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I use Sthil...it's all good. I'm in the process of moving from the standard range to the AP range as the old kit dies....it's now around 4 years old
hi dickyjim, whatever cordless brand(s) you go with, and there's plenty of choice these days, bear in mind that some machines can be heavier than others, also not all are created equal in terms of power and run time etc, nor do you always need the most powerful machines for every job, but those that do the work to the standard required, for the least time & physical effort
We've gone with Stihl and their AP range. Batteries still going strong after 5 years or so.
Hi DJ
We too chose to run with the Stihl Pro range and the AP batteries. Been very pleased with the strimmer, hedge cutters and chainsaws in particular. The comments regarding weight made by Billybop are very valid. Stihl recommend battery size with most of their kit so be guided by that would seem sensible.
Appreciate the key reason for your decision to go battery, but also very clean, quiet and easy to operate.
You won't look back.
As stated, the Stihl pro range is very, very good. My Stihl HSA 86 with an AP200 battery weighs about the same as my HS 56 c-e, so not much difference in weight.
What you need is an Easy Lift Harness. I keep mentioning these because I am always surprised how many professional gardeners don’t have one.
It renders the hedge cutter or pole hedge cutter completely weightless. It makes the job of hedge cutting effortless. I can spend a few hours hedge cutting and afterwards feel no muscle or back strain whatsoever, as though I haven’t been hedge cutting at all.
The easy lift harness crossed my mind , never used one myself but sounds perfect to use with existing machinery .
Interesting i have petrol hedgecutters i can no longer use due to growing older and wear and tear on my joints , I dont even know how i managed to use them in the first place .
Like DJ i had to source lighter machinery and gave up heavy strimming altogether due to tennis elbow and a disc problem .
The lightest hedge triimmer i could find was the gtech cordless which enabled me to carry on doing light duty trimming which is a horse for a course trimmer good on most soft woods except conifer and excellent on long stretches of privet , have cut long stretches of beech hedge up to around 4 mm thick , i bought my first one five years ago and its still going strong although it gets used for hacking down brambles these days . I run a newer upgraded one the gtech HT50 alongside my stihl cordless but i am always respectful of any machines limitations and performance so it doesnt get abused and remains fit for purpose , The Stihl is a different machine and excellent but heavier .
Having given up heavy strimming i now only use a Gtech grass Trimmer ( note Trimmer not strimmer ) uses little plastic blades not cord and light as a feather , works for me i think due to practise and i hardly even do any grass trimming ,but the trimmer is too short if you are on the tall side but super light .
I found a way that enables me to carry on gardening with machinery , years of doing this work takes its toll on your joints but better choices of machinery around today than 30 years ago when i first started but i would go to a dealer and test the weight of anything you are interested in with the batteries inserted as cordless can also be heavy to use for long periods .
I think John that you would probably have to get the ‘Elephant’s Trunk Harness’ as the Easy Lift Harness is very difficult to source in the UK these days, whereas the ETH is readily available. It is much the same thing of course.
I have owned mine for many years now, at least ten years I think. It is a total game changer. It was 1986 when I trimmed my first hedge, with a petrol hedge cutter, for money. My first professional hedge cutting gig. I was 20 at the time.
So I too have been doing this a very long time.
So again, my advice is get a harness. You will be amazed at how good it is. It would enable you to use heavier duty pro hedge cutters once again.
I went over the the Stihl HLA 86 (I think) pole pruner about 5 years ago with AP300 due to Ulnar nerve damage. So much easier & lighter. I have a couple of 24" hedge trimmers as well, the chainsaw (which I don't rate much) & most recently the RMA 448 mower. All on AP300's. Now that is a great bit of kit, I can lift it with one hand rather than lugging around 65kg of Weibang!
It will be expensive to set up, what with the price of batteries but defo worth it.
The Stihl range is very good ... But so is EGO but at a much lower cost so got my vote 2.5 years ago and has been excellent. As others have said, you won't look back / regret switching!
Hi, do you use ego hedge cutters? I'm going to switch over next winter but obviously with a big investment I want to get it right. My preferred dealer sells ego so I would like to use them but haven't heard much feedback.
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