Cordless hedge trimmer -I wonder if this one is any good?

princeofpounds

I've got an electric cordless pole trimmer (Ryobi). It's great. The lack of cord is much safer and more convenient in a larger garden. It's not quite as much of a beast as some corded models but it cuts perfectly well. It's so much better than the weight of my old petrol machine, and though the latter has a longer run-time, having 2-3 batteries on hand means that's not a problem. 

The GTech is a smaller, weaker tool. Max cutting width is 15mm, and the blade length is 309mm. The Ryobi is 450. Teh Ryobi also has a faster cut; 1350 rpm vs. 1200. There is a penalty to weight (4kg vs 2.4kg), but blade length is hugely important for time. Better to hold the Ryobi for an hour instead of the GTech for an hour and 45 mins. Plus every mm you can handle in terms of width mean less jams and snags.

The Ryobi is slightly louder (97dB vs 90), but compared to the old petrol model that's nothing.

I'm sure other trimmers with other specs are available. Personally I wouldn't use the G-Tech unless I had a fairly small garden with well-behaved, if somewhat high, hedges. Then it might be a nice, light option. I use the Ryobi on a fairly large garden with 'medium' difficulty hedges, and it serves me fine with those extra batteries, which is no problem as I have several other tools in the range. I would absolutely concede that if you have a garden that requires a more commercial-grade approach, you'd probably want to go for something bigger and more capable again, perhaps even corded.

Incidentally, all the professional tree surgeons in my area now use cordless electric equipment for almost everything except trunks and stump grinding. Though that is the higher-end stuff (Husqvarna etc.) which is pricey.

TELLIT01

princeofpounds, what battery do you have in the Ryobi hedge trimmer?  and how long does it last please.