I've just discovered a multi-tool for the garden that can do it all (apart from mow) – and it's what I'm using to replace all the other tools in my shed
It's a 4-in-1 tool to get you started
While much of my garden is laid to lawn, it also has trees and hedges planted – and patches of grass that the mower missed. With just the thought of having to find three separate tools to trim, prune and maintain, I was happy to give the Webb WEV20X2MTB4X 40V (2 x 20V) Top-Mounted Brushless Multi-Tool a go to save myself some effort.
The different heights – ground, mid-level and high-level – would usually mean that I'd need to find the best strimmer at the very least. Then there's the hedge trimmers and tree pruners to consider. Each of these tools can take up a lot of space in the shed, take some finding and blow a budget, so having this all wrapped up into one garden tool is certainly appealing.
It's battery-powered and, therefore, cordless, which means that you won't need an extension cable to power it, so I plan to see how this performs too.
Using the Multi Tool
The multi-tool is powered by two 4Ah batteries that slide onto either side of the motor at one end, with the shaft of one of three attachments secured onto the other.
The batteries took fewer than a couple of hours to fully charge. What I liked about the charger is that it isn't a charging dock but a plug with three ports for a cable: 1x USB-A and 2x USB-C. The batteries each take a USB-C cable, which is unlike any tech product I have seen before; I like it, but the jury is out if it saves any space, or saves anything for that matter.
I found the set-up to be a headache, with the instructions not making much sense to me. Fortunately, with the help of my mum, we could figure it out without any written guidance (there's no YouTube video either – fyi).
It looks like a well-balanced piece of kit with a trigger handle positioned in front of the batteries, and a handle that can be positioned anywhere along the shaft to help hold it where you're strimming, cutting or pruning. For each task, the lower shaft will slot into the upper shaft; how it feels to hold will depend on the attachment secured to the lower shaft. For example, the hedge trimmer is longer than the strimmer, which is more circular, so the weight distribution will need adjusting for comfort and performance.
Weight-wise, the hedge cutter is the heaviest at 4.85kg with both batteries in situ, whereas the pole saw is 4.6kg and the line trimmer is 4.2kg.
To operate, hold down the button on the battery to turn it on, then press the safety button before applying pressure to the trigger to start it up. I started it up before trying to trim or cut anything to check that I was comfortable with the handle positioning, because it is heavy.
Line trimmer
Our robot lawn mower cuts the majority of the lawn, but it doesn't have the turning circle to get up close to the raised vegetable patch tucked between the boundary fence and flower border, so the line trimmer attachment was a welcome tool.
It was quick to cut the grass back, and it only took a couple of passes before all the longer lengths of grass were level with the rest of the lawn. I held the trimmer by the trigger handle with one hand, and the removable telescopic handle with the other on the upper shaft, which was comfortable and well balanced.
Weeds are dislodged in seconds
I then turned my attention to the hedge in our front garden. I am burdened by a lilac tree that keeps growing in the hedge, despite my constant efforts to remove the roots. The tree was towering over the box hedging so there was only one thing for it; hedge cutter.
To attach, I removed the lower shaft of the trimmer from the upper shaft, and slotted in the lower shaft of the hedge cutter. It was immediately obvious that I needed to move the telescopic handle to the lower shaft to help distribute the weight - with a blade length of 420mm, the hedge cutter was making the tool feel extremely unbalanced.
Releasing the screw nut and unclipping the handle had a bit of a knack to it. The bit behind the handle needed to be folded underneath and behind it, before securing again with the screw nut. It won't be secure otherwise.
Hedge cutting
I found this multi-tool to be really heavy to lift and slide across the top of the hedge. I also struggled to cut back the side of the hedge with it.
Still, to my relief, it sliced through the tree hedge like butter. The small branches were cut clean, and any leaves caught up in the action were obliterated.
Following the same procedure of switching-up the lower shaft, I secured the pole saw. It was our unruly Hazel tree that was to get some maintenance treatment next.
Check that the teeth on the saw are not slack and, for prolong spells of use, you'll need to add chainsaw oil, like this Castrol Garden Chain Oil (£13.09 from Amazon), to the 120ml oil tank to keep the chain lubricated.
Pole saw
Again, it sliced through thicker tree branches with no sweat. I had the handle positioned on the lower shaft whilst I had my hand on the trigger at the other end of the tool for comfortable positioning.
I found it to be long enough to reach higher branches from the ground, and it made the job of tree pruning lighter work because it required little effort on my part.
The Webb WEV20X2MTB4X 40V Top-Mounted Brushless Multi-Tool also comes with a brushcutter attachment which fits onto the line trimmer. I do not have a dense patch of weeds, or a suitable space, to try this out but going by the performance of the other attachments I'm sure that it'll excel.
Noise levels were consistently loud on all attachments; it bounced around 90dB on the decibel meter reading app downloaded to my phone which is equivalent to a petrol lawn mower.
Verdict? Overall the performance of this kit was brilliant with all grass, hedging and trees cut as intended. That said, I found it tricky to set up and you'll need to find space in the shed to carefully store the separate shaft attachments.
If you don't already own a strimmer, hedge cutter, brush cutter and pole saw, and you have a need for owning all four of these tools, then it'll be worth the investment for sure. It costs £249.99 which is not loads more than what a strimmer, hedge cutter and saw would cost if you were to buy them individually, so it'll save you money.
Alternatively, just owning one tool for what you need, such as a line trimmer, may be a more viable option for your gardening needs.
Alternatives
If a multi tool isn't quite what you're looking for, we have a few alternatives you can shop.
Will you be making the switch to a multi tool? Or do you prefer to have separate tools for all the gardening jobs? Let us know.
