Jams,
I got the 4 cycle at Lowes and it never cost any more than the old 2 cycle that I had before. Weight isn't bad either and with a strap around my shoulder I can run it with one hand. I have had them every since the first electric ones came out and this is by far the best one I have ever had. The 4 cycle is more or less mandated by California Emissions Board and they even had to change the garden tractors and other things to meet their requirements. If you have an older one you can still use it, but anything newer has to meet this states requirements. The string rewind alone was worth the price to me as I hated having to get the dirt and dust off the old one and then take the spool out and rewind it by hand. And I always managed to get a loop on top of another so about half way through a new load of string it would quit feeding and I would have to take it apart again and get my string straight.
Ron
