They are also fairly comfortable to hold, although noticeably less strong when fully extended. There’s a comfortable non-slip foam grip at the end and in the middle of the handle, so it can be operated with two hands. To make it easier to cut stems that are in awkward positions, the top section of these pruners can be adjusted, giving you greater manoeuvrability and allowing you to reach specific stems.

Product Review – Fiskars UPX82 PowerGear X Tree Pruner Product Review – Fiskars UPX82 PowerGear X Tree Pruner

Instead of allowing free adjustability between its lengths, you can only one of three positions: no extension, half extended or fully extended. Therefore, there are some limitations. For those who wish to orient their bypass action pruners the ‘right way’ when pruning, with the bright orange jaw, it’s really easy even high in a tree where visibility is not the best.The grip at the end of the handle is also an actuating ball which can be pulled to close the blades and perform a cut. This way both hands can hold the pole pruner at the very end for maximum reach, and one hand can pull on the orange handle at the base to work the blade action. Quite innovative! The handle extends from 1.37 m to 2.5 m, so you can neaten up hedges as well as tall trees. Weighing just 1 kg in total, it’s easy to use these pruners comfortably for long periods of time.

Fiskars FSK1023624 PowerGear Telescopic Tree Pruner UPX86 - FFX

If you’re after a set of pruners with a simple mechanism, the Sunorchid Telescopic Tree Pruners are worth considering. These pruners have a dual use pruning saw that can be used either for pruning tall trees or as a handheld tool for neatening bushes at eye level. Just for the sake of size comparison, I leaned both the longer and shorter versions of this pruner against the wall, and the size difference is phenomenal! The long, extendable pole pruner at its shortest, collapsed length is 2.4m (8’), compare to the shorter fixed length pole pruner which is a mere 1.65m (5.5’). Incidentally, the new updated model is available both lengths, choose whichever length is more suitable! Product Assessment Nevertheless, weighing just under 1 kg, it’s one of the best telescopic tree pruners in terms of manageability; not only because it’s easy to hold, but also because it’s well balanced and allows good control whilst pruning. The lopper comes with a three-metre lightweight aluminium telescopic handle which has a PVC sleeve for extra comfort. It is the only telescopic tree pruner in our review that has an anvil-style lopper. This type of cutter crushes the branch so don’t expect a clean cut. This anvil tree pruner cuts branches up to 38mm in diameter which is 8mm more than most other models.

Fiskars FSK1023624 32mm 6m Telescopic Tree Pruner - 1023624

Prune your tree branches and straggly high bushes safely with a long reach tree pruner. The products in our review are in a range of prices and extendable lengths to meet most people’s needs, from gardeners with just a few trees to look after to professional landscapers. Whether you choose to lop off your branches or to saw them, do it safely. Nevertheless, it’s a powerful tool and can be invaluable whilst pruning bigger branches – it’s just a case of making sure you can control it properly. With a blade that cuts and holds whatever gets pruned, the ARS 160ZP Long Reach Pruner is great for dead-heading, manicuring and harvesting. Instead of instantly dropping the pruned material on the spot, where it will never be found again, the blades allow you to have more control over where it will be placed. We have an anvil lopper in our review, the Wolf Garten Anvil Tree Pruner. Anvil loppers have a blade that closes against a metal anvil that’s on the lower jaw and is softer than the blade. Anvil loppers require less manual power on your part to operate than other kinds of loppers. However, anvil loppers tend to crush the material they cut, so only use them where you don’t need a clean cut. For instance, when you’re shortening a branch before cutting it off entirely. Saws The third tree I tested the pruners on were a white sapote, which tends to have ragged fibrous edges on the pruning cuts when tools aren’t sharp enough, and I managed nice clean pruning cuts on this tree also. More on this tree in a moment!