Negative Reviews Flymo Contour Grass Trimmer Edger 😠

The Flymo Contour 500E Electric Grass Trimmer and Edger is now one of the top-selling and most favoured garden equipment within its category. With a mid-range price of £50 to £100 and bearing a large presence online at places like Amazon/Argos, it's clear that this product has taken off with thousands of UK gardeners.

It promises ease of use, flexibility, and user-friendliness, an enticing package for garden edge maintainers looking to keep their garden edges in perfect condition easily.

Reasonable Share of Critics

But as with many high-volume consumer products, the Contour 500E is not immune to criticism. While it has a plethora of positive reviews, there is a heavy counterbalance of negative feedback challenging its long-term dependability, build quality, and daily operation. This article considers those negative experiences so that potential buyers can make a more informed purchasing choice.

Key Features

The Flymo Contour 500E is a 500W electric grass trimmer that can be used for gardens of medium size. The trimmer has a 25cm cutting length and works with a 1.5mm dual auto-feed line to trim grass and small weeds. Its 4-in-1 benefit allows the user to switch between trimming, edging, and shrubbing mode by simply twisting the cutting head.

Design Comfort

Comfort and ease of use are also central to its design. The trimmer has a telescoping handle to suit users of different heights, an auxiliary handle that can be adjusted to gain better control, and a cushioned grip to reduce hand strain. An inbuilt plant guard keeps flowers and shrubs safe when cutting along borders, and a proprietary edging wheel is created to make easy, crisp lawn edges easier.

It only weighs 3.1kg and has a 10-metre cable on it, so it's a lightweight corded one that offers respectable reach without being excessively onerous to use. On paper, it ticks a lot of the right boxes. But do such specs deliver when put to use in the real world?

Negative Reviews

Despite being a UK top-selling product with several thousand sales, the Flymo Contour 500E has elicited an unheard-of volume of abusive complaints. Consumers were expecting great things from the Flymo brand or advertising hype, but the real-life performance of this particular model in actual use proved frustrating and in some cases, unusable. Below are the most common complaints, grouped by similar scenarios…:

Strimmer Line Snapping – The Most Repeated Complaint

The most common complaint on all the negative reviews is the snapping of the strimmer line after a few seconds or minutes of usage. Customers describe the snapping of the line within a blink of an eye, even multiple times, so it becomes impossible to get even simple work done without stopping. In many cases, even replacing the reel or trying out different conditions failed as well.

“It’s the worst piece of equipment I’ve ever bought… Never had more than 30 seconds strimming before it breaks.” / “The reel line keeps on snapping. Even with a new reel, it’s still snapping.”

Some reviewers also noted that the line isn’t suited to tougher grass or edging, disintegrating when it comes into contact with paths, borders, or harder surfaces.

Difficult and Inconsistent Line Feed System

While the Flymo Contour 500E is said to include a dual auto-feed line system, a number of users report that it does not function as it is supposed to—or even at all. Some find themselves having to feed the line manually every few minutes, which defeats the purpose of an automatic system. Others were told by Flymo to have to reset the machine as many as six times in a row to encourage line feed, something that users did not find welcoming.

"You must pull the cord in by hand after braking. The wire is very weak." / "Auto line feed has never functioned since the first day."

Weight and Ergonomics – Uncomfortable to Handle and Bulky

Some of the purchasers also commented that the machine was heavier and more cumbersome than expected. While 3.1kg does not seem heavy, customers observed that the placement of the handles and requirement to keep both hands high on the shaft render it tiring and cumbersome to handle, especially for extended periods or for older users.

"Too heavy due to handles' placement… like carrying heavy shopping bag on end of hockey stick." / "Heavy, clumsy to manipulate… not as agile as promoted." / "You have to have herculean grip in order to keep it moving because the trigger is stubborn."

Build Quality and Design Problems

The most prevalent sensation was disappointment in the quality of construction, as several critics remarked that the components felt cheap or failed to function in the long run. The strimmer was constantly "badly balanced" and "clunky," and switches, clamps, or adjustable parts would fail to stay in place.

"Had for two years now and haven't gotten on with it from day one… terrible machine." / "Trigger is terrible. Needs constant pressure. Dull to use on big gardens."

In particular, the on/off trigger with the safety switch was widely condemned for taking overly hard pressure to keep pressed while working. Most found it exhausting after just a few minutes.

Assembly and Instructions – Perplexing and Unnerving

A second, recurring problem is the difficulty of assembling the trimmer, made worse by what has been described by many as confusing, sparse, or badly translated instructions. Some customers could not correctly assemble the unit, or made mistakes they could not reverse without damaging the product.

