Pole Pruner

[DaveAndStuff]

I have two very large mango trees and a medium sized rose apple I need to lace out.

Can anyone recommend a decent manual pole-pruner?

Thanks!

 

[308guru]

This one has worked great for me.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Fiskars-PowerLever-1-1-8-in-Cut-Capacity-Steel-Saw-Blade-15-in-Fiberglass-Pole-14-ft-Tree-Pruner-393981-1005/300412758

 

[PCustoms]

This one has worked great for me.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Fiskars-PowerLever-1-1-8-in-Cut-Capacity-Steel-Saw-Blade-15-in-Fiberglass-Pole-14-ft-Tree-Pruner-393981-1005/300412758

Looks a lot like mine.

Other then the fact that I've literally carried it up and around mountains and it's 10yrs old/getting pretty worn out, works fantastic for the price (was probably $30 when I bought it)

 

[mike93lx]

Fiskars is my choice as well. Mine has been great and it's what I would grab as a replacement

 

[Tinkerer2]

I needed articulating ability so I bought the prior version of Fiskars XtendControl 16' Tree Pruner Kit with Rotating Pruner Head

 

[mike93lx]

I needed articulating ability so I bought the prior version of Fiskars XtendControl 16' Tree Pruner Kit with Rotating Pruner Head

Oooh fancy

 

[Gmonkee]

Maybe not in your market, but my good ones are Truper 16" Tri-filo with the hook on the end. Tubular steel handle with a bolt to mount on a pole of your choice.
I have a 12' bamboo pole because it was free in my yard. It could be anything you can find that is rigid enough.

Cost about 20 dollars or so. After trying four types these proved best on tropical softwood including mango trees for the aggressive teeth, longer blade and the pruning/pulling hook.
I love the hook is right there to drag out branches.

I have loppers type too, the exposed rope pull on them isn't always perfect in tight places and it jumps the pulley at times. I struggled more with them by far.

 

[DaveAndStuff]

This one has worked great for me.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Fiskars-PowerLever-1-1-8-in-Cut-Capacity-Steel-Saw-Blade-15-in-Fiberglass-Pole-14-ft-Tree-Pruner-393981-1005/300412758

This looks like what I need, IT that an honest 1 1/8" cut?

 

[DaveAndStuff]

Maybe not in your market, but my good ones are Truper 16" Tri-filo with the hook on the end. Tubular steel handle with a bolt to mount on a pole of your choice.
I have a 12' bamboo pole because it was free in my yard. It could be anything you can find that is rigid enough.

Cost about 20 dollars or so. After trying four types these proved best on tropical softwood including mango trees for the aggressive teeth, longer blade and the pruning/pulling hook.
I love the hook is right there to drag out branches.

I have loppers type too, the exposed rope pull on them isn't always perfect in tight places and it jumps the pulley at times. I struggled more with them by far.

The Truper 18409 is available at ~$40, but I have not heard of the brand and was concerned it might be junk. Is it a decent brand?

 

[Gmonkee]

It's good stuff. The saws stay sharp a pretty long time if kept out of the dirt.

The Truper 18179 tree saw is the good one.

Those lopper saws are good for a while but the pulleys are weak plastic and bind up as they wear. I've had two go buggy and barely workable. The saw part is good. The recommended extension pole by Truper is a great tool. Those last decades. Ours is abused, ancient and solid.
But stripping them to a bare hook under the saw is useful. If bulky.

I buy a lot of Truper as it's my local hardware store and for a collection of rebranded imports it's pretty solid.

Definitely not junk as a brand. They keep Mexican workers going in a proud way.
Quite an extensive catalog too, if you can get it.

 

[velocipede]

I've had a Wolf for over twenty years. German made and the darn thing does a great job. Don't know if the quality has changed, but if they haven't cheapened out, I'd buy it again in a flash.

 

[Professor Gascan]

This one has worked great for me.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Fiskars-PowerLever-1-1-8-in-Cut-Capacity-Steel-Saw-Blade-15-in-Fiberglass-Pole-14-ft-Tree-Pruner-393981-1005/300412758

Another vote for the these. I picked this one up at hd a month ago to trim the two japanese maples in my front yard. The loppers work great but while the saw works, I found it hard to get a full stroke out it. Still gets the job done, you just have to work it a little longer.

I was going to cheap out and buy the one from HF, but it was surprisingly heavier and didn't extend as far. I've had my Fiskars long handled loppers and hand pruner for years and they never let me down so I decided to spend the extra money.

 

[Steve_P]

I have a Fiskars like in the first link that I bought years ago at HD. Works great.

 

[senlow]

Jameson is what the pros use.

 

[Gmonkee]

I can get the Fiskars in Mexico too but a Truper is 200 pesos or less, a Fiskars version closer to 500 pesos.
When a single yard job pays less than 500 pesos and other expenses are figured we go for the cheaper version.

It's good stuff, even preppers love Fiskars. My hands on research with these saws has come to newer versions getting longer and with the bill hook end aces older 10 and 12" versions. Avoiding plastics and getting steel handles is lighter and stronger.
Wood handles on folders is a preference. They don't crack or shatter when tossed out of a tree.

 

[Shiftless]

How far do you need to reach?
I maintain a few trees on my little city lot. They are about 8-10 feet tall. I like ARS extension pruners. Mine is manul but they also offer battery operated ones for extended use or for people with handicaps. They come in different lengths. Mine is about 5 feet long.

 

[DaveAndStuff]

How far do you need to reach?
I maintain a few trees on my little city lot. They are about 8-10 feet tall. I like ARS extension pruners. Mine is manul but they also offer battery operated ones for extended use or for people with handicaps. They come in different lengths. Mine is about 5 feet long.

Tree is about 30' high.

How thick will that cut?

 

[flushcut]

Being a professional tree guy I'd suggesting shopping thru some of the online retailers. IMO the stuff at big box stores is junk but there are very few exceptions. Good tools make the job easier but at a cost tho worth it if you are planning on taking care of the trees for a few years and more than likely pay for themselves in the first year instead of hiring a pro. That being said learn how to make proper pruning cuts so your trees won't suffer.

 

[Gmonkee]

I would agree a lot of box store tree saws/loppers are weekend warrior fodder.
I tested a bunch over time before I found the best of the lot available to myself.
Most don't really need pro grade tools for what we do.

The saving grace is most of us are weekend warriors taking care of our own yards. I occasionally still do trees in other yards or businesses for pay but it's not often.

 

[Shiftless]

Tree is about 30' high.

How thick will that cut?

The ARS extension pruners are for smaller trees. They might be a good tool to use for thinning out lower branches. Mine cut half inch soft wood pretty easily. The head pivots to get a good angle on the cut.

 

[DaveAndStuff]

Being a professional tree guy I'd suggesting shopping thru some of the online retailers. IMO the stuff at big box stores is junk but there are very few exceptions. Good tools make the job easier but at a cost tho worth it if you are planning on taking care of the trees for a few years and more than likely pay for themselves in the first year instead of hiring a pro. That being said learn how to make proper pruning cuts so your trees won't suffer.

The look like they've been hat-racked a few times over the years and they're a mess. I had a guy out six months ago he took one out that was dead and got the others off the fence and house and