My 31cc Craftsman line trimmer crapped out on me, so it looks like I'm in
the market for a new one.

I know you are asking for a string trimmer. But I would like to add
that I find a cordless trimmer (6.something volt with detachable long
handle bar and come with a shear attachment to trim shrubs -- from
Craftman) that works very well in my 1/4 acre property. The battery
has enough juice for me to trim my yard or trim the shrubs (not doing
both on the same day) with juice to spare.

The other good thing is that it is very quiet. I can use it early in
the morning on Saturday when I cannot start my lawn mower and I don't
have anything else to do.

Because it doesn't use gas, I think I don't need to winterize it. Even
if I need to store it in my basement in winter, it is so small that I
will not have any problem storing it.

The only down side is that the long handle bar is not long enough for
a person who is near 6 ft tall.

There is another cordless model from Black and Decker (available in
Home Depot) -- don't pick that one! That one is so under-powered that
it kept jamming when I tried to use it to trim grass. Moreover I had
to use one finger to hold down the safety switch _while_ I used
another finger to press the power switch -- and doing this
two-fingers-dance the whole time when I was using it.

After saying this, I must point out that I am only using it in my
small 1/4 acre property. I can imagine that it will still work fine in
a 1/2 acre property (buying two and using one after another). If your
property is bigger than that, I don't know whether it will work for
you or not.

Hope this helps.

Jay Chan