Almost all 2 stroke trimmer engines rotate clockwise, looking from the top end of the engine. Accordingly a curved shaft trimmer will rotate "clockwise", looking down at the cutter head. A straight shaft trimmer with a gear box reverses direction, and hence turns "counter-clockwise", again looking from above.

There are some exceptions, such as a few Tanaka and other high end curved shaft, which spin the other way, so they are consistent with their line of straight shaft machines.

I have both, a cheapy Homelite SX135 curved shaft I use for light trimming, and two straight shaft for heavier work, an Echo SRM2100 semi-pro, and an Olympyk 400 professional. Everytime I switch machines it takes a few minutes to retrain the muscle memory and get comfortable again with the reverse rotation.

Suggest you look at several straight-shaft machines with a gear box head. Both Echo and Stihl make excellent machines starting in the low $200's.

So most straight shaft 2 cycles should spin counter clockwise? I will only buy a straight shaft since I use it around a large drainage ditch.

I did have a straight shaft 4 cycle Cub Cadet, but I got tired of it spraying my legs so I gave it away. Maybe it's just the 4 cycles that turn the "wrong way"? LOL

Have you looked at wheeled trimmers? One of those might be just the thing for a large drainage ditch. It would sure help keep the debris off your pants.

I have a DR wheeled trimmer, but one side of the ditch has a steep hill, and the trimmer tends to want to tip over.

I have seen the local highway department using an attachment on a tractor that has a hydraulic powered
rotary mower on an arm that the operator uses to trim
ditches. But maybe overkill for your situation.
Maybe a good dose of Roundup would help?

I have used RoundUp before, but ended up havings LOTS of erosion problems. A hand held trimmer is pretty much my only option.

I've heard many good things about the Echo trimmers, so I'll make sure to check them out.

Craftsman 71147 straight shaft looks like it does. It is made by Poulan, but straight shaft clockwise rotating trimmers are so rare (and so much less awkward to use) it is still worth mentioning. They are listed as being for light duty, but are also light weight, and only cost around $100.

You can tell they go clockwise by two things. One is looking at which side of the grass guard the the excess-string cut off blade is on, and then visualizing which direction the string must be going when it encounters the guard. The other is how the end of the shaft curves down to the bump head rather than going through a (direction reversing) puck-like gear head there.

The straight shaft units are made this way for safety reasons. The operator is cutting with the upper left quadrant with a blade, the machine is pulled into the work to prevent kickback. The direct drive curved shaft units are for trimming only, the shaft will never handle the load stresses imposed by a blade and they are cheaper to build.

Yes I've heard that. The straight shaft trimmers spin that way in case you install a brush cutting blade instead of the string, its supposed to be safer. But must people are just doing string trimming, and two or three times a year, on one of the main lawn site forums, somebody posts asking if anybody makes a clockwise spinning straight shaft trimmer because they are tired of having to walk backwards to control and aim their trimmer better.

I have been using an Echo curved shaft trimmer for years and sweep right to left so the trimmings are thrown away from me. We recently moved to an acreage and the little guy does not do the job so I upgraded to an Echo straight shaft (which I scrounged for free). I now have to train myself to sweep left to right ( not easy for me) or my pant legs are a filthy mess..

I ordered that Craftsman/Poulan 71147 mentioned above. Then I returned it. It was too short, and too heavy. It was four or five inches shorter than the old Poulan/Weedeater brand featherlite, and it's straight-shaft successors. And at 10.75 lbs, it was a couple of pounds heavier.

I found one of the old Homelite clockwise spinning trimmers on Craigslist, and am going to use that instead. It has a nice long reach and is lighter also. There is nothing I can find new that is comparable.