Ozito grass trimmer kit – red ones go bzzzz!

My history with Ozito branded line trimmers/Ozito whipper snippers is best described as brief and awful and not necessarily in that order. But that was a few years ago now, so in 2023 and with this Ozito grass trimmer, would something less than $100 looking like it was designed by Nerf change my tune? Let’s find out!

In the beginning

Before switching to the red power x change series, grey Ozitio tools were more on the cheap than the cheery side of things. In fact back in 2012 before Dengarden was Dengarden (I forget what it was called originally) I wrote an article: Ozito Power Tools: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. In a nutshell their rotary tool of the time was brilliant (I still have and use it today), the drill was meh and that left the Ozito whipper snipper/line trimmer which was, and I quote:

Oh god, oh god, oh god, what the hell is this thing? It’s not a whipper snipper, it’s not a line trimmer, in fact, I’m not sure what it’s supposed to be because it falls far short of any gardening work that it’s supposed to perform.

-My article on Dengarden, originally written in 2012

(I also tried their version of a sander that gave me very shaky arms while using. It did okay for what I paid for it.) But yes, the trimmer was just awful and it spent more time on charge than actually doing what I paid for it to perform. And so it was part reluctance a second time around trying an Ozito trimmer again …but in need of a trimmer (rent inspection soon!) and priced at $99, I took the gamble. After all, I’ve had amazing success with a $99 Ozitio drill which I use for a lot of things, so maybe this would work just as well.
And as a passing Bunning’s worker remarked ‘It’s one of the cheaper ways to get a spare battery’ because Ozito’s Power X Change means I can use the battery from my Ozito drill in this and vice versa and now I have two chargers for both battery packs.
So let’s have a look what at a sniff under $100 lands you in Ozito whipper snipper form.

Red ones go faster?

An ex-girlfriend of mine once bought a Toyota Corolla from a dealership and I recall how ‘plasticy’ it felt inside at the time, not to mention given what I got to drive later on in life, how soulless the ride around in it when she gave me a lift. This Ozito grass trimmer reminds me of that – basic with oodles of plastic and a design that looks like someone just walked out of Nerf and into their nearest Bunnings to continue their designer career.
But as any car nut will tell you, that Corolla will probably go forever and I’m hoping this thing does too.
And as I happily discovered, as basic as this is. it actually ticks a whole heap of boxes in the ‘Quit faffing about and actually cut some grass already’ department.

It takes less than five minutes to piece this Ozito Whipper Snipper together and most of that is finding your spare power x change battery that already has some charge on it (while charging this new one you got of course). To put the guard on you just need a Phillips head screwdriver to remove the head for access, then once that’s done you extend the shaft out to the height you want, adjust the grip and have at it.

There’s no need to wind up a spool here…because it just doesn’t have one. No this Ozito grass trimmer does its thing with a single plastic swing blade and a bunch of spares in a case on the unit itself when you break it by trying to shave rocks or something. No feeding spool/line/cord through here, no failing bump stop technology (which has never worked for me, ever) and less than 30 seconds work to remove one plastic blade and swap it out for another.

It’s like the designers really did sit down and say ‘People who buy this want to get things done in a hurry so how can we make this plug and play to save time?’ Not having to trim lengths of cord saves me a head of time thanks Ozito grass trimmer, as does your universal battery system. (Plus the price point is pretty appealing.)

So how did the Ozito grass trimmer go then?

Remember the Corolla reference from earlier? They’re not the fastest cars on the market and this budget friendly option really isn’t either, but it still does the job (slightly slower than something with more than one cutting implement would.) Unlike some window shaking petrol units I’ve tried, you could easily listen to a podcast while pottering around with this thing and because it’s instant on and off, not only can you come back to things later without having a wrestling match to start it again, there’s the fact that you don’t to prime anything and pray that it’ll catch on, nor reach for the ventilator if it starts smoking. While it’s got the feel of a ‘Baby’s first weed whacker’, it’s done some good work on things I’ve thrown it’s way so far. The proof is in the pudding…er trimming. Like those rocks in this rental that serve no purpose other than breaking line trimmer cord:

Paving de-weeding:

And of course general tidying up work that my mighty Victa/Sabre can’t reach:

It’s not perfect, but for $99 I really wasn’t expecting it to be. However out of the box it works, grass is falling and the backyard is looking all the better (and less jungle like) for it. Now that we’ve give it a run though, let’s have a look at the pros and cons:

Ozito grass trimmer – The good and the bad

THE GOOD

-Like their excellent drilling, Bunning’s house brand has really come along in leaps and bounds. Their gear is still cheap but it does what it says on the box and I’m very happy to hear it.

–Ozito’s Five year replacement warranty

-This Ozito Whipper Snipper has no tiny cord that needs ten miles of extension cord to connect to just to power it

-Simple to turn the head in the position you want it, alongside the handle. No special tools needed!

-Installation is a doddle

-Doesn’t require being a heavyweight wrestling champion to hold it down or get it started.

-Supreme lack of smoke and lowish noise.

-Spare blades on the unit within easy reach.

-Bunnings usually has a put together one hanging up with the others so you can pull it down and see how it feels.

-Reduce the shaft length for shed storage

-18V Li-On Universal battery system. No need to plug the entire unit into a wall and wait and it comes with it’s own battery and charger, so no need to buy additional things initially.

THE BAD

-Looks like an advanced toy and feels like a plastic Corolla. But hey, it’s a grass trimmer..

-Your jobs might take slightly longer given the one blade system.

-It’s more for basic backyards than trying to plough a paddock.

-It’s screaming out for a strap. Because after a while I found my arms aching swinging this thing around. Maybe it’s because of my already sore shoulder, maybe because of the slightly heavier drill battery I was using, either way my arms were a little twitchy when finally took a break. If you’re not looking for a workout in carrying this thing (luckily it doesn’t buck about like a demented caught squirrel like my old ‘grass scorpion’) then maybe jury rig a strap to it somehow.

-Reviews on the replacement blades aren’t exactly great. Although hilariously I see there are metal options available through Aliexpress..

Ozito grass trimmer – Who’s it for then?

If you’ve got a small to medium small yard and you need something to finish off the stuff your mower can’t reach, then you really can’t go too wrong with this. Especially if you already have some Ozito gear in the shed that would appreciate the bonus battery.
Those with large backyards and/or mowers currently out of action should look elsewhere though – otherwise you’re going to be out there for a very long time..
(Additionally it feels a bit heavy the first time you start to use it.)

This Ozito grass trimmer is available at Bunnings Warehouse for (at the time of writing) $99. If your Bunnings is anything like my Bunnings, there should be plenty in stock.