It’s a beast and can handle just about anything you can throw at it. If this machine doesn’t convince you to say goodbye to your old gas-powered rig, then nothing will.

Whether you’re edging your walk, doing light weed whacking around the edge of your house, or wading into the heart of a bearish thicket of overgrowth, the Kobalt 80-volt trimmer can get the job done.

In my case, the main reason I got the machine was that I’d set up some Hex-Pen fencing to surround a small extension of my porch garden. We’ve got a lot of deer where I live, and while they’re not quite brave enough to come up on the porch, anything I plant in the yard is considered fair game.

The fence has proven effective in keeping the deer at bay, but of course, the lawn mower won’t fit in the tiny garden space.

I let the grass grow quite tall before finally getting around to ordering the machine, but I was familiar enough with 80-volt tools that I knew it wouldn’t present a significant challenge, and sure enough, it didn’t.

Counting unboxing, it took me about fifteen minutes to assemble the machine, and about five to knock down all the weeds in my little garden patch.

The only mistake I made is that I had set the machine to its highest power setting to chew through some of the burliest weeds, and wasn’t watching closely.

On high power, when I hit one of the little plastic planter boxes, it shredded that too, so you’ve got to be careful when you’re using it! The amount of power will definitely be a pleasant surprise.

Kobalt 80V Trimmer Pros & Cons

There’s a lot to like about the Kobalt 80 volt string trimmer. While it’s true that the model had some battery issues early on, those have now been solved. Given that that was the only persistent complaint users had about the model, it really has no weaknesses at this point.

Well, that’s not entirely accurate. Some users have also complained that when you need to replace the trimmer line, the process is a bit cumbersome.

I’m on the fence about that. While it’s true that it’s not a dead-simple procedure, it’s also not exactly rocket science. I didn’t find it to be particularly challenging, but your mileage may vary.

Having used it extensively at this point, my favorite feature is the impressive power the Kobalt 80-v offers. Combine that with a decent battery life, and it’s a winner in my book.

Sure, battery life could be a bit longer, and it’s not the fastest recharge on the planet, but neither of those things are deal breakers. What you’ll love is that the Kobalt trimmer offers a great mix of features at an excellent price point.

Final Thoughts on Kobalt 80 Volt Trimmer Review

And that wraps up our Kobalt 80 volt trimmer review. It’s a fantastic, well-priced machine that’s easy to use, and offers loads of power and convenience at a price that won’t break the bank.

The dual speed operation gives you a one-touch way to give you a surge of power when and where you need it to get through the toughest areas of your lawn, and otherwise allowing you to use the low-power setting, which still gets the job done and extends the life of the battery.

The batteries themselves offer a nice touch too, with the one-touch power indicator, so you can tell when you’ll soon need a recharge (remember, the rule of thumb is one “bar” is equal to about 30 minutes’ worth of operation on low speed).

All that in a relatively lightweight, easy-to-handle package. What’s not to like about that?

Having used the Kobalt 80-volt trimmer extensively around my home, and lent it to a curious neighbor to try, I highly recommend it. I’m very pleased with the purchase and look forward to a long future of quick and easy weed whacking.

---

Official Manufacturer Support

Resources & References:

• The Many Health Benefits of Yard Work, Twin Oaks Landscape.
• Enjoying The Benefits of a Clean Garden, A Great Garden.
• Importance of String or Line Trimmers In Lawn Care, LawnEQ.