Take a Loop-Handle Trimmer's Weight on a Bungee From Your Shoulder Strap

The Problem

A string trimmer without bike handles gives you two places to hold it: the throttle grip in your right hand and a small loop on the shaft in your left. The left hand is doing all the lifting, and it does it with the machine cantilevered out in front of you, so the weight at the shaft is multiplied by the distance to the head.

The sweep suffers too: an arm holding the machine up can't swing it as smoothly as one that's only steering, so the cut height wanders across the pass.

The Technique

You need a bungee cord and a shoulder strap to clip it to — the harness on a backpack power unit works, and so does the strap on any trimmer that came with one.

1. Fold the bungee in half at its midpoint to make a bight.
2. Pass the bight around the trimmer shaft just ahead of the loop handle, then pass both hooks through the bight and pull it tight. That's a girth hitch, and it grips the shaft without a knot to untie later.
3. Clip both hooks to the shoulder strap of your backpack unit or harness.
4. Adjust so the head sits at cutting height when your arms are relaxed. Too short and the trimmer fights you when you reach out; too long and you're back to holding it up.

Your left hand now steers the shaft rather than supporting it.