# Echo PAS-2620



## ionicatoms (Mar 8, 2020)

My new Echo PAS-2620 is being delivered tomorrow. I'm pretty excited because I've never had a stick edger before. I already ordered the Darwin's grip and the straight shaft edging attachment.

Anybody have lessons learned or tips they want to offer? (I know about the PRS, but didn't order it yet.)


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## Ribs33 (Aug 29, 2019)

As the blade wears you'll notice that the tip of the blade on the grass side (not the sidewalk side) will start to kind of curl over and form a "lip". In my experience, that lip will start to leave the edges of the grass brown due to the formed "lip" tearing the blades of grass from the side.

To mitigate that browning of the grass edges, I keep that lip ground off by holding the edge of the blade against the side of a curb and letting the concrete grind the lip back down so it's flat again. It doesn't take much pressure, or very long to do, but makes all the difference from my own experience anyway. Of course, you could remove the blade and use an angle grinder with a flap disc to grind back to flat, but the curb approach is so much faster, and simple.


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## ionicatoms (Mar 8, 2020)

@Ribs33 great tip! Thanks!


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## ionicatoms (Mar 8, 2020)

So far, so good. I've used the straight shaft trimmer, straight shaft edger, and the blower.

Plenty of power for edging. Blowing is fine so far; will see how it does after my oak trees drop leaves early next year.

I think the operator's manuals for all the Echo products I've bought so far are really excellent. I like the parts catalog too.


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## ionicatoms (Mar 8, 2020)

This seems obvious in retrospect, but after edging and blowing last night, I can confirm that wearing ear protection is appropriate even for light/moderate uses.


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## ionicatoms (Mar 8, 2020)

I used the string trimmer on my pavers today. Trimmer came pre-loaded with string. The string didn't hold up super well against pavers. I'm curious to know if better string would hold up longer.

After using the edger, the blower, and the string trimmer today, I'm very thankful for the large fuel tank on this powerhead.

Still very satisfied with my purchase.


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## ionicatoms (Mar 8, 2020)

Installed the Darwin's Grips (V4) today.


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## ionicatoms (Mar 8, 2020)

Got the PAS Cultivator attachment today. Holy cow that thing is awesome! I killed an area with roundup awhile back. The cultivator ate through it, no problem.


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## ionicatoms (Mar 8, 2020)

Tried my hand at hedge trimming. Picked up the Echo Mid-Reach trimmer attachment for the PAS. I don't know that anybody would pay me to trim their hedge, but it seems like it's going to meet my immediate need fairly well. I only trimmed the one bush so far.


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## ionicatoms (Mar 8, 2020)

I tried turning the string trimmer upside down to edge and didn't really enjoy it much. For one thing the power head was right by my ear and I wasn't wearing hearing protection. But more significantly, it felt like an odd way to edge after using the blade for so long. I may try it again. Perhaps with the guard off. I don't know. Still a really great system.


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## ionicatoms (Mar 8, 2020)

Got the bed redefiner attachment for PAS today. This attachment is very heavy, but it does the job. The PAS-2620 has plenty of power despite the mass of the attachment. I can see why they called it a bed redefiner, but "stick trencher" seems to be the clearest delineation from the "stick edger" variant. Speaking of edging, this kit came with an edging blade and instructions for how to swap the blades. I guess you COULD get along without a separate edging attachment, but not sure why anybody would want to. I posted photos in my journal for anybody who is looking for more information.


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## fortyeightjake (Sep 8, 2020)

Looks like you're going all in on the attachments. I was close to pulling the trigger on the Echo system but ended up with a Stihl Kombi. I only have the standard string trimmer and bed redefiner so far.

That Darwin's Grip handle looks nice, I may give that a shot. And regarding trimmer string, I bought some of this last year and love it.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/ECHO-095-Black-Diamond-Trimmer-Line-253-ft-Large-Clam-330095071/300456136?source=shoppingads&locale=en-US&&mtc=Shopping-BF-F_D28I-G-D28I-028_037_OUTDR_PW_ACC-NA-NA-NA-SMART-NA-NA-SMART_SHP&cm_mmc=Shopping-BF-F_D28I-G-D28I-028_037_OUTDR_PW_ACC-NA-NA-NA-SMART-NA-NA-SMART_SHP-71700000079956011-58700006728091443-92700070320893307&gclid=Cj0KCQjwyMiTBhDKARIsAAJ-9VsWyln80qGtpkrEpeGMvse9MCO4d9HGthgw3cCUqx32XtHK64U57vAaAsTEEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds


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## ionicatoms (Mar 8, 2020)

fortyeightjake said:


> Looks like you're going all in on the attachments. I was close to pulling the trigger on the Echo system but ended up with a Stihl Kombi. I only have the standard string trimmer and bed redefiner so far.
> 
> That Darwin's Grip handle looks nice, I may give that a shot. And regarding trimmer string, I bought some of this last year and love it.
> 
> https://www.homedepot.com/p/ECHO-095-Black-Diamond-Trimmer-Line-253-ft-Large-Clam-330095071/300456136?source=shoppingads&locale=en-US&&mtc=Shopping-BF-F_D28I-G-D28I-028_037_OUTDR_PW_ACC-NA-NA-NA-SMART-NA-NA-SMART_SHP&cm_mmc=Shopping-BF-F_D28I-G-D28I-028_037_OUTDR_PW_ACC-NA-NA-NA-SMART-NA-NA-SMART_SHP-71700000079956011-58700006728091443-92700070320893307&gclid=Cj0KCQjwyMiTBhDKARIsAAJ-9VsWyln80qGtpkrEpeGMvse9MCO4d9HGthgw3cCUqx32XtHK64U57vAaAsTEEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds


I sort of gave up on the string trimmer. I did buy some new string, but didn't really put it to the test on the pavers. This year I'm trying chemical control on the pavers and so far it's ok. Don't think the wife is happy about it though.

The Darwin's grip is good. It doesn't resolve all the ergonomic issues of the PAS-2620, but I would still buy it again.

I'm buying the PAS attachments as I go, depending on the need. The bed redefiner seemed too pricey for a long time, but after using a half-moon to edge 200 feet last year it now seems tolerable to spend $300 on it.

I maintain this thread for others who may be considering the 2620. From what I've read, there's not much difference between the Stihl and the Echo, but figure somebody might be interested in a little more detail.


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## fortyeightjake (Sep 8, 2020)

I would've liked to test drive both if I had the chance. Definitely keep the thread going, I prefer reviews like this over the typical Youtube video where they show 2 minutes of use and say its great.


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## ionicatoms (Mar 8, 2020)

Wife was very happy with the results of the bed redefiner.



Despite the infrequent need to redefine beds (I usually do this once per year), having this tool opens the possibility of doing the beds more frequently. I'm fully convinced now that if you have a lot of living edges like I do, this tool is worth the money.


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