Long reach hedge trimmers can be on the heavy side. These robust tools are designed for power and durability, so shouldn’t be flimsy. Why settle for one when you can have it all? Introducing our grass and hedge trimmer combo – the ultimate tool for complete garden care. This may make them harder to use for more ‘everyday’ hedge trimming, when the extension isn’t required. So, either look for a manageable ‘un-extended’ length, or consider having a separate trimmer for close-range jobs. Battery Life

Cordless hedge trimmers: These are lightweight, quiet, environmentally friendly and have no need of petrol, engine maintenance or electricity plus there are no trailing cables to worry about. Without the cord or a petrol tank, you aren’t limited to where you can cut and although these were traditionally pretty pricey, recent advances have lowered their price. Expensive batteries and chargers however, can increase costs. Read our best cordless tools buyer's guide for more information on cordless tool systems.The protector at the tip of the blade allows you to cut safely, while the soft grip on the rear handle and multi-position front handle ensures it can be used for long periods of time with little discomfort. I would say that is a good tool with which to maintain a garden that has been well looked after, rather than one which (like ours) has been left to grow a bit wild.

And on that note, the battery life is pretty decent. It has a run time of between 50 minutes and an hour, while it takes just 50 minutes for the battery to fully recharge.In the past people were put off by battery powered tools due to the risk of loss of power before the task was complete. Nowadays batteries are more advanced and many tools and portable devices use lithium-ion (li-on) batteries. The quality of the cut and the action on the blades is excellent and will not let you down. You also have the dual safety switch, hand guard, electronic brake for your own safety along with the blade tip protector and shoulder strap for additional support. For a 2.0aH battery, it offers great power and runtime. That said, if you were going to be using this hedge trimmer for longer periods of time, it would be worth purchasing a larger battery for it. The included battery has an impressive run time of around 45 minutes, and after this time period your arms will certainly need a rest! It runs at about 96 dB, so although ear defenders are recommended, it’s not too loud that it’ll disturb your neighbours.

The first thing to note is the weight of this trimmer. At 2.5 kg, it’s one of the lightest on my list, and you can certainly tell. Despite this, it still boasts a decent blade that’s capable of cutting through branches up to 20 mm in diameter. There’s no telescopic function, but the blade is 58 cm, so you’ve still got a decent reach. It isn’t particularly heavy, and there’s a shoulder strap so even someone small can operate it confidently. Similarly to the Ryobi hedge trimmer, this Bosch Pole Hedge Trimmer has a battery that is interchangeable amongst other POWER FOR ALL products. What sets it apart from Ryobi, however, is that the POWER FOR ALL battery system isn’t exclusive to Bosch. You can power a whole host of great tool brands, all with just the one battery type.It doesn’t have quite the power of others I’ve recommended (which is obvious when you look at it!), but it comes with a 7.2 V lithium-ion battery that gives it a run time of 50 minutes. At just 1.3 kg, it’s easily lightweight enough to use for this amount of time. With Greenworks being a brand that specializes in battery-powered tools, I expected its battery to be better than those that come with other cordless hedge trimmers, and I was correct. A 2aH battery gave me 45 minutes of runtime – more than double that of the 2aH batteries from some other brands. Being a 40v battery also means that it’s more powerful than its 18v/20v competitors – something that you can clearly feel as soon as you turn the machine on. The main advantages of cordless hedge trimmers are their manoeuvrability and their weight. They can be taken anywhere because you’re not tethered to a plug, and they can be used for prolonged periods without causing fatigue.