Narrowed it to Echo Vs Stihl long-reach

[MisterBoy]

In an earlier post people rated the Stihl electric stuff and the Echo stuff both very highly. I need the longest-reach polesaw and trimmer I can find to maintain my hedges and trees so I've narrowed my options down to:

 

Stihl HLA 85 + HTA 85 + AP300 battery + charger: my local Stihl dealer quotes £985 which looks close to 3rd party online prices

Or

Echo PPT-2620ES + HCAA-2402A LW Hedge Trimmer: £1008 on echo's site, I can see about £800 online. 

 

These seem pretty comparable in reach and For £120-150 more I can get the extension pole for Echo which gives a big reach advantage for about the same overall price as the Stihl gear. 

 

My concerns are:

1. The Echo is ~10kg, I'm guessing more like 13kg if you swap to the hedge trimmer, whereas the Stihl are both 6-6.5Kg including battery. I don't have direct experience with this but I know working above head-height is never easy. Can any pros give me an idea how much difference this will make for an average guy?
2. I cannot find any information how swapping the heads works on Echo. If it's a 30s job or a 3min job or a 30min job.

 

I don't want to drop a grand on kit I end up dreading using. The Echo mainly attracts me due to the option to add the extra extension for rare use. Being realistic, is the lighter, easier Stihl electric kit going to be better for me? You can be candid I won't be offended  

[monkeybusiness]

3 minutes ago, Mark_Skyland said:

Yep they fit. customer recently swapped to battery power whilst still using his old kombi attachments.

 

 

I’d better wind my neck in then, sorry for the false info!...

[Peter 1955]

34 minutes ago, Mark_Skyland said:

Yep they fit. customer recently swapped to battery power whilst still using his old kombi attachments.

 

 

Well that's a big surprise! Backwards compatibility is usually a dirty word. 

[MisterBoy]

I’d better wind my neck in then, sorry for the false info!...

I wonder if that's the same with the dedicated pole saws? It would make sense a multi system has the motor in the base unit but you'd get greater efficiency without a shaft. That would explain the mistake of the using the pro tools?

 

[monkeybusiness]

6 minutes ago, MisterBoy said:

41 minutes ago, monkeybusiness said:

I’d better wind my neck in then, sorry for the false info!...

I wonder if that's the same with the dedicated pole saws? It would make sense a multi system has the motor in the base unit but you'd get greater efficiency according a shaft. That would explain the mistake of the using the pro tools?

That’s what I’m getting confused with - I’m sure that the dedicated pole saws have the motor in the head and the base simply holds the batteries. 

[Stere]

Get a jap tripod ladder also.

 

 

 

 

Edited June 12, 2020 by Stere

[MisterBoy]

2 hours ago, Stere said:

Get a jap tripod ladder also.

 

 

 

 

Those things are pretty amazing. Only discovered then last year when an old fashioned gardener (all hand tools) showed me 

[Alycidon]

If going Sthil try Farol,  the John deere dealer.  When I bought a 462 they were 10% below anyone else.

 

A

[Mark_Skyland]

On 12/06/2020 at 19:00, monkeybusiness said:

I’d better wind my neck in then, sorry for the false info!...

Good to see they made it backwards compatible, not something you see these days for sure!  I suppose it makes sense as its more of a reason to swap to battery rather than start over again or move to another brand, some of those attachments arent cheap!

 

 

[MisterBoy]

Looking on the Stihl site, the battery 'engine' is presented as just another kombi-engine option, there are a whole bunch but only one battery. So on that basis it makes a lot of sense to retain compatibility, someone with £2k of kit isn't going to ditch it all for battery but they might upgrade the engine for £400. And of course it costs Stihl a fortune to re-tool and design everything again.

 

 

[MisterBoy]

Anyway I looked into the kombi system and while it looks nice, I don't think it's the best fit for me. I'd have to get two extension poles to match the HLA/HLT 85 which isn't recommended, I reckon I'd be best with proper dedicated kit that should last.

 

I saw reviews saying even 6.5Kg was tiring for operators, so is that a clear-cut "Echo is too heavy" at double this? One or two people did point out that a decent hedge trimmer is fundamentally heavy and putting it 3m up a pole is just hard work, so maybe that's the issue more than the overall weight.

 

I'm just a bit nervous that the HTA 85 trimmer is 3.3m, I assume that includes the length of the trimmer as well, and this isn't that high. Whereas the Echo extends to I think 3.7m before you add the trimmer.

 

One other question, sorry... would you guys particularly recommend buying kit like this from your local dealer, or just wherever you can? My Stihl dealer is a good 30min drive away and I work, they like to say I'd get better service for kit I bought from them in case of a problem but is that just a sales tactic?

Edited June 14, 2020 by MisterBoy