Pole Pruners

Hedge trimmers for overhead work

For very tall shrubs, experts recommend using pole pruners, rather than standing on a ladder and using a conventional hedge trimmer. Pole pruners (also called pole hedge trimmers) have a blade that pivots up to 180 degrees, so it's possible to trim the top of a tall hedge while standing on the ground, or to reach the back of bushes that are wide or against a structure. Pole pruners can also reach low ground cover. Several manufacturers make hedge-trimming attachments that fit on string trimmers, but reviews say they don't work nearly as well as dedicated pole hedge trimmers.

The Black & Decker NPT318 (*Est. $110) , a lightweight cordless pole hedge trimmer with an 18-inch blade, gets good marks -- an average of 4 stars out of 5 -- from more than 160 users at Amazon.com. The manufacturer asserts that it has a 10-foot reach, though some users disagree. At just over 8 pounds, the NPT318 pole trimmer should be manageable for most users; one 82-year-old owner posting feedback at Amazon.com says he found it easy to handle. While it's great for light-duty trimming, owner reviews say the Black & Decker NPT318 won't handle tough limbs (the manufacturer says its maximum cutting capacity is 7/16-inch-thick branches). Like other Black & Decker outdoor power tools, it comes with a two-year warranty.

The Black & Decker NPT318 receives above-average ratings with some negative reviews from owners posting feedback at Lowes.com. One reviewer is dissatisfied with the reach, saying, "if you are 6' tall and reach upward with both hands on the trimmer it is 10'." In addition, some owners say they find it too heavy or too cumbersome to use for long at the time. User feedback indicates that you can expect runtime on one battery to range from 30 minutes to over an hour; the manufacturer specifies a runtime of up to 50 minutes.

The corded Remington Axcess Trimmer RM3017HP (*Est. $100) has a 17-inch blade. In more than 50 user reviews at Amazon.com, it gets lousy feedback, with an average rating of just over 2 out of 5 stars. Compared to the Black & Decker NPT318, the Remington is simply inferior: it has a shorter pole, it's heavier, it's extension pole is plastic instead of metal, and users say it binds up if used to cut branches less than half an inch in diameter, despite manufacturer claims that it can handle branches up to 3/4 of an inch.. Furthermore, the Remington Axcess Trimmer is marketed as having a reach of up to 10 feet, but the telescopic shaft only extends 10 inches.

Echo makes a gas-powered pole hedge trimmer with a 51-inch metal shaft and 20-inch double-sided, double-reciprocating blades. The Echo SHC-265 (*Est. $480) has a 25cc engine, the i-30 starting system (which makes the engine 30 percent easier to start, according to the manufacturer), vibration dampening, and a 7-degree-angled shaft. Though the Echo brand has a good reputation overall, we could find no reviews of this pole hedge trimmer, and its high price and weight -- 14.5 pounds before filling the 16-oz. fuel tank -- mean that you'd be well advised to demo it in person before buying. Echo extends a five-year warranty to consumers (two years for commercial users).