Wild Badger 40V Electric Weed Wacker 4-in-1 Tool Review

About the Wild Badger 40V Electric Weed Wacker 4-in-1 Tool

• Weight: 27 pounds
• Cutting width: 8 inches (pole saw), 10 inches (brush cutter), 15 inches (string trimmer), 16 inches (hedge trimmer)
• Battery: 40V total, dual 20V/4.0Ah batteries (2 included, with charger)
• Charge time: 60 minutes
• Dimensions: 11.61 inches x 7.09 inches x 42.13 inches (LxWxH)

The Wild Badger 40V Electric Weed Wacker 4-in-1 Tool is one of multiple multi-tool and combo kits from the company, so it’s important to note which one you are getting. Most of these combinations are similar tools, but the main thing to keep in mind is whether you’re buying a 40V tool with one battery or dual 20V batteries. If you are buying multiple Wild Badger products, you want your batteries to be compatible with each other.

How we tested

To test this multi-tool, I put it through its paces around my yard, using it on overgrown branches, a couple of azaleas, a particularly unruly weeping cherry tree, and grass around my garden. I used it to accomplish a number of other common home care tasks you’d use a trimmer or saw for. I tested all four attachments, exhausting the batteries and then recharging them.

What we like

The multitool has everything you need to chew through whatever you need

Until you own a home surrounded by trees, it’s hard to imagine how many different things you will need to cut down other things. Lawn mower, string trimmer, hedge trimmer, sawzall/reciprocating saw, pole saw, chainsaw, brush cutter. You don’t necessarily need all of these tools, but without a doubt, each will come in handy at some point.

The 4-in-1 covers the basics, featuring the tools you’d use most often. The string trimmer handles overgrown grass around obstacles in your yard that your mower can’t get to, the brush cutter chews through thicker grass and plants, the pole saw is perfect for high-up branches, and the hedge trimmer gives you the ability to cut and shape hedges and other bushes with plenty of reach to handle small to medium trees.

While I like to break out my reciprocating saw for particularly gnarly cuts, the 4-in-1 can handle most jobs. In my testing, it had no problems with normal cutting jobs, including up to 3-inch-thick tree branches.

The batteries last a long time per charge

The nice thing about using a trimmer or saw instead of a lawn mower is that the tool doesn't run continuously—you just turn it on when you need it. That makes it much easier to get through all your weekend tasks without having to stop to recharge—one downfall of using electric versus gas-powered tools.

In my testing, I had to deliberately find extra tasks to drain the battery all the way down. The batteries take more than an hour to charge, but you can likely knock out everything you need in one go, and then charge them overnight. Or, you can share batteries with other tools and just swap them around as you need.

The pole attachments are durable, but not overly heavy

Most battery-powered tools seem determined to use as much plastic as possible, which helps keep the weight down but can make them feel flimsy—especially when they feature extended reach.

The 4-in-1 multi-tool’s pole attachments are all metal and quite durable, allowing you to apply just enough pressure to ensure it cuts straight through cleanly without vibrating or popping off the cut.

What we don’t like

Swapping attachments can be a bit finicky

After opening the box, it was clear that each of the four attachments would require some assembly.

For example, the pole saw needs the blade attached and oil put in its tank, and the hedge trimmer needs lubricant. The string trimmer and brush cutter use the same attachment, which must be taken apart and reassembled whenever you switch between the two.

Once they’re assembled, swapping attachments takes only a few seconds, except for going from the string trimmer to the brush cutter, which requires using two included tools at once to disassemble and reassemble the head.

But if you are mostly just swapping between the hedge trimmer and string trimmer, you can do so with ease.

The trigger guard is not particularly safe

Unlike many electric cutting tools, there is no multi-step process to starting this tool; just a trigger that needs to be pulled and held. There is a piece of the trigger that will get caught to prevent it from being pushed down, but only if your finger is on the front half of the trigger. If you are holding it by the back half—which is perfectly normal—you can very easily set the tool off. I set it off unintentionally a few times, including when it was just pressed against my forearm.

I would exercise extreme caution, especially when swapping attachments. Remove the batteries before changing attachments, as this often requires getting close to the blades or trim heads, and you don’t want them accidentally firing up when you don’t expect them to.

Warranty

The Wild Badger 40V 4-in-1 multi-tool comes with a 3-year warranty that covers defects and workmanship. That’s a solid length of time, and it explicitly covers commercial use.

While I wouldn’t start a lawn care business with this lightweight of a product, the fact that it won’t exclude you if you use it to care for your business’s small patch of grass is a good thing.

Just note that the warranty doesn’t cover “consumable” portions of the product, like string, blades, etc.

Should you buy the Wild Badger 40V Electric Weed Wacker 4-in-1 Tool?

Yes, it’s a great option for any homeowners who have a combination of trees, shrubs, grass, and weeds in their yard

If you just bought a house or are pivoting to an electric, cordless setup for managing your lawn and surrounding plants, the Wild Badger 4-in-1 40V (available at Amazon for $275.00) multi-tool is an excellent way to round out your ability to handle overgrown weeds, shrubs, bushes, trees, and just about anything else that might come up beyond cutting the grass.

While some of the tools are probably overkill—the electric pole saw is awesome, but a manual string-pulled one has never let me down—they are nice-to-have additions if you are starting from scratch. If you pair this with a mower that uses the same batteries, you’ll have a solid system that can knock out a weekend of yard work with minimal fuss, aside from swapping attachments, which is annoying at first but gets easier with practice.

In my testing, I was particularly impressed with the hedge trimmer. Having a pole-arm hedge trimmer with adjustable angles is a massive help for managing large bushes and small trees. The trimmer rips through small brush and is worth the cost of the tool by itself. Having the other attachments is nice—and you’ll probably use the string trimmer the most—but the hedge trimmer rips.

If you have a lawn in a development with few trees, then a string trimmer is probably enough to satisfy your needs, but getting four useful tools in an affordable package is a great deal every homeowner should consider.