1.6 mm vs 2.4 mm strimmer line
Updated: October 2026
The 1.6 mm line snapped again on the patio edge, and the thicker reel looks like the cure. 1.6mm vs 2.4mm strimmer line is a decision about the machine first and the weeds second. Stay at 1.6 mm when the manual and the eyelet say 1.6 mm. Move to 2.4 mm only when the trimmer is rated for it. Peter F. compared amazon.co.uk listings on 19 October 2026 and did not run a lab test. Confirmed 1.6 mm shoppers can use the [1.6 mm strimmer line comparison](/hub/lawn-and-garden-equipment/1-6mm-strimmer-line).
The 1.6 mm line snapped again on the patio edge, and the thicker reel looks like the cure. 1.6mm vs 2.4mm strimmer line is a decision about the machine first and the weeds second.
The 1.6 mm line snapped again on the patio edge, and the thicker reel looks like the cure. 1.6mm vs 2.4mm strimmer line is a decision about the machine first and the weeds second. Stay at 1.6 mm when the manual and the eyelet say 1.6 mm. Move to 2.4 mm only when the trimmer is rated for it. Peter F. compared amazon.co.uk listings on 19 October 2026 and did not run a lab test. Confirmed 1.6 mm shoppers can use the 1.6 mm strimmer line comparison.
Our top picks
| Badge | Product | Profile | Stated diameter | Stated length | Note | Price | Offer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best overall |  Oregon Oregon (Star, 15 m) | Star | 1.6 mm | 15 m | 7.2 | about £8.28 | View offer |
 SOL SOL (1.6 mm, two-pack) | Not stated | 1.6 mm | 40 m in the title; 20 m in the size field | 8.0 | about £5.99 | View offer | |
| Best value |  FEPITO FEPITO (Round, 30 m) | Round | 1.6 mm | 30 m | 7.8 | about £3.79 | View offer |
On this page
When 1.6 mm is the right line
1.6 mm is the light domestic size. Yourspares puts 1.5–1.6 mm with electric and cordless trimmers used on edges and light weeds. That is retailer guidance, not a British Standard. Star line at the same 1.6 mm, such as Oregon’s five-edge 15 m donut, is a sharper profile for longer grass. It is not a secret route to 2.4 mm strength.
You will still break 1.6 mm. FEPITO’s reviews include snaps on a concrete edge. Zeqeey’s reviews include snaps on nettles. Those reports do not rewrite the manual. If the head is marked 1.6 mm, check the buying guide before you buy. A 100 m reel of the same diameter gives you more spare line. It does not give you a thicker cut.
When 2.4 mm is the right line
2.4 mm is for thicker grass on a machine that states 2.4 mm, or a range that includes it. Yourspares places about 2.0–2.4 mm with tougher growth on more powerful machines. A small cordless trimmer sold for 1.6 mm is not that machine.
Kramp’s chart maps about 25–35 cm³ two-strokes toward about 2.3–2.7 mm. It does not cover a battery trimmer. If the engine size and the manual both point at 2.4 mm, buy a listing that says 2.4 mm. This category will not show you those ASINs.
What goes wrong if you swap them
Put 2.4 mm into a 1.6 mm eyelet and the line often will not feed. Toolbuyerhub describes the next stage: the oversized cord ovalises the eyelet, and later even the correct line snaps at that damaged exit. Line that is too thin breaks. Line that is too thick strains the drive and may never advance.
On a cordless trimmer the same overload shows up as a head that stalls, a battery that finishes early, and a bump feed that clicks without releasing line. Winding the thick line more carefully does not fix that. The steps for a correct 1.6 mm refill are on the how to load page. If snaps continue on the right diameter, sort contact and dried nylon on strimmer line keeps snapping.
A middle step
Some manuals print a range, such as 1.6–2.0 mm. You can move to 2.0 mm if the eyelet accepts it. You cannot read the top of that range as 2.4 mm. Star-profile 1.6 mm is the other middle step when the problem is a ragged cut, not a paving slab.
If the manual says 1.6 mm, buy 1.6 mm. If it says 2.4 mm and the vegetation needs it, do not shop this category. The manual still decides whether a thicker line is allowed.
Common questions
Can I put 2.4 mm line on a 1.6 mm strimmer?
Only if the manual lists 2.4 mm. A head and eyelet marked 1.6 mm are built for the thin cord. Forcing 2.4 mm through that hole risks a jammed feed and a damaged eyelet, and it loads a small motor with line it was not sold to swing. The snaps you are trying to stop are often the paving or dried nylon, which a wrong diameter does not fix.
Will thicker line stop it snapping on paving?
Thicker line survives hard contact better, and it still snaps if you hold it against a slab, a wall, or a kerb. Yourspares and Toolbuyerhub both treat obstacles as a cause of breaks, separate from diameter. On a 1.6 mm machine, the first change is to keep the cord in the grass and off the concrete. Upsizing is the second change, and only inside the sizes the manual prints.
Is 2.4 mm quieter or harder on the battery?
We have no measurement that 2.4 mm is quieter. A thicker cord is more mass on a small head, so a cordless trimmer often works harder and the battery finishes sooner. Oregon’s noise percentage is a seller claim about one thin round line, not a 1.6 mm versus 2.4 mm test. If runtime matters, stay at the diameter the manual gives for that machine.
What is 0.095 inch in millimetres, and is that this category?
0.095 inch is about 2.4 mm. It is not the 1.6 mm class, and it is not 0.065 inch, which is about 1.65 mm. A steel-core line sold around 2.4 mm / 0.095 inch was removed from this comparison. If you need that thickness, you need a trimmer rated for it. Listings here are the thin nylon reels.
Does star 1.6 mm replace round 2.4 mm?
No. Star line at 1.6 mm is still 1.6 mm, with more cutting edges. Oregon sells that profile for medium and long grass on a head that can feed it. It can cut more cleanly than round line of the same diameter. It does not take the place of 2.4 mm on a machine built for 2.4 mm, and it will not turn a 1.6 mm eyelet into a brushcutter.
Related pages
Sources
Public UK sources named in the research digest. Amazon prices, stars and review counts are the eight listings captured on 19 October 2026.
- Yourspares — how to choose strimmer line (retrieved 19.10.2026)
- Yourspares — strimmer line sizes explained (retrieved 19.10.2026)
- Yourspares — strimmer line keeps breaking (retrieved 19.10.2026)
- ManoMano UK — trimmer line buying guide (retrieved 19.10.2026)
- STIHL UK — grass trimmer PPE (retrieved 19.10.2026)
- STIHL UK — replacing trimmer line (retrieved 19.10.2026)
- Husqvarna UK — how to reload trimmer line (retrieved 19.10.2026)
- HSE — INDG480 hand-arm vibration in horticulture (retrieved 19.10.2026)