Don, I did some reading about that Black & Decker battery powered trimmer; thought I might want one, never tried one, but the best I could figure, two batteries wouldn't last long enough to do our yards. My Stihl dealer called the "Easy Start" system the "Granny" start. I told him us old Grandpas need it, too. Now I've not seen one apart, nor even an exploded view, so I can't say for sure exactly what's in there, but I'm pretty sure the dealer explained it right. When you pull the rope, you are not turning the engine; you're winding a spring. So it does get a little harder to pull as you go, but you can pull just as slow as you want to, even stop, let the cord retract, and pull again, if you wish. But there's a release of some kind in there, and when the spring reaches a certain point, it releases, and it's that spring that spins the engine. You can even lay it on the ground and hold it down with one hand and pull with the other, if you wish, because you don't have to hold the throttle; it has a catch that you can set before pulling the rope. It sure beats any rope pull starters I've had in the past.
I also asked the dealer about the shoulder strap and he threw in TWO free. I used one several times, before hanging it up in the storage building 'cause it's a lot faster, easier, and more comfortable without it. /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif
