I bought the Ryobi 2-Cycle 26 cc Straight-Shaft Gas Trimmer with Expand-it™ capability for $129 (best option because if you buy the Ryobi Power Head ($79) and Straight-Shaft Trimmer ($59.97) components separately they cost more ($138.97)). I also bought the Ryobi Expand-It 17-1/2” Universal Hedge Trimmer Attachment ($69.97). A week later I went back and bought the Ryobi Expand-It 9" Universal Straight-Shaft Edger Attachment ($74.97) which I will review now too.

Three complaints that I have about it as a string trimmer though are that I am not sure what the cutting shield is for because of its small size and offset placement it showers the trimmer operator with debris. Eye protection and long pants are suggested while using it. Or, if you are like me, you can “man-up” and deal with being sand-blasted by the dirt and bits of rocks and vegetative debris with which it will scour, bang and cut your legs (oh yeah, it launches rocks off the ground pretty good too so be careful of that). The second complaint about the unit is that the placement of the throttle is right next to where the transmission begins to flare out behind the motor. I have medium-sized man-hands, not big old bear paws, still, for me I have to hold the trimmer at a weird angle to control the throttle which becomes very tiring after a while to the right wrist. If you do have big hands operating the throttle on the power-head may be really uncomfortable for you. My third complaint is that the power-head seems to have an unusually small fuel tank so if you use some of the more power hungry attachments you will need to refill the fuel tank often.

Regarding the Ryobi Expand-It 17-1/2” Universal Hedge Trimmer Attachment – eat your Wheaties™ before using it! If you have a hedge row that does not come-up higher than your waist, you are fine. If you have tall hedges that you need to lift the power head and trimmer up to shear, get ready for some exercise. Because of the weight of the power head and length of the shaft where it finally connects to the shears attachment you will be working at some weird angles and really testing some of those upper-body muscles that you haven’t used in a while. If you have a large yard with a long run of tall hedges, get a dedicated hedge trimmer because this unit will easily tire you out before you can complete the job. “… Ideal to cut branches and new growth up to 3/8 in. thick.” Yes, just barely. Remember the throttle issue I mentioned earlier? That, combined with needing to really give the power-head gas while you are cutting can lead to the blades of the shear head getting stuck with a twig in the middle if you are not really powering the power-head up while cutting. If the motor on the power-head is not running at a certain RPM the blades stop moving. Perhaps that is a safety feature, but it sure is inconvenient while cutting.

The Universal Straight-Shaft Edger Attachment works a bit better, but because you do not have a big heavy motor and cutting assembly on the end where the blade spins the operator needs to be careful of that end jumping around while edging. Also, like with the hedge shear attachment the power-head must be going full-blast to make the blades spin, otherwise they will get stuck while edging which will require backing-up, powering up the motor then moving forward again with edging.

All in all, in my opinion, the Ryobi Expand-it™ is not an altogether bad tool as long as the user is aware of its limitations. It and its power attachments work well for small jobs in small yards, but are probably not the best bet for heavy duty landscaping work.

The Official Ryobitools Channel on YouTube shows videos of the various attachments in action.