I gave up the ladder and chain saw method this past year, due to safety issues. I now own a Stihl HT-130 pole saw, and it it the greatest. My local Ace Hdwe dealer even took in my chain saw as trade on it. I went with the fixed shaft (vs extentable shaft), as it reached everything I need, and is much easier to handle.
 

I just trimmed a bunch of dead limbs this VERY AFTERNOON with my STIHL pole saw. One of THE best tools I have ever bought. To think of the time I wasted for years with a stupid manual pole saw!

I have the Echo PPF 225, it's the non extendable model. I use it to trim branches and palm tree fronds and stuff about once every 2 weeks, it works awesome and quite honestly just about replaces a chain saw 95% of the time. I cut a tree down with a 12" thick trunk with it even. It comes in VERY handy. Mine is 7.9' long and can buy a 3' extension for it.....you can reach a lot of stuff without a ladder. Also You don't get saw dust and oil all over you when you use it and it's well balaced...... I also have a 16' long fisker manual pole saw for quick and really high stuff.

The electric pole saws generally suck because they have a ton of weight on the end (the motor) and they're a chore to hold up and balance.

I have the Echo extendable pole saw. It has been great and I would buy it again. I chose it over the Stihl because Echo offered an additional 4'-5' extension which Stihl did not offer as far as I was aware of at the time.

I have the Echo PAS 225 power head with the pole saw attachment and extension. This is about 11' overall. It will cut well, but is unwieldy and difficult to hold up for long periods of time. I had rotator cuff surgery in 2014; my left arm can't support weight very long.

This year I decided no more ladders and manual saws. I went to HF and bought their 40 Volt electric pole saw. It lets out to 8ft 6in. I think. It is just perfect for what I needed and wanted. I can't physically use it long enough to drain the battery. If I did, it can be recharged in 1 hour or less. I am pleased with it....no gasoline, or extension cords.

quote:

Originally posted by Colby Bruce:
I have the Echo PAS 225 power head with the pole saw attachment and extension. This is about 11' overall. It will cut well, but is unwieldy and difficult to hold up for long periods of time. I had rotator cuff surgery in 2014; my left arm can't support weight very long.

Without the extension, the ECHO balances REALLY well......I go without the extension and use a 6' ladder in the few places I need the extra length.

quote:

Originally posted by ArtieS:
I have the smaller of the dedicated Stihl pole saws. Extends to something like 11 feet, and balancing it when it is out there is a bit of a task. However, it burns through live oak like it isn't there so I can't complain. I use it once or twice a year, but the quality and power are worth it.

I just recently purchased the same model most likely, an excellent investment.

I spent 8 hours today using it trimming limbs along the farm road behind my home. The saw is fast cutting and seems to turn really fast. It is also handy for cutting small saplings under the limbs too. Mine was around $500 with tax, the other models I looked at, although heavy duty, were just too heavy for me to use at my age.

I had been wanting this Stihl saw for a long time, and don't regret spending the money for it.

I still didn't finish cutting the overhanging limbs along the farm road, quite a long road.

I recently bought a Ryobi string trimmer, the 40 volt that will take the interchangeable tools and really like it as it is much lighter than my Stihl and my present property is smaller than I had to tend before. This is the one with the motor on the handle near the battery not the one with the motor on the cutting head. Anyway I have a 5'x10' raised bed garden and with my advancing age decided that tilling was not going to be fun so purchased the tiller head for the trimmer. This thing works great even with the load of the tiller it tilled my bed with one battery so I am sure the polesaw attachment would be very convenient. I also tilled a friends new pollinator bed a couple weeks back (7'x25') and did the whole job with 2 batteries. The first 40 volt Ryobi I bought was the blower and chose to stay with that to keep batteries interchangeable. I also purchased a 3rd battery when I had a Home Depot discount coupon. I am quite pleased with all of the Ryobi battery tools and there is quite a selection of attachments available. You can buy the pole saw as a single unit for now and then add the other attachments as you see fit if you choose to go that way.

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I made do with a good telescoping pruner/saw for years.

Nothing against gas or electric... but I have a Jameson manual telescoping pruner/saw and there is a huge difference in quality over the cheaper ones. It cuts quickly and you can reach almost anywhere with this thing.

Jameson 7-14 ft. Telescoping Pole Saw with Center Cut Pruner, Blade and Rope $114



http://www.homedepot.com/p/Jam...5EAQYBCABEgIdbPD_BwE

The Remington Ranger showed up today.

The minuses are that hauling extension cords around could eventually get to be a pain in the ass, and having the saw out at the end of the pole does make for less-than-optimum balance.

