Telescopic Hedge Trimmer Choices
Telescopic hedge trimmers come in three types; electric, petrol or battery.
Electric Telescopic Hedge Trimmers
Obviously electric is the easiest to use (with a power breaker of course, especially in wet weather), but that would not help on allotments with no source of electricity.
Petrol Telescopic Hedge Trimmers
The second option is a petrol powered one, which is usually the most powerful, but there are a few disadvantages to be aware of – pulling the cord of the starter can be difficult, the noise is deafening (that’s why they advise you to buy a set of ugly ear muffs) and it can arouse the neighbours ire, and they tend to be expensive, heavy and smokey (if you don’t get the correct petrol / oil mix).
Battery Powered Telescopic Hedge Trimmers
The battery operated telescopic hedge cutter – a relative newcomer to the market, they are light weight and versatile and my preferred choice. At the moment there are only four manufacturers to choose from:
Black and Decker – have a classic orange model which retails at £120 (on offer) – I could only find it in their own outlets which makes it difficult to obtain and leaves no room for price competition.
Flymo – also have a model in classic orange Flymo colours, also with a price tag of £120, but it is widely available on Amazon at a reduced price of £95. You can view and buy it here
I found another two on Amazon sold by less common household names;
One sold by GTECH at £187 , and the other by Garden Gear @£79 incl. delivery available to buy here
The Decision;
I felt the one sold by GTECH was out of my price range, this is not a tool that I will be using regularly and for occasional use £187 was too much to spend at the moment.
Although they all have 18V rechargeable batteries the Flymo still has the old fashioned Nicad type battery, these lose their charge when not in use. I find this a major drawback, because if you just decide to do a little job now you will have to wait for it to recharge. The others have a modern Lithium – ion battery which does not lose its charge by just sitting around and would therefore be ready whenever needed.
This drawback removed the Flymo from the semi- finals, I was now down to the final choice . I chose the Garden Gear over the Black & Decker (my wife says because it was £16 cheaper!) but really it was because the Black & Decker has only 12mm cutting teeth whilst the Garden Gear has 16mm cutting teeth, when cutting high up there you will often encounter slightly thicker twigs and the wider teeth are definitely a plus.
It arrived within a couple of days ,and it worked well, the problem is that since the motor is on the top of the pole it can feel quite heavy, although the extra sling shoulder belt does help, – my advice is to do just a small section at a time (and the neighbours won’t even notice!).
As it saved me buying a new ladder and stretching over into private territory, I think it is quite a good investment as stretching from a ladder with a heavy tool can be a dangerous acrobatic feat. This way I can keep my feet steady on the ground with my head facing the clouds.
Recommended!!
Happy Gardening
Boris Legarni .
