Hi, new member here. As a non-pro I figured I'd start off in this section... I have a large garden set in woodland with a lot of big, established trees. I also have two large leylandii hedges each of the order 12m tall and 25m long which I want to keep nicely maintained though we are likely going to get them reduced.
I like to do myself what I can, if I feel I can safely. I have a small Stihl saw and the PPE which is fine for small stuff at ground level but I am not interested in climbing trees and buying arborist saws... for the big stuff I have a local tree surgeon but it gets pricey having him come out to face up the hedges. I quite enjoy doing it as well.
I've looked into consumer-grade/semi-pro kit for long-reach saws and trimmers (Ryobi, Dewalt, etc) but they don't seem to be available beyond about 2.5m giving a cutting reach of ~4m. My tree surgeon has the Stihl HT 103 and HL 94 C which are super long reach and he says they are wonderful, but another level in terms of price. I reckon they will pay for themselves but if I want to go this route, are they the best option given I will not be using them day in day out?
I was recommended the Stihl electric stuff e.g. HLA 85 and HTA85 which seem a direct match to the petrol ones. I'm a fan of battery tech for my hand tools and even my regular strimmer and trimmer (Dewalt XR) but I have no experience with Stihl's. Seem to cost about the same as the petrol stuff all told, are they the same sort of build quality we expect from Stihl? For infrequent use, would electric reduce my maintainence?
Or are there other makes/models you'd recommend? I need proper long-reach stuff, which seems to mean I have to buy pro gear? It should be a good investment, right?
Sorry for long post! If you'd like photos I can provide some when the rain stops
