These tools make light work of tall tasks and you won’t have to go anywhere near a ladder or risk a fall. I'm only cutting upto 4" with mine and I think it'll be just as fast as a sthil as its not heavy or as bulky plus no petrol ! Introducing the Fiskars FSK1023624 PowerGear Telescopic Tree Pruner UPX86, a versatile tool that is perfect for both trade professionals and DIY enthusiasts. Draper is a well-known budget tool manufacturer, and I’ve tested many of their products over the years. I found this telescopic pruner to be surprisingly lightweight, and as the battery is located at the bottom of the pole, I felt it was well balanced too.

I would highly recommend it if you have tall, but still young enough, trees to cut or keep in shape.Manufacturers often overstate how high you can safely prune branches and while I’m 6ft2 and with a long reach, I was unable to reach any of the stated heights, even when I was standing on my toes! We’ve only used it to trim a few things so far, lovely smooth action and good quality piece of equipment. Consenting to these technologies will allow us and our partners to process personal data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site and show (non-) personalized ads.

Some telescopic pruners have a saw attachment which, while it adds weight and bulk to the tool, is perfect for pruning thicker branches. I did find the orange plastic knob at the base sometimes comes off while using the lopper, which was a bit annoying, but otherwise it was very useful, and it cuts very smoothly. Daniel has over 18 years of experience in the construction, home improvement, and landscape garden industries. The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.The tool has two handles which activate the cutting blades, and I found myself using the one at the end of the pole for higher branches and the sliding handle on the shaft of the pole for the lower branches. The Fiskars FSK1023624 PowerGear Telescopic Tree Pruner UPX86 is sold as a single unit, weighing a manageable 1900g.

Of note is how easily the blades chopped through the branches; I didn’t need to use much strength due to the gearing system, which increases the pressure on the wood by a factor of twelve. Having used this tool briefly at a demonstration in a garden centre, I feel the build quality isn’t quite as good as the Gardena Starcut 410 and I didn’t like the exposed mechanism but the reviews and ratings online are comparable and it’s worth considering if you’re on a budget.

I rate this tool highly for its ability to chew through thicker branches at height, but it’s just as useful for smaller stems found on shrubs and bushes. The one slight drawback is that they are not so easy to control when fully extended but I am sure this will become easier with practice.

On Friday 26 January, we’re holding a webinar for farmers where we'll be going through the actions and payments available through our Environmental Land Management schemes in 2024. A few years ago I made a pruning saw up out of four alloy poles that pushed together with a blade attached. We recently purchased a pole saw from the Stihl Kombi system, handy for taking off overhanging branches for the post driver.I only recommend this tree pruner for occasional usage on branches up to 4m (13ft) above ground level. After conducting an analysis of hundreds of reviews and ratings online, Daniel selected the Gardena Starcut 410 Pruner for testing over a four-day period in June and July 2022.