It works a treat when tackling the tops of hedges, but I only realised this when I was testing other pole trimmers. It’s a simple polypropylene plastic part that slides onto the top of cutting head, that sweeps the cut branches out of the way. I’d love to see how much better this tool would handle with a front grip like the Einhell GE-HH.Ī neat innovation that I initially didn’t think much of is the deceptively simple HedgeSweep attachment. It could just be personal preference, but I’m disappointed that you’re forced to rely on a basic barrel grip. There’s a reasonably thick foam rubber sleeve further up the pole, but it’s not the big front handle I would like to see. For such a big and heavy duty pole trimmer, I’m totally surprised that there isn’t a large “D” shaped front handle. It’s a slick and instinctive piece of design that shows Ryobi have put a lot of thought into how you would use this tool in the real world. Instead of the thumb switch found on most hedge pole trimmers, they’ve designed a large safety button that is engaged when you grip the handle. Ryobi have employed a much more ergonomic and intuitive safety guard here as well. I’ve got big hands, and once they’re in thick leather gardening gloves there’s not much room to spare. If I was going to nit-pick, I’d say the handle could be a few centimetres longer though. You get a large finger guard for protection as well. It’s marvellously comfortable and has a grey rubberised texture that keeps it from slipping. If you’ve ever used a Ryobi tool before, you’ll recognise the patented GripZone handle on it. Compared with the Bosch Universal Hedge Pole 18, it was slow and a bit of a pain to take it all apart just to put it back together again. I needed to stop and take everything off just to reach the top of hedges. It probably sounds like I’m being too critical, but it got really annoying. Secondly, you can’t adjust the length or angle of the trimmer without taking everything off your shoulder. It might easily get lost under a pile of leaves or in the back of the shed. You can use it in “short mode”, where the blade section screws directly into the handle section, or “long mode” using the extension pole in the middle.įirst off, you need to lug around the extension pole. All the pole pieces are the same diameter, so you can’t slide them into each other to save space. The Ryobi pole trimmer comes in three pieces. And what makes it even better is that even when you’ve fully extended the pole, it doesn’t have the wobble you get from the metal pole trimmers.īut here’s the big compromise. It means an average sized person can deal with 4 metre tall bushes or trees without needing to balance on a ladder. Once you’ve screwed on the extension it can reach up to an incredible 2.9 metres. The reach on this pole trimmer is quite amazing. I’d hate to think how heavy this trimmer would be with more metal in it anyway… It helps to keep the weight down and doesn’t compromise on sturdiness. Instead of tubular aluminium or other alloy metals, Ryobi have opted for a sturdy reinforced plastic construction. This is one solid and heavy duty piece of kit!Ĭompared with the rest of the pole trimmers that I tested, the biggest difference is the choice of materials used for the pole. After taking all the pieces out, I got the first impression that stayed with me throughout testing. You get a huge box filled with packing materials, and everything neatly sealed inside. The first thing I noticed about the Ryobi pole trimmer is how well it was packaged up. Without running down the battery, I made a start on this autumn’s tidy up without needing to climb a ladder or call the tree surgeon. I wasn’t disappointed by the reach, or how easily the 45 cm long blade cut and shaped the crown of the tree. It had started to drop its leaves on my car, so it was time for a bit of a prune. Seeing as this hedge pole trimmer has an unbelievable reach of up to 4 metres, I put it to task on my Japanese maple tree as well. The comfortable cutting position and HedgeSweep attachment made short work of the hedge and left a clean finish that I was rather proud of. This was a smaller, more delicate job that showed me how accurate this trimmer can be. I’ve also used this heavy duty pole trimmer to take care of my neighbour’s overgrown privet hedge. In fact, the clean-up job was more difficult than the trimming! I was able to cut and shape at least 15 metres of overgrown hedge in no time at all. Luckily for them, a friend of mine had an enormous hornbeam hedge that needed rescuing. So, I thought it should tackle the biggest job I could find. This is the biggest and heftiest hedge pole trimmer I’ve ever had my hands on.
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