Well,never had a sthil trimmer so you might be right about that weed wrapping thing,mine does wrap a little with certain grass types,not weeds or vines,just very fine 2-3 ft tall grass,now normal grass,[bluegrass/rye,,no problems],,,but I weed eat more than anybody I know,[unless you was getting paid to do it],,and many areas I just weed eat once a year[places I can't hog],,and once a year grass/weeds in w.v. are 3-5 tall,,,and they both go through it no problems,,had that 260 for 10 years or so,,,,had the 280,3-4 years,,,only problem with either is a vacum related problem,,if you don't keep that little vent filter clean,,when you mow with it and than put fresh gas in,,and than turn weedeater at angle,,it wants to sputter for a while,guess untill gas heats up,,but not a big problem,,must be a design heat related thing. They both start very easy,use.109 line[think thats what it is],thick line anyways,,power to spare,can cut 1/4 branches or more with it,to trim sides of paths,drive way,,,but the professional sthils are I'm sure good ones to,,but when you buy a sthil,pro model,you pay,and 1-200 dollars of that is the name you are buying,[never did like that pro homeowner thing that husky and sthil does,echo don't do that,,just different models,different sizes.]