Stihl model HT101 Extendable Pole Pruner

[pjbrown]

I've been looking at gas pole pruners-- extra long. I looked at stihl and shindaiwa. I have a shindaiwa 377 chain saw. It's 4 yrs old. gets a lot of use and ALWAYS starts. DURABLE DURABLE DURABLE. I talked with a seller and said could buy the weed wacker, take off the wacker and buy (or exchange) for the extension housing then attach the extension pole and will get 12ft. Not rec by manufac. He uses as rental.. Then I came across the Echo that extends to 17' and has a 5ft extension. the stihl and shindaiwa use a steel shaft to turn the impliment. the sthil uses a square hole to connect shafts and the shindaiwa uses a 6-spline shaft. The Echo uses a HD cable and this is were I believe they can get their length of 22ft b/c less weight along the extended shaft means less bowing and therefore less likely to cause problems associated with bowing. If anyone has an echo which is the PT 260 and 5 ft extension bar, I like a review of it if possible

 

[ThunderRidge]

Good information. I, also, am looking for a pole pruner and have been researching Stihl, Husquvarna and Echo because I have personal experience with their quality and reliability and because that is the equipment I can get local service on. Has anyone had any experience with the 30 degree head attachment that Stihl offers? I'm thinking that would help a lot with the pinching problem when cutting limbs high overhead, i.e. clearing limbs around pasture edges. Also, has anyone had any luck at getting pricing below manufacturer's list?

 

[_RaT_]

As much as I like Stihl, the one thing that bugs me about them is the cost of replecement parts. They are as bad as most German componets like Mercedes and BMW's. Good stuff, but pricey to repair.