The pluses are that when I'm done, I unplug it and the next time I need to use it I plug it in, no fuss no muss. Also, the saw detaches from the pole with one thumb screw and can be used as a regular small chainsaw. Also, cheap at <$80 delivered.

Pruned up everything I needed to in under an hour and I'm good for probably a year.

Works for me.

quote:

Pruned up everything I needed to in under an hour and I'm good for probably a year.
Works for me.

Sounds good!

I have this one. I think I paid $55 for it new on sale. The best thing is it's removable to use as a chain saw. I cut out about 5 large branches and cut them up this weekend. One of those was about 30ft up. I had to use my 17ft ladder on the tree and the extension to get it.

https://www.amazon.com/Remingt...ectric/dp/B00008ZOXX

quote:

Originally posted by SIG4EVA:
I have this one. I think I paid $55 for it new on sale. The best thing is it's removable to use as a chain saw. I cut out about 5 large branches and cut them up this weekend. One of those was about 30ft up. I had to use my 17ft ladder on the tree and the extension to get it.

https://www.amazon.com/Remingt...ectric/dp/B00008ZOXX

Yup, that's the one I got. Wonder why the price difference?

Sorry I'm a little late, but I wound up an alternate path.

I got a cordless reciprocating saw and put a pruning blade on it.

Put a sling on it, leaned it against the arbor vitae, and scaled up the extension ladder.

This worked great for me for this and several other job. No cords and cuts great.

Cheers~

I love my Stihl Pro chainsaws, but for a pole saw I chose a robust Husqvarna pro pole saw. It feels much lighter than the Stihl pole saws, and balances well. Super easy to start also. Honda also makes a nice one but its as heavy or heavier than the Stihl IIRC.

quote:

Originally posted by chellim1:

quote:

I made do with a good telescoping pruner/saw for years.

Nothing against gas or electric... but I have a Jameson manual telescoping pruner/saw and there is a huge difference in quality over the cheaper ones. It cuts quickly and you can reach almost anywhere with this thing.

Jameson 7-14 ft. Telescoping Pole Saw with Center Cut Pruner, Blade and Rope $114

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Jam...5EAQYBCABEgIdbPD_BwE

Kinda bringing this one back from the dead...

After I saw your post a couple of weeks ago I did some research on the Jameson saws. I've made do with an electrical powered pole saw, but we have a ton of oak trees at our new house that required more reach than the 11' powered saw has. I ordered the Jameson saw below from Home Depot.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Jam...-LS-6PKG-6/202536694

It arrived earlier this morning. I've only had about 30 minutes to use it, but I've already cleared out a couple of broken limbs and some low hanging spots over the driveway I couldn't reach before. I can already tell that it was money well spent.

quote:

Thanks for all the input.

All the trees that need cleaning up are within extension cord distance of the house/garage and if it's out of reach of an 8' saw, I don't need to cut it anyway.

Based on recommendations here and on review sites, I'm gonna go with the corded Remington from Amazon.

Hey PHPaul, Would you like to share your experience about corded Remington pole saw. I am thinking to buy a pole saw. I have short listed 4 brands and those are Remington, Black and Decor, Snow Joe and Greenworks pole saw. I have gotten those lists from that website. I think those are popular list as well. What do you think about those brands. Until now, Remington is my first choice. Would you like to share your experience about your pole saw.
Update: I have just ordered Remington pole saw. I will check this product performance and write a full review.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: cestkro,

I have a lot of black and decker yard equipment that all share the same battery so I've been thinking about getting the pole saw. The pole saw review site has it listed as the best cordless one.

quote:

Originally posted by cestkro:

quote:

Originally posted by PHPaul:
Thanks for all the input.

All the trees that need cleaning up are within extension cord distance of the house/garage and if it's out of reach of an 8' saw, I don't need to cut it anyway.

Based on recommendations here and on review sites, I'm gonna go with the corded Remington from Amazon.

Hey PHPaul, Would you like to share your experience about corded Remington pole saw. I am thinking to buy a pole saw. I have short listed 3 brand. Snow Joe, Greenworks and Remington pole saw.

It worked very well, has a surprising amount of power for a small motor.

Obviously, you're restricted by how many feet of extension cord you have on hand.

It IS a mite unwieldy with that much weight at the end of the pole when fully extended. I wouldn't want to spend a day trimming at full extension, but for the hour or so it took me to trim up all the trees that needed it, it was fine.

It stores nicely with the pole collapsed and the power head removed. Attaching/removing the power head is quick and easy.

Very satisfied for the money spent.