If you know the name STIHL, you likely know it as the company that makes some of the best chainsaws money can buy. The German company has long been praised for their powerful, high-quality power equipment and they bring that same expertise to a wide range of tools and equipment. When I got offered to test their FSA 200 R String Trimmer, I immediately jumped at the chance to see how it compares to our best string trimmers.
I already knew it would be a high-quality piece of machinery, but the moment I picked it up, I understood why STIHL is so synonymous with quality. It’s heavy, but that’s due to the metal and high-quality plastic it’s made out of which is reassuring that it will last quite a long time.
I put the STIHL FSA 200 R String Trimmer through its paces over the course of a few weeks and came away quite impressed with its power and efficiency. It’s not perfect, however, and in this review, I’ll dive deeper into the great and not-so-great things about it to help you decide if it’s right for you.
Jason Cockerham has been testing and reviewing gadgets for more than a decade and has covered everything from smartphones to smart mowers and quite a few things in between. He tested the string trimmer on his ~6,800 sq. ft. lawn over a period of about four weeks.
He lives with his wife, two children, and German Shepherd pup.
STIHL FSA 200 R String Trimmer: Price & availability
One thing you may not know about STIHL is that in the US, they sell their products exclusively through local dealers. It’s an arrangement they’ve had for decades and one that has worked quite well for them.
So while you can’t buy them from your local Lowe’s or Home Depot, you can still purchase them online from sites such as ACME Tools. The FSA 200 R is currently available on Acme Tools for $599. You can also visit STIHL’s website to purchase from your local dealer. My local dealer had the FSA 200 R listed for the same price of $599.
Six hundred dollars is certainly not an insignificant amount of money, especially considering the unit does not come with a battery, which will run you another nearly $400. So now you’re looking at a cool $1,000 for this machine. That can be hard to swallow when there are plenty of other great string trimmers available for quite a bit less.
Score: 4 out of 5
STIHL FSA 200 R String Trimmer: First impressions
I can’t really talk about the unboxing experience for the FSA 200 R as a local STIHL representative dropped mine off. The unit I received was a review sample, but it had not been used previously so I did get to experience it as if brand new.
As mine was delivered pre-assembled, I also can’t speak directly to the setup process, but I did find a couple unboxing videos of the unit which showed the deflector and trimmer head both being attached with only a few screws.
What I can speak to is the build quality and feel of the FSA 200 R and in short: it’s fantastic. Picking it up immediately gives you the sense of a well-made, superior quality product, which has become synonymous with the STIHL name.
The added quality and durability does come with a downside, however. The FSA 200 R is quite heavy. It’s certainly heavier than any other battery powered string trimmer I’ve used, and is likely almost as heavy as many gas string trimmers. I’ll get into this a bit more further on in the review, but it’s certainly one of the tradeoffs of having such a quality product.
STIHL FSA 200 R String Trimmer: Design
If you’ve seen one string trimmer, you’ve pretty much seen them all. With the exception of some of the new modular string trimmers, such as the Husqvarna Combi Switch, most string trimmers look the same. The motor is at the back with a trigger handle attached with a long metal shaft ending in the trimmer head. There’s typically a grab handle of some kind near the trigger while some of the professional models feature a dual bicycle-style handle.
The FSA 200 R follows the same trend with the motor and trimmer head colored that nice, colorful STIHL orange and a large black loop handle. The loop handle is quite comfortable and has an extra side attachment for when you need to adjust your grip for those more awkward spaces.
Probably the biggest downside of the FSA 200 R is that it’s kind of a beast. It’s almost exactly six feet long and weighs just under 15lbs. It still fits inside my tool shed just fine, but I like to hang mine on the wall and with the extra piece sticking out of the loop handle, and the somewhat large size and weight, I have to be a bit more careful.
Due to the size of it, I found myself having to hold the trigger with more of an underhand grip than my typical overhand grip in order to use it effectively. Of course, your mileage will vary depending on your height, but I am an extremely average 5 ft. 10 in. tall so it might be a little long for someone my height or shorter.
