Spear & Jackson 4930FZ/09 Razorsharp Telescopic Tree Pruner

Product Information

I liked the fact that the pullies and mechanisms were all internal. I’ve used loppers before where the rope has got tangled or frayed and the mechanism dusty and dirty; this won’t happen with this tool. 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. The rope is external, and I believe it will likely fray after prolonged use. I found that the rope sometimes caught on the branches; I never had this problem with the Gardena Starcut 410 as that had an internal mechanism. They’re chrome-plated and made from carbon steel, resulting in a high-quality tool that can comfortably cut branches up to 6 mm. In some instances, the blades can cut up to 10 mm. The pole is extendable from 130 cm to 200 cm, and is suitable for both mid-range pruning, and cutting higher up. Of note is how easily the blades chopped through the branches; I didn’t need to use much strength due to the gearing system, which increases the pressure on the wood by a factor of twelve.

Telescopic tree pruners make neatening up your garden easy. They’re convenient, safe and easy to use; however, there are a lot of different styles to choose between. To make it easier to cut stems that are in awkward positions, the top section of the pruner can be adjusted through different angles. It’s therefore simpler to reach specific branches and stems. The cutting head also rotates, to help create precise, well-positioned cuts. It’s lightweight at only 2.1kg (4.6lbs), which is important as I recently spent the best part of two whole days pruning dozens of trees and bushes. I’ve seen competing products that weigh double and even triple this and I can only imagine how much arm ache the user would experience! This pruning tool also comes with a good quality blade cover so you can protect the blade from damage when not in use. The pole is very easy to extend to a maximum of 3 m, making this tool suitable for taller trees. The blade can be removed from the handle if you want to use it for handheld pruning.The blade is made from alloy steel and has sharp, solid serrations. There’s 4 cutting angles to choose from depending on what you are cutting and at what height. There’s no bypass mechanism. Instead, the branch is held in place while the two-way blade produces a smooth and clean cut. Manufacturers often overstate how high you can safely prune branches and while I’m 6ft2 and with a long reach, I was unable to reach any of the stated heights, even when I was standing on my toes! I suggest you look at the extended length of the pole rather than the “up to” cutting height, which is an estimate. 2) Only choose a cheap product for occasional use, they aren’t built to the same quality Unless you want a workout, sore arms and painful shoulders, I suggest you buy lightweight pruners if possible. Holding a heavy pole above your head isn’t an issue if you do it once but could be painful and awkward if you’re doing it all day. 4) Consider a telescopic pruner with a saw attachment 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.

Some telescopic/extendable pruners are manually powered. They have a ‘squeeze’ handle that causes the blades at the top to close and cut. As long as the blades are sharp enough, this shouldn’t be too hard on the hands. These manual pruners are usually best suited to cutting fresh, live stems/branches as opposed to woodier ones. They’ll work best on bushes, hedges and small, young trees. One small criticism would be with the number of plastic components on the pruners. Both the extender mechanism, and the cutting head angle adjuster, are plastic, which seems less durable than if all the important parts were made from metal. Most telescopic tree pruners for residential use will extend up to approximately 2 m. This tends to give enough reach for the majority of small trees and bushes without needing to use a step or telescopic ladder. Of course, if you have some trees that are slightly larger, you will be able to use the pruner in conjunction with a ladder as well. However, for the most part you won’t need to. 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.

There are also pruners on the market which extend further, up to 4m, and are ideal for taller trees. The presence of a motor increases its weight, so it’s not the lightest pruner at 3.8 kg, but there is a shoulder included to help make it more manageable. Whilst the strap does help to some extent, using the RPP750S still requires a fair amount of upper body strength. I’ve used the Gardena Starcut 410 Plus lopper to cut many hundreds of branches on trees and tall shrubs in 2022, and overall, I’m delighted with the tool’s performance. It only extends to 2.34m (7.64ft), and the average user will only be able to reach around 4m (13ft), which might not suit every garden.