Professional Tool Reviews for Pros

GIE 2021 was an eye-opener. After a year off, our visit to the Stihl booth revealed something we’ve been waiting for—legitimate Pro-level battery tools to replace gas. With the launch of the Stihl 135 platform, professional lawn care crews can finally make the move away from gas. It’s a really big deal now that California has set a date to stop selling gas lawn care equipment.

As a general rule of thumb, each member of the Stihl 135 platform is designed to give you performance equivalent to its 91 platform gas counterpart. It’s a really helpful metric to keep in mind as you’re deciding whether to replace some or all of the gas equipment on your trailer.

Another big change is that all of these tools can directly accept an AP 300 battery rather than connecting a battery adapter. It adds some weight back onto the tool, but you can eliminate the hip pouch for your battery and there’s a dummy pack adapter if you want to stick with one of the backpack battery options.

Then there’s the build. Each member of the 135 platform is specifically designed for commercial use with the build quality you expect from Stihl’s professional-grade equipment.

There are a couple of added bonuses here as well—the majority of the 135 lineup is made in the USA using domestic and global materials. They are also all designed to work seamlessly with the updated Smart Connector 2 A.

The Stihl 135 platform includes two new 16.5-inch brushless string trimmers: the FSA 135 and FSA 135 R. The only difference between them is the handle style. The FSA 135 is your bike handle design and the FSA 135 R is the D-handle.

Using an AP 300 battery, Stihl estimates between 25 and 45 minutes of runtime. Three speed settings near the throttle help you manage your battery usage.

As for price, expect the bare tool to run $409.99 for the D-handle and $459.99 for the bike handle.

The big deal for Stihl’s 135 platform edgers is that these are the first dedicated battery-powered edgers Stihl has produced! The two versions include a straight shaft and a curved shaft. As it typically goes with edgers, the straight shaft (FCA 140) is geared for more torque and the curved shaft (FCA 135) is geared for higher speed.

Expect bare tool pricing to run $359.99 for the FCA 135 and $409.99 for the FCA 140.

Three Pro-level hedge trimmers make their debut in the 135 platform and all are extended reach models. Matching the performance of the HL 94, the HLA 135 has a long shaft with a 145° pivot, the HLA 135 K (145°) has a short shaft with a 145° pivot, and the HLA 135 K (0°) has a short shaft with no pivoting action.

These brushless hedge trimmers each feature a 24-inch blade with three speed settings.

For bare tool pricing, the HLA 135 is $469.99, the HLA 135 K (0°) is $409.99, and the HLA 135 K (145°) is $439.99.

The HTA 135 pole pruner takes the magnesium gearbox from the HT 131 and the shaft from the HT 135 to create Stihl’s strongest battery pole pruner. It’s extendable up to 13 feet and the brushless motor runs the 10-inch bar and chain up to 45 minutes.

Expect the bare tool to run $609.99 from your local Stihl dealer.

The KMA 135 R KombiMotor has the same performance we saw from the KMA 130 R. That’s not a bad thing considering it was the multi-head unit that had the closest gas performance to anything else we tested. The big difference between the two is that the KMA 135 R has an onboard battery slot instead of the adapter connection. From there, it’s still capable of running 14 different KombiSystem attachments for folks who prefer a multi-tool approach to lawn care and landscaping.

For the powerhead on its own, the KMA 135R runs $359.99.

On the clock, Kenny dives deep to discover the practical limits and comparative differences for all kinds of tools. Off the clock, his faith and love for his family are his top priorities, and you'll typically find him in the kitchen, on his bike (he's an Ironman), or taking folks out for a day of fishing on Tampa Bay.

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Professional Tool Reviews for Pros