Anyone recommend a hedge trimmer?

[caorach]

My girlfriend has an electric hedge trimmer which is OK but not fantastic.

Was considering getting her a new one as she has made something of a habit of planting and growing hedges and now has some sort of arboretum thing going on. No idea why that seemed like a good idea.

Are the "cordless" battery trimmers any good? Are they up to fairly heavy duty use? Are the any makes/models etc. of corded worth looking at? As you can imagine this will get used like any other device - i.e. she will do some stuff that it is designed for but also try to use it for cutting down trees

For simplicity I'm not really thinking about a petrol as there is no where out here to service one or for spares etc. plus I guess they are heavier than an electric one but I'm open to suggestions.

 

[Uncle f]

Stihl lithium ion range mate you will not go wrong. I use there chainsaws and trimmers. Buy a couple of 36 volt batteries and chargers (most expense) then just add bodies which are quite cost effective believe it or not

 

[novicedeerhunter]

Do you have a petrol chainsaw? That's what I use when the 'mature hedges' in my garden get too 'mature'

 

[reloader54]

Do you have a petrol chainsaw? That's what I use when the 'mature hedges' in my garden get too 'mature'

an untrained woman with a chainsaw horror movie stuff right there.
I would definitely keep an eye on the calendar.
and when she puts the protective trousers on and asks "does my bum look big in these,??" think man before you answer.

 

[kes]

I have 2 one is a Mitox multitool Has pole chain saw, a pole hedge cutter and a strimmer. Useful but not up to big stuff - anything above 1/4 ".
I have a stihl which is a bit stronger but still takes a little while to cut 1/2 ".
I am also after a battery one which can cut decent stuff. I find my big stihl strimmer is good at hedging but just new growth - havent tried it with a brushcutter as its rather unweildy hedgecutting.
Both are about 2 hours cutting for me ebfore the weight now gets to me. Looking to get a hedgetrimmer for the tractor to save all this hassle and time.

 

[novicedeerhunter]

an untrained woman with a chainsaw horror movie stuff right there.
I would definitely keep an eye on the calendar.
and when she puts the protective trousers on and asks "does my bum look big in these,??" think man before you answer.

A chain saw is definately in the Man-Sphere of jobs around the house. It falls in the same category as a petrol lawn mower, cordless power tools, anything with the word 'saw' in it, sharp edges...... if you have to wear gloves, it's a woman's job. And that's just science.... I didn't say anything about actually letting the fairer sex use any if the above!

 

[devon deer stalker]

Stihl lithium ion range mate you will not go wrong. I use there chainsaws and trimmers. Buy a couple of 36 volt batteries and chargers (most expense) then just add bodies which are quite cost effective believe it or not

My mate has just sold all his petrol Stihl stuff and bought the Stihl lithium range with extra batteries, I have used it and I am impressed by it, but I will stick with the petrol stuff for now, I can't afford the change just yet.
You can get good deals from Radmoore and Tucker
Cheers
Richard

 

[paul o']

Stihl long arm petrol all day long if I had to use it for work , but odd jobs the battery one will be just the ticket .

 

[enfieldspares]

If you haven't got one please do get a circuit breaker. For both your sakes. At the "big" house we used an old electric Tarpen Trimmer. It'd easily cut branches up to 1/8".

 

[reloader54]

A chain saw is definately in the Man-Sphere of jobs around the house. It falls in the same category as a petrol lawn mower, cordless power tools, anything with the word 'saw' in it, sharp edges...... if you have to wear gloves, it's a woman's job. And that's just science.... I didn't say anything about actually letting the fairer sex use any if the above!

you'll notice I said "untrained" there's a reason for that, I had two female qualified operators on a job once and they were a joy to behold, every time they did a job it went without a single hitch,saws were perfectly maintained, safety procedures followed to the letter, which is more than be said for some of the other operators who after watching them for an hour was enough to pay 'em off and look elsewhere.
ever met a girl who can out shoot you?? I have. and she didn't wear gloves.

 

[Lever357]

I have used a Stihl HS45 for 7 years and yes it is petrol, but touch wood I have never had an issue with it. Don't buy a cheap one - I did that and had no end of bother. When a friend who services gear looked at it he said the carb was very basic and the jets were not engineered at all.
Available for about £200,well worth it.

 

[novicedeerhunter]

you'll notice I said "untrained" there's a reason for that, I had two female qualified operators on a job once and they were a joy to behold, every time they did a job it went without a single hitch,saws were perfectly maintained, safety procedures followed to the letter, which is more than be said for some of the other operators who after watching them for an hour was enough to pay 'em off and look elsewhere.
ever met a girl who can out shoot you?? I have. and she didn't wear gloves.

