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bear in mind the AP300/ AP300S battery adds an unnecessary extra weight to this machine. I only use AP100's in my HSA86. Exactly the same cutting power but shorter run time. I have AP300 which I will use in the big telescopic long reacher. In the small long reacher AP200 provides a good balance
Thanks Billybop
What sort of run time do you get off of ap100s?
Is it worth buying 2x of those compared to 1x ap300?
it's about an hour of run time on the AP100 in the HSA86. The weight difference is literally a kilogram extra which is a lot (to me). Yes an AP300 gives thrice the run time but although the same physical size that battery is jam packed with heavy li-ion cells, as opposed to just a few in the AP100. The AP300 are essential for some of the more power hungry tools in the Stihl range but not the hedge trimmers. If you have 2xAP100 and a charger with you, and access to power at a job, you can cut continuously, all day long. And with less effort and fatigue on the arms. It's natural to want the longest running battery. But using an AP300 in a HSA86 is like fitting a bulky reserve fuel tank to a conventional hedge trimmer in order to get extended run time. Only worse as lithium-ion doesnt have the energy density of petrol. I like normal reach hedge trimmers and long reach, they have a different purpose, which overlaps slightly, I often use both types on a job but would struggle to choose one type over the other
We have a couple of the hand held and the tele ones as well, the hand held ones chop through the work faster and are great on box which nearly everyone has... we only have the 300s battery’s so can’t compare.
I find you can get a closer,neater cut with the shorter cutter rather than a long reach........for wider hedges, I still use the old petrol hs86... one with a 30" blade and the other with a 40" I've always used the ap300 batteries which are far better value for money than the smaller sizes .. they last for ages and the weight really isn't a problem for me and I'm no "Arnie"!! ..... the whole machine with battery is really light to use and I wouldn't want to have to carry lots of ap100 batteries to last the day Can highly recommend it.
I have hsa86. Purchased last year with 2x ap200 batteries and charger on offer. Batteries last 2.5hrs not too heavy and can cut hedges all day with two batteries with clearing up time included.
Don't use it as much as hla65. It has its place with small hedges and when movement is restricted.
I think the weight advantage of battery gear gets overplayed sometimes. I bought an HSA86 primarily because I like the idea of a cleaner quieter working experience. With the AP200 battery it actually weighs exactly the same as my petrol HS 56 C-E.
We have both the AP200 and the AP300S. We only ever use the AP200 in the HSA86 as we find that they give a better balance to the machine.
From what I've read in the past, the lifetime of a lithium battery is related to the number of charging/discharge cycles. The Ap300 will have a third of the "cycles" of an AP100 so I'd guess it would last a lot longer.
I sold a second hand trimmer last year, bundled with a charger and 2x well used AP80 battery packs. One of which was manufactured 2009, the other 2010. Both fully working and showing full capacity on my Stihl diagnostic machine. So whichever type of pack people choose they are actually quite a bargain in the medium to long term
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