Chainsaw Pole Pruner

[PSDStu]

I need to get a Chainsaw Pole Pruner and wondered if anyone who owns one can give me there opinion of which ones to look at.

I like the Stihl 101 pruner but it runs around $600 and wasn't looking to spend that kind of money.... but I know it's a Stihl.

Thanks!

 

[DanD78]

I bought the Stihl that has the extendable shaft. Not sure of the model #. It was about $700 a couple of years ago. Best money I ever spent. I really like it for reaching in under my pine trees to cut out Mulberry starts. Keeps me off my hands and knees. It is kind of hard to handle when extended all the way out but it has enough power to cut any branch that the chain can take in one pass. I have a lot of trees on my property and take it up in the basket of my platform lift.

Dan

 

[ShivasIrons]

I have the Model 131 and second DanD78's comments about money well spent. It was very heavy and tiring to use until I got the Stihl HT Carrier Support System harness.

With the harness, I now grab it and go.

Here's the link for the harness:
Pole Pruner Accessories - STIHL USA

 

[AlanB]

I probably had much the same decision as you, I ended up with the Poulan Pro one from TSC / Lowes, I think about $150. Certainly NOT the Stihl, but it does what I need. We also bought the hedge trimmer foot, the tiller head and some other stuff on the click change and it is pretty handy all in all.

Wife is a Landscaper and we run Red Max and Shindawa right now, but for the use we have for that Pole saw, the Poulan Pro works.

 

[rvaitor]

I need to get a Chainsaw Pole Pruner and wondered if anyone who owns one can give me there opinion of which ones to look at.

I like the Stihl 101 pruner but it runs around $600 and wasn't looking to spend that kind of money.... but I know it's a Stihl.

Thanks!

I've got the Stihl HT101 and love it. Stout price but excellent piece of equipment.

 

[wushaw]

I have the Sthil HT75, purchased in Feb 02 and only had to change the fuel diaphram last year. I use it every winter trimming trees. Haven't even had to sharpen the chain yet and it will go through Osage orange with no problem.

 

[two_bit_score]

I need to get a Chainsaw Pole Pruner and wondered if anyone who owns one can give me there opinion of which ones to look at.

I like the Stihl 101 pruner but it runs around $600 and wasn't looking to spend that kind of money.... but I know it's a Stihl.

Thanks!

I love my Stihl. Money well spent.

 

[Lineman North Florida]

Not knocking stihl because they make a good product but the new gas and oil caps leave a lot to be desired, if you have more than one person using it you will be replacing them fairly often.

 

[alchemysa]

IMO balance and weight is important for a brush cutter but not very important for a pole saw. I bought one on ebay here in Aust. About $300 for brush cutter/whipper snipper and pole saw attachment. I went for a 50cc model. In hindsight its probably too heavy for whipper snipping but its got a ton of grunt. (The weight isn't really a problem when using the pole saw. No real complaints other than the bolts holding on the petrol tank need checking after each use. (I should add more spring washers). The pole saw is fantastic. I should have bought one ages ago. I'm amazed how it reaches much higher than you'd think. Buying cheap stuff is a bit of a lottery but in this case I'm not unhappy. I couldnt justify a stihl for the amount of time I use it.

 

[natem]

Use the Stihl's almost daily at work. Love them, have many hours on them with few problems. Just dont leave it on the ground in a blind spot and back over it .

 

[Scooby074]

I guess im old school I still use a manual pole saw.

Mines a Corona 12' with the saw and bypass pruner. Works really good for me, plus less maintenance than a gas powered pole saw. Id dare say that on ~1" branches it would be as fast or faster than a gas powered, using the bypass lopers.

It was only around $100 so much less $ than a Stihl.

 

[DanD78]

Thanks for the link that showed the 30 degree gear box. That would make it even better when working out of my lift.

I agree with the gas and oil caps being the weak link. I broke the one on the pole saw oil tank and the one on my weed eater takes several tries to get it to latch.

Dan

 

[ToadHill]

I bought an Echo and used it in my tree care business for many years I paid about half of the price for the Stihl and it worked very well.

 

[SPYDERLK]

I probably had much the same decision as you, I ended up with the Poulan Pro one from TSC / Lowes, I think about $150. Certainly NOT the Stihl, but it does what I need. We also bought the hedge trimmer foot, the tiller head and some other stuff on the click change and it is pretty handy all in all.

Wife is a Landscaper and we run Red Max and Shindawa right now, but for the use we have for that Pole saw, the Poulan Pro works.

I use the Poulan Pro too. In 3 yrs I have cut at least a cord of high branches and it has been totally reliable. For the kind of money Stihl wants they should offer something very special for the price. Reliability is surely one thing but what would really justify it for me would be super light weight and a bar that pivots around the drive sprocket to set cutting angle. That would be a real advance IMO.
larry

 

[DIRTROAD]

I havn't had any trouble out of my Ryobi. It only gets used a few times a year though. I couldn't justify the price of a stihl no more than I use a pole saw. I just trim a 1000' driveway every year and low limbs on trees.

 

[Pilot]

I bought a "Power Pruner" about 15 years ago. I think they were the first ones on the market and maybe Echo bought them out, they look like it with a few mods.

It's a great saw. I use it wherever it's reach is an advantage. So when I cut a tree down, I usually use the PP for limbing. I use it to cut small trees and brush so I don't have to bend over or reach thru the limbs. I also use it to cut up the tops of the felled trees where the diameter is too small to bother cutting into firewood.

Best brand? I can't help you there, but just keep in mind all the ways you can use it and you might justify spending more money for a better one.

Lastly, they don't work too well for really high limbs because you stand below those highest limbs and the cut is vertical, so half way thru the limb falls and pinches the bar. Then the bar & chain won't go any further into the limb and you are stuck. Also for really high limbs, you are holding the thing high and your arms tire easily, running out of blood. So light weight is a plus. And your forward arm is a couple feet above the bottom end. So if the saw extends to, say, 10 feet, figure the highest practical height for cutting is about 13 or 14 feet.

 

[gc2310]

I bought an Echo with the extendable shaft about 3 years ago. It works great and was a fair bit cheaper than the Stihl. However the Stihl harness mentioned earlier is well worth the investment. It also works for trimmers, especially with a brush blade. You will probably still need a manual pole saw for the really tall stuff.Professional Tree-Pruning Kit - Lee Valley Tools This is an example that works very well, 18' version.

 

[EastTexFrank]

I must be the only cheap skate on this board. I couldn't justify a Stihl for the number of times that I use a pole saw so I got an electric one. I load the generator in the back of the truck with a 100' extension cord and have at it. If it's just a few branches that need trimming I use a manual pole saw.

 

[survriggs]

recently purchased the Stihl KM 130 KombiMotor with the tree pruner head and the 3' shaft extension. Can use without extension for low limbs or add extension for higher. Also bought the blower attachment. There's several other attachments to use on the Kombimotor. Have always had good luck with Stihl.

 

[Robert_in_NY]

I bought the Husqvarna pole saw a few years back and used it a lot the first year. Then I broke my back and it sat in the barn till this year when i took it out again and used it to trim the tree line along the road. I bought it for trimming the tree lines around all my fields and it got a lot of use that first year between trimming around the fields, the house and in the orchard. I have never regretted buying it and hope to be strong enough to use it around my fields again soon.