Oh dear..... my tongue in cheek comment seems to have ruffled a feather or two.

For the record, yes I have met women who can out shoot me. As an athlete I've had women out perform in both strength and endurance competition. My wife is smarter than me. And not one of them have ever risen to the bait when cheeky comments are made. I've worked in environments where men and women work alongside each other in dangerous situations and none (men or women) were found lacking. Nearly all were equal in every way. Weird thing is, the banter between the sexes could be easily described as brutal, provocative and deliberate in its use to cause offence. Yet no offence was taken nor were complaints made......

 

[User00040]

Honda 4-stroke. Unlike some 2-stroke options it is not too high revving and you don't have to remember to add 2-stroke oil. Easy to start too.

Only disadvantage is they are heavy and expensive.

 

[reloader54]

Oh dear..... my tongue in cheek comment seems to have ruffled a feather or two.

For the record, yes I have met women who can out shoot me. As an athlete I've had women out perform in both strength and endurance competition. My wife is smarter than me. And not one of them have ever risen to the bait when cheeky comments are made. I've worked in environments where men and women work alongside each other in dangerous situations and none (men or women) were found lacking. Nearly all were equal in every way. Weird thing is, the banter between the sexes could be easily described as brutal, provocative and deliberate in its use to cause offence. Yet no offence was taken nor were complaints made......

i'm sure your ruffled feathers will be back to normal pretty soon, possibly around the time you realise you jumped to the wrong conclusion. my comment ended with winking emoji in case you hadn't noticed, it happens sometimes with a phone app.

 

[User00035]

Cordless Husqvarnas are excellent trimmers, but not cheap. They're so much lighter than petrol engines and much less tiring to use, especially on big wide hedges where you have to stretch.
Don't be tempted by cheap Chinese versions like Mitox. They won't last.

 

[rem284]

Dont buy a makita petrol trimmrer. I had one from new and after a week it was falling to bits. I know have a old rebuit proffessioal husqvarna and touch wood its been ok

 

[kes]

Cordless Husqvarnas are excellent trimmers, but not cheap. They're so much lighter than petrol engines and much less tiring to use, especially on big wide hedges where you have to stretch.
Don't be tempted by cheap Chinese versions like Mitox. They won't last.

My Mitox has now lasted me 10 years - the only troubles I have had is the seal on the 2 stroke tank and the carburettor has a habit of going out of tune. One fixed £30 and the other a spanner from t'internet for £6.00. Couldnt afford Stihl at the time but it was a v good purchase.

 

[User00035]

My Mitox has now lasted me 10 years - the only troubles I have had is the seal on the 2 stroke tank and the carburettor has a habit of going out of tune. One fixed £30 and the other a spanner from t'internet for £6.00. Couldnt afford Stihl at the time but it was a v good purchase.

I was thinking more of the rechargeable ones. Some Chinese stuff is OK but it depends how hard it's used. It sounds like the OP's is going to live a harder life than the average domestic hedge trimmer, in which case I'd go for commercial quality.

With petrol tools, it's often not the engines you have to worry about (so long as they're man enough for the what you want to do with them) so much as the general build and design quality of the rest of it. I bought a heavy duty Stiga brush cutter a few months back. It's got a 44cc Kawasaki engine which I can't fault. Bags of power, should be bomb-proof and is even quite economical. It's the bits that Stiga made that are more doubtful. Quite a few silly design niggles, like a badly designed locking mechanism on the handlebars which keeps coming loose, and the harness started to fall apart in the first week. I wish I'd spent more really and bought one that was all Kawasaki.

 

[takbok]

Dont buy a makita petrol trimmrer. I had one from new and after a week it was falling to bits. I know have a old rebuit proffessioal husqvarna and touch wood its been ok

Funny that, I've got an old Makita petrol pole trimmer that's fantastic. It started first pull on Saturday after not running for over a year and ran through 2 tanks of petrol without problems.

 

[Wapinschaw]

My mate has just sold all his petrol Stihl stuff and bought the Stihl lithium range with extra batteries, I have used it and I am impressed by it, but I will stick with the petrol stuff for now, I can't afford the change just yet.
You can get good deals from Radmoore and Tucker
Cheers
Richard

Have a look at the Oregon 36v battery tools at Radmore & Tucker. I have the hedge trimmer and pole saw, very effective, quiet, hardly any vibration. Not cheap with the 6.0ah battery but well made.