"Poor instructions and very hard to assemble." / "Sales info says no assembly required—wrong." / "Instructions were inadequate… diagrams were poor… just gave up."

Longevity Issues – Product Life Span Short and Out of Warranty Faults

The majority of the reviewers lamented that the strimmer malfunctioned within weeks or months, or even after one or two usages. The others witnessed malfunctions soon after the warranty had expired, leading to disappointment and loss of confidence in the brand.

"Stopped working after 10 minutes." / "Used about 7 times… dead now. Warranty just ran out." / "Battery died after 2 years. Cost to replace is essentially the same as a new one."

Edging Mode – Poor Results

One of the promoted virtues of this machine is how easily it can convert to an edger. Nevertheless, a considerable number of consumers were disappointed with this function, especially when compared to previous models from Flymo or similar brands.

"Pointless for edging. Only cut grooves into the border." / "Head now turns only 90° rather than 180°, not so flexible." / "Purchased for edging—gave in and fixed my old one instead."

Customer Service – Difficult to Reach or Unhelpful

Lastly, some outraged consumers tried contacting Flymo's customer service to no avail, only to be met with lengthy hold times, lack of replies, or unclear guidance. This was the icing on the cake for an already maddening experience, especially when trying to return items or resolve assembly concerns.

"Impossible to get to speak to anyone in Flymo customer services." / "No instructions online, no one responding. Left it."

General Tone of Discontent

Even though many acknowledged that technologically, the Flymo Contour 500E could do the trick, it was encumbered with so many conditions that they considered it unsuitable, unreliably, or downright maddening to operate on a regular basis. For others, the only "solution" was to pawn it off at a loss or simply jump ship and purchase another version.

"Hard work gardening with this machine." / "I like to be honest in my reviews… but it's a huge waste of cash." / "Warning – do not buy this product."

Who Should Buy It

While the majority of customers were disappointed with the Flymo Contour 500E for its inability to perform well, there are a few scenarios when it would be appropriate for some customers:

✅ Light Gardening Tasks

If your garden is small and neat with short grass and little dense growth or edging required, this strimmer will be enough to complete lighter jobs. If the line is intact, the cutting is adequate, and it is certainly less expensive than top-of-the-range cordless or petrol strimmers.

✅ Trimmer Experts

Informed DIYers or gardeners familiar with line-feed systems—and not opposed to figuring out issues—might get fair value by coddling this tool, especially if they're okay with stopping to tweak the spool manually.

✅ Budget shoppers who are okay settling

If you only need a low-cost corded strimmer for occasional use, and you do know what you're giving up in terms of performance and reliability, then it may still be achieving something worthwhile for less than £75. But be prepared to do without comfort, simplicity of use, and endurance.

Who Should Not Buy It

For most users, the adverse criticisms identify very real issues of usability that make this product a poor option in the following situations:

❌ Anyone with Mobility or Strength Restrictions

The trigger mechanism requires steady grip strength, and the overall weight distribution is awkward to hold for a long time. This strimmer is not recommended for pensioners, or for anyone suffering from joint or grip issues.

❌ Gardeners Seeking Quick, Steady Performance

If you're looking to get through your weekend gardening without constant stops for line breakage, re-threading, or re-starting, this model will soon be a frustration source.

❌ Users Requiring Regular Edging Functionality

Although promoted as a dual-purpose tool (edging + strimming), this model does not work consistently in edging mode. If edging is important to you, you may be frustrated with the high line usage and poor cutting angle.

❌ Entry level or First-Time User

Assembly issues, confusing instructions, and poor clear online support make this a poor choice for newbies. The majority of consumers were frustrated right out of the box and gave up before they had a chance to even use it.

Conclusion for Potential Buyers

The Flymo Contour 500E is a lesson in inexpensive gardening equipment that delivers little when it promises much. On paper, it is good: twin line, mains cord convenience, and an in-built edging mode from a well-known name. In practice, however, its incessant line breaking, unwieldy handling, jerky controls, and limited lifespan leave many a buyer irritated and out of pocket.

Durability?

If you have a small garden and only cut thin grass from time to time, you can find some usefulness in it. However, if you require reliability, convenience, or durability, this is not the model to count on.

Ultimately, the majority of individuals would benefit from paying a little more for a battery-powered strimmer with improved line feed system and ergonomics. Brands like Bosch, Black & Decker, or Ryobi offer options with fewer complaints and longer durability.

⭐ Final Verdict: Inexpensive but full of compromises. Designed for the lightest work loads and mostly tolerant users only in our opinion.