New HT131 pole saw?

[Haironyourchest]

Mine is eight years old now. Second head, third shaft, 4-mix motor is still ok.

 

Just wondering if I should buy another one before they stop making them, or before inflation does something silly to the prices? Mine was €850 in 2014, I see they can be got for €800 now. The latest models seem to have got mixed reviews. I know what I'm dealing with, with a 131, tried and true, even if it's not perfect.

 

Any thoughts?

 

[carlos]

On 16/02/2022 at 19:44, Haironyourchest said:

Mine is eight years old now. Second head, third shaft, 4-mix motor is still ok.

 

Just wondering if I should buy another one before they stop making them, or before inflation does something silly to the prices? Mine was €850 in 2014, I see they can be got for €800 now. The latest models seem to have got mixed reviews. I know what I'm dealing with, with a 131, tried and true, even if it's not perfect.

 

Any thoughts?

 

id say go battery if you can, much lighter, no noise or fumes.

[Haironyourchest]

4 minutes ago, carlos said:

id say go battery if you can, much lighter, no noise or fumes.

Yeah, I use mine hard, need lots of power. 

[carlos]

i dont find it down on power compared to the old petrol one,

probably not as robust but then again the old petrol one always seemed to need new shaft bearings.

try the weight of one if you get a chance.. theres a big difference.

[Haironyourchest]

I'm sure there is a weight difference. And I'm sure they're excellent tools. But... But . But .. Battery not gonna work for me, I promise. I have a battery top handle.

 

The old 131 is the workhorse, I don't see tree guys using anything else. It's the motor - 31.4cc four stroke, none of the competition pole saws come close in power and torque. I use mine on stuff a foot in diameter at times.

 

People say the new shafts and heads are not as good though...

[Mick Dempsey]

They are a brilliant polesaw, poky, reliable tickover.

I’d buy another this afternoon if mine broke.

[lux]

It’s the best pole saw on the market.
Brilliant for big hedge trimming jobs too.
Got 3 on the go atm. Would bother with anything else [emoji106]

[Moose McAlpine]

Is the 131 better than the current 135? 🤔

[lux]

Is the 131 better than the current 135? [emoji848]

No difference in performance whatsoever . I’ve got both but don’t use the the new style shaft on them. Not so keen on the new saw heads either. Prefer the old one.

Trigger unit on the older 131 is better. Easier to lock it into a running position which is very handy doing tricky outstretched trimming jobs off tall step ladders etc. The 135 has to be put onto a high idle position on the choke to achieve the same. Just more of a faff but does the same.

The older style shaft fits them both meaning you can run all your hedge trimmer heads on them so that’s handy.

Both fantastic machines

[spudulike]

The bearings are the weak points but I think the weakness is really the owners running them till death rather than greasing them up once in a while. They have their little foibles but once you have fixed a couple, they are pretty simple and save a lot of time and trouble doing smaller tree work. Not sure anyone round here likes fixing them though.