Pole/extendable hedge trimmer

Has anyone got one of these? I have a tall leylandii hedge at the back of the garden which needs trimming once or twice a year and rather than use a ladder and normal hedge trimmer I thought I'd buy a new one.
I'm not going for battery powered ones as in my experience they're useless after a few months so I'm left with two options - petrol or mains powered. I've seen a Ryobi one for around £100 which is 400W or a petrol Nordstrom one for £150 with a 33cc (900W I think) engine.
Bearing in mind it's not for pro use, just this hedge, is it worth going for the petrol one and what are peoples experiences of the two types?

 

Well I went for the Nordstrom with interchangable attachments and extension. Larger package so £200 but you get the articulating hedge trimmer, strimmer/brush cutter , pruner (small chain saw) and the extension pole along with the engine.
Haven't had a chance to have a go yet but will let you know if its any good or falls apart!

Have to dig out the safety gear for this one...

 

Let us know how you get on Andy, I tried googling it but only found some on ebay. I wonder how big a branch you can lop with the chain saw attachment?

 

I couldn't find them on 'tinterweb either John, so took a punt on ebay after reading through all the retailer feedback (there's lots).

So far I've tried out the hedge trimmer at full extension (about 3m) and it zipped through everything without any fuss (leylandii hedge). Engine starts very easily and gives great power and the cutting width is decent at around 2cm (judged by eye!).

All the parts appear sturdy and well made although the release catch can be a bit fiddly when changing heads. I actually see this as a good thing as it means it won't fall off!

If the pruner works as well as the trimmer I'll be very pleased. It <looks> as though it can get through the same amount as a small chainsaw but I'll take off a bit as it's essentially losing power through being on a pole and you can't get the same leverage. There's nothing stated in the manual on max girths.

On the manual, its very thorough but the images are ruddy awful. Luckily its your run of the mill 2-stroke engine so easy enough to figure out.

For domestic work I'm more than happy, in terms of longevity, only time will tell!

Incidentally I did look at the Stihl ones but frankly they were way over the budget and I couldn't justify it for only getting one tool. This one may or may not last as long and isn't as refined as a Stihl but I got more immediate bang for buck and by the build of it I think it will last quite a while.

 

Small update on this. I've been using the pruning attachment (small chainsaw basically) and found it to be amazing. It cut very easily through everything I threw at it which included branches of up to about 7-8" diameter.

I've also used the strimmer which with two strings whipping away made short work of the small patch; I've had no need for the tougher brush cutter yet.

Still all holding together and no leaks!

[EDIT] Just noticed I haven't mentioned the engine - it's a 33cc engine with about 1.5hp (c1100 Watts) so has little more grunt than a lot of the petrol tools out there

 

Sounds as though you are getting on well with it .

I borrowed one from a friend (a professional gardener) for my garden last year. It worked very well but, at my age and unfitness, it got too heavy for me when doing the higher parts. If you're younger and fitter then I would recommend them to anyone.

 

PM replied to Bill, and yes I'm still amazed at the kit you get for the price!

 

While this Thread was being posted I was in the process of searching for a low price Pole Hedgetrimmer. In the end I settled for and bought the RYOBI 400 watt Pole Hedge Trimmer for £79.98 including free delivery. It arrived today and I tried it on my 12' ft Golden Conifer giving it it's annual prune. It did the job in a fraction of the time, and no precarious ladder session! Not bad.:D

 

Andy, are you still happy with the Nordstrom? I just binned my old hedge trimmer and need a replacement.

 

I certainly could not walk on stilts and hold a hedge trimmer at the same time, in fact I couldn't even walk on stilts without a hedge trimmer either