A great choice for the smaller garden.
The Aspire range of gardening tools by Husqvarna all manage to provide a compact and good looking solution to grass problems. Packing down neatly and sharing batteries with hundreds of tools makes the Husqvarna Aspire T28-P4A great, but the cut width lags behind other, bigger trimmers.
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Lightweight and portable -
Shares batteries with other brands -
Plant guard for delicate flowers
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Smaller 28cm cut width -
No variable speed trigger -
Slow battery charger
Key Features
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Cutting width
A 28cm cutting width is suitable for smaller gardens. -
Line thickness
Takes 2.0mm line, which is good for some thicker growth.
Introduction
Compatible with the Power For All Alliance batteries, the Husqvarna Aspire T28-P4A grass trimmer joins a growing number of tools from different manufacturers that use the same battery system. Light, easy to fold and powerful enough, this trimmer is ideal for those with a smaller garden.
Design and Features
- Adjustable shaft for different users
- Automatic line feed system
- Battery charge level indicator
The first thing that’s noticeable about the T28-P4A is that, like the other Aspire tools, it looks great. Gone are the garish primary colours of some garden tools, replaced with sleek dark grey and brushed steel with orange accents.
Husqvarna’s choice of orange isn’t just for good looks either. Like the LC34-P4A lawn mower, the orange pieces show you where to adjust and operate the tool. So, the trigger, handle adjustment control, and trimmer head are all easy to spot without searching around.
It’s not just good looking, though. This trimmer feels well-thought-out and has a comfortable rear handle. It is covered with rubberised plastic and fits neatly in the hand, and the two-step safety trigger is always in reach.
Priced at £199.99 for the grass trimmer, charger, and 4.0Ah battery, it’s quite reasonable. And if you happen to have Power for All Alliance batteries from brands like Bosch already, you can knock the price down to £119.99 for the body on its own.
It’s something to really like about Husqvarna’s Aspire range. Sharing batteries between tool brands is long overdue, saves money, and space in the shed. It’s a real plus to be able to use a universal battery shape in a range of different tools.
The extendable shaft is another design win. Gardeners of different heights can fine adjust the handle length to make it comfortable, and it’s long enough to suit tall people like me. Husqvarna has kept the weight down as well. With the larger size 4.0 Ah battery in place, it weighs just 3kg, and a paltry 2.6kg without.
To make this trimmer a little safer, the user needs to engage the power button that sits on top of the handle. Above the power button is a charge level indicator that displays how much juice is left with three LED lights. It’s an effective way of checking how long you have left before running back into the house.
Performance
Easy to adjust length
Plant guard to protect delicate vegetation
Small cut width
To assess the performance of this trimmer, I use it over the course of a few weeks in a pair of test gardens. The weeds had grown high along the borders and the grass was long and lying flat on the lawn.
Setting up the T28-P4A is easy thanks to the big L-shaped hex key supplied with the trimmer. One end has a crosshead screwdriver shape, which I used to attach the cutting guard. It’s held on with a pair of handsome black anodised screws. The other end can keep the various bolts tightened on the rest of the machine. The metal plant guard snaps into place on the other side of the cutting head. Everything else is ready to go straight from the box.
Nice and light, this trimmer isn’t difficult to swing around the garden and angle where it’s needed. The balance is quite good when a 4.0Ah battery is plugged in, but it’s still a little front heavy.
Something that I appreciated over the competition is the plant guard. It neatly showed me where the line would reach, so I could avoid decimating the more precious bushes around the edge of the lawn. It’s an ideal attachment for anyone growing flowers in the garden.
Unfortunately, this trimmer doesn’t feature a variable speed trigger. It’s either on or off. It means you can’t conserve battery power to extend runtime or boost the speed to deal with heavier undergrowth.
The automatic line feed system works by letting out extra line every time the trimmer restarts, similar to the feed on the LawnMaster MX 24V. Compared with the bump-feed system found on more pro-level trimmers like the Stihl FSA 70 R, it wastes a bit more string. Every time the trimmer spins up to speed it cuts off a little bit from the end, rather than waiting for the bump to pay out more line.
When it’s time to replace the trimmer line, it’s not as straightforward as the DeWalt DCMST561’s hand winding system, but hardly a huge job. After unclipping the trimmer head, the spool easily pops off the machine.
I replaced the wire, after a couple of goes, by grabbing a length of 2mm trimmer line and finding the middle. Hooking the middle of the line into the hook inside the spool, I wound it up with my other hand. The wire tends to unravel unless it’s held under tension though, which makes it a bit of a pain. Luckily, pre-wound spools are available from Husqvarna for anyone who hasn’t got the patience.
It’s not a particularly loud trimmer. Rated at 88dB, the buzzing noise is easy to deal with. However, because it lacks a variable speed trimmer there’s no way to run it any quieter than that.
With the 4.0Ah battery installed I was able to trim and cut for about 30 minutes. That’s not bad going for a battery that’s smaller than most of the competition’s. The charger does take a while to top up to 100%, however. Taking 95 minutes, it’s a bit slow.
Should you buy it?
You should buy if you want a grass trimmer that shares batteries with a range of tool brands
Light and easy to use, the battery system is compatible with a wide range of tools from other manufacturers, too.
You should not buy if you want to cut larger lawns
If cut width and speed control are your priorities, you might not like the T28-P4A.
Final Thoughts
With a sleek design and ingenious space-saving features, the Husqvarna T28-P4A is another clever tool in the Aspire range. Taking advantage of the brilliant Power for All Alliance battery ecosystem, it’s compatible with a wide range of other tool brands. The cut width might not be huge, but it’s well suited to smaller gardens, especially when space saving is a priority. If you need something larger, check out the guide to the best grass trimmers.
How we test
We test every grass trimmer we review thoroughly over an extended period of time. We use standard tests to compare features properly. We’ll always tell you what we find. We never, ever, accept money to review a product.
Find out more about how we test in our ethics policy.
- Used as our main trimmer for the review period
- Used on a variety of grass lengths and weeds to see how well the mower cuts
- Tested to see how easy the trimmer is to carry, use and store
FAQs
It’s compatible with the Power For All Alliance batteries, which also work in tools made by other manufacturers.
Test Data
| Husqvarna Aspire T28-P4A |
|---|
Full Specs
| Husqvarna Aspire T28-P4A Review | |
|---|---|
| UK RRP | £199.99 |
| Manufacturer | Husqvarna |
| Size (Dimensions) | 240 x 1560 x 240 MM |
| Weight | 5.6 KG |
| Release Date | 2021 |
| Model Number | Husqvarna Aspire T28-P4A |
| Cutting width | 45 cm |
| Strimmer type | Cordless |
| Adjustable length | – |
| Cutting tool | 2.0mm line |
