I initially bought it for pruning overhanging branches but have ended up pollarding numerous large neglected willows and for felling many other trees. 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. The Fiskars FSK1023624 PowerGear Telescopic Tree Pruner UPX86, a versatile tool that is perfect for both trade professionals and DIY enthusiasts. For cutting branches up to 32mm, I rate it 9/10, but sometimes I came across thicker branches and without a saw attachment, I couldn’t cut them and had to put my ladder up and saw off them the old-fashioned way. It’s worth noting that powered tools like this will never reach as high as my best pick, the Gardena Telescopic Pruner, for one reason – the weight of the cutting mechanism.

These tools make light work of tall tasks and you won’t have to go anywhere near a ladder or risk a fall. In 2022, I published a detailed review of the Gardena Starcut 410 Plus pruner on our blog, check out that review and the photos here. The Fiskars PowerGear™ X Telescopic Tree Pruner (UPX86) features an ingenious, power-boosting mechanism for each cut and an extendable shaft up to 4 meters, with a reach up to 6 meters.I liked the saw attachment that made chomping through thicker branches a breeze, and I liked the collapsed length of the pole – at 1. Experience easier cuts with PowerGear™ X technology 3x gear transmission, allowing for effortless and exact pruning without the need for a ladder or bending or straining knees. The gearing ratio is 12x, meaning only slight effort is enough to cut through tough stems up to 32mm (1. The one redeeming feature of this tool is the saw attachment which is great for cutting through thick branches, although expect to get tired and sore arms, I certainly did. This suits my requirements perfectly, and although somewhat more expensive than other makes it is well made and cuts branches very easily.

Some telescopic pruners have a saw attachment which, while it adds weight and bulk to the tool, is perfect for pruning thicker branches. If you have lots of high branches to prune off, you’ll be better off paying a bit more and choosing a more robust tool, ideally with a gearing system, so you don’t need to use brute force to cut through the branches. Not into Taking pictures of tools but it was one of the few on my ipad which my daughter had taken doing a bit of reportage! This pruner is designed to provide an extended reach for cutting fresh wood up to 32mm in diameter, making it an ideal tool for maintaining tree crowns and dense bushes. Some of the willows had branches over 12 inches in diameter (and were very rotten ) but you can cut from behind and out of harms way.This tree pruner has a good long handle (4 metres) so with suitable ladders and your own reach has a very acceptable long reach for pruning tree branches etc.