Wow, it's so awesome to not have to climb up a ladder to clean the trees up for fire season! The echo pole saw is a breeze to use, particularly considering the ladder issue. I've cut branches up to 3" no problem. One thing of note, if you have a bad lower back, don't get one. The strain of extending out like that is hard. It's ok, just not super easy because the Echo is a really stout pole saw. If you have a lot of trees, it's very much worth the money!