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I had Stihl but have moved over to Milwaukee, I have their power tools and now have bought their garden tools which makes it easier with having just Milwaukee chargers. I find their stuff really well made.
I bought the 12V Milwaukee battery shears a few years ago, which are like secateurs/ loppers, somebody on here recommended them, always using them, still prefer normal secateurs for pruning thin stuff but the powered ones are amazing, saving so much effort. Also been impressed by the Makita 40V hedgetrimmer, been using the largest one in the range for the past year, I have 1 of the original high capacity batteries but recently got a 2Ah copy battery plus a genuine 2.5Ah, cut the side of a very long conifer hedge last week with it, had the Stihls in the truck but they didn't get a look in
What fails on them so that they need replacing? I've had an HSA86 for years and it just keeps going for years..... maybe I'm just lucky though I do grease the gears etc regularly.
Had several HSA86 over the years I found over time even with maintenance they got a bit rattly and a fresh-out-the-box one would be desirable after a couple of seasons. They have the ability to "punch above their weight" a bit which means often they got pushed beyond sensible limits and broke after a fair bit of abuse, also a lot of users didn't realise the gearbox requires a certain amount of cleaning & maintenance, at the end of the day they were made down to a price, but without the HSA86 the Stihl battery kit would never have taken off, it took years to catch on as it was. There are better more capable machines in the range now, I still use a HSA86 occasionally but compared to the newer models it feels dated, a 15+ year old design which a long time in battery kit, but a ground breaking one none the less
The Telescopic long reach HLA86 share the same motor, controller and blade as the shorter reach HLA66 I believe, they are ok on this year's fresh shoots but when reaching across the top of a hedge for example where there maybe neglected older growth or trying to cut it shorter I find they struggle on the hardened wood, with perseverance they will chew through it but you can tell it isn't doing them any favours, again an old design though slightly refreshed from the original HLA85, seen plenty of broken ones come up on Ebay, the newer type with the motor at the battery end are much more robust but reflected in the price of course