The weight has been the biggest challenge for me. It’s not so heavy that it’s unusable, but you absolutely feel it when you’re lugging it around the grass. Again, this will vary for each person (and I will readily admit that I don’t work out and am pretty weak), but it’s still heavy enough that I noticed it. I was always able to finish my lawn - which takes about 25-30 minutes - without too much discomfort, but I still felt it.
Oddly, this is targeted more towards professional users who would be using it all day every day so either they’re much stronger than me (an absolute possibility) or maybe they use a sling or something to offset the weight. Regardless, it’s heavy.
Score: 4.5 out of 5
STIHL FSA 200 R String Trimmer: Key specs
| Row 0 - Cell 0 | Row 0 - Cell 1 |
| Model no | FSA 200 R |
| Power source | 36V battery |
| Cutting time | up to 40 minutes |
| Cutting width | 18 inches |
| Dimensions | 60 in long |
| Weight | 10.6 lbs. |
| Weight (with battery) | 14.8 lbs. |
STIHL FSA 200 R String Trimmer: Performance
The FSA 200 R instantly impressed me with its performance. The first time I used it, I wasn’t fully prepared for how powerful it was and had some pretty rough lines around my yard until I got a better handle on it.
Once I got used to it, there was literally nothing it couldn’t handle. There was even a section of our yard where we had let some wildflowers grow during the spring, and they were about 3-4 feet high. Since they had mostly died, I decided to see just how powerful the FSA 200 R was. And boy how powerful it was; it cut through that thicket like a hot knife through butter. I honestly expected to have to go through the patch a few times or even just take my time through the patch to get it cut. But I didn’t have to do either. I cranked it up to the top speed and it had no issues whatsoever cutting them down.
There are three variable speeds on the FSA 200 R, and because it’s so powerful, that was the only time I ever needed to go higher than even the first speed setting. Keeping it at the first speed meant I could also save some battery as I cut. It takes me about 25-30 minutes to string trim my ~6,800 sq. ft. yard, and I never once lost more than half a charge.
As with most other tool makers, STIHL offers both a standard charger ($59.99) and a fast charger ($109.99) for their batteries. The standard battery charger takes about three hours to fully charge the AP 500 S (the biggest) battery I had, and I would say that’s accurate. The fast charger will charge it in about half that time. Now they also have a super fast charger ($179.99) that claims to charge the battery in 55 minutes, but I did not receive that one so I can’t say for sure.
The electric motor means it’s also much quieter than almost every gas string trimmer around. My decibel meter clocked it at about 77dB which is just a touch louder than a typical vacuum cleaner. I wear earphones while cutting the grass and it never bothered me.
Maintenance is pretty straightforward on the FSA 200 R. Every few weeks during the busy cutting season, be sure to clean off any stuck on grass or debris, and change the trimmer line when you run out. The instruction manual is easy to follow for replacing the line but to be honest, with typical use, I’d only expect to need to do this between cutting seasons.
Score: 5 out of 5
Should you buy the STIHL FSA 200 R string trimmer?
| Attribute | Notes | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| Price | A bit pricey, and not as widely available as the competition | ★★★★ |
| Design | Extremely well built and high quality, but it's heavy. | ★★★★★ |
| Performance | Plenty powerful enough for anything you can throw at it with long-lasting battery life. | ★★★★★ |
Buy it if...
Don’t buy it if…
How does the STIHL FSA 200 R string trimmer?
The FSA 200 R can certainly handle everything you need, but there’s a good chance you won’t need all that power. For small yards, the BLACK+DECKER GH3000 will be perfectly fine and it’s several hundred dollars less.
And if you still want the power with a bit more versatility, our reviewer was quite impressed with the DeWALT 60 V MAX String Trimmer. It’s quite a bit cheaper and comes with a brush cutter attachment for those more tricky spots.
If you would prefer a gas-powered string trimmer, then the Troy-Bilt TB25CB is a solid option. Our reviewer, Mike Larson, appreciated how lightweight and powerful it was but advises getting some good ear protection as it’s quite loud.
How I tested the STIHL FSA 200 R string trimmer
I tested the FSA 200 R on my grass for about five weeks. In that time I used it to cut my grass twice a week and even took out an entire patch of dead flowers that were about three-four feet tall. I checked the run time, charge time and noise levels against the spec too.
Learn more about how we test.
- · First reviewed: June-July 2024
