Hedge Trimmer

[TreeswingerPerth]

My old Kawasaki hedge trimmer died today . I popped into a Stihl dealer on the

way home and had a look , fancied the HS 46 ce , the guy says they are excellent , but he would !!

 

Any recommendations ?

[hedgesparrow]

do you want a bog standard hedge trimmer or a long handle one. saw some danarms the other day have kawaski engines £350 if my mind is right. also do a multi tool strimmer,hedge cutter,pole saw £500. sthil is £1k plus

[kentjames]

I have the HS81R CE, been perfect for cutting thick and thin material and never missed a beat, easy to start easy to maintain, reliable.

 

I got mine at Jones' who seem to offer the best prices going for most things

 

Stihl HS 81R CE hedgecutter (24" cut, 22.7cc) | F R Jones and Son

[TreeswingerPerth]

do you want a bog standard hedge trimmer or a long handle one. saw some danarms the other day have kawaski engines £350 if my mind is right. also do a multi tool strimmer,hedge cutter,pole saw £500. sthil is £1k plus

 

I've got an HS80 for big stuff , I'm looking for something light , for trimming not a too long 20" , 22" ish . Cheers.

[Old Mill Tree Care]

I've got a long reach Echo and it's really good but not robust enough for cutting thick stuff.

[18 stoner]

I have the HS81R CE, been perfect for cutting thick and thin material and never missed a beat, easy to start easy to maintain, reliable.

 

I got mine at Jones' who seem to offer the best prices going for most things

 

Stihl HS 81R CE hedgecutter (24" cut, 22.7cc) | F R Jones and Son

 

James, you need to decide if you need a "cutter" or a "trimmer". Many people dont realise there's a difference. The cutter bars are different and even the gearboxes.

 

A cutter will cope with bigger stuff, yet a trimmer will leave a better finish in general.

 

From what treeswinger has said I'd recommend an echo, I have two and both are 2008 machines and never missed a beat. These are trimmers, one single sided and the other is a pole.

 

My personal experience of the stihl ones is the trimmer is hopeless and the cutter is too agressive for the majority of my hedges.

 

Years ago the best there was used to be FujiRobin. The Echo is a very close match, but engines last much longer.

[TimberCutterDartmoor]

James, you need to decide if you need a "cutter" or a "trimmer". Many people dont realise there's a difference. The cutter bars are different and even the gearboxes.

 

A cutter will cope with bigger stuff, yet a trimmer will leave a better finish in general.

 

From what treeswinger has said I'd recommend an echo, I have two and both are 2008 machines and never missed a beat. These are trimmers, one single sided and the other is a pole.

 

My personal experience of the stihl ones is the trimmer is hopeless and the cutter is too agressive for the majority of my hedges.

 

Years ago the best there was used to be FujiRobin. The Echo is a very close match, but engines last much longer.

 

That is the best post I have ever read on Arbtalk. 100% clear and accurate.

[kentjames]

James, you need to decide if you need a "cutter" or a "trimmer". Many people dont realise there's a difference. The cutter bars are different and even the gearboxes.

 

A cutter will cope with bigger stuff, yet a trimmer will leave a better finish in general.

 

From what treeswinger has said I'd recommend an echo, I have two and both are 2008 machines and never missed a beat. These are trimmers, one single sided and the other is a pole.

 

My personal experience of the stihl ones is the trimmer is hopeless and the cutter is too agressive for the majority of my hedges.

 

Years ago the best there was used to be FujiRobin. The Echo is a very close match, but engines last much longer.

 

Accurate it may be, but the cutter I have has proven to be good for all sizes of trimming and cutting. Its all down to keeping the edge well honed with a file. No need to buy two in my opinion.

[18 stoner]

Accurate it may be, but the cutter I have has proven to be good for all sizes of trimming and cutting. Its all down to keeping the edge well honed with a file. No need to buy two in my opinion.

 

James, if you ran a cutter and a trimmer over a "tight trimmed conifer" along side each other, you would notice a difference.

 

If you inspect leylandii(say) thats been trimmed with a cutter(of any variety) it will be "bruised". This is what turns brown in a few days/weeks, especially if its on the last trim of the season in autumn.

 

A trimmer will leave a much cleaner cut, and in my experience be actually more hardy over the winter too.

[growforest]

You can't trim with a cutter - it makes a proper mess. You do need both machines if you're doing fine hedges and rough privet etc.

For fancy stuff Berger make super-sharp hand tools.

Echo HCR-171ES is a pretty good pro cutter, and their trimmers beat Stihl. Stihl are way too rough and ready. Steer clear of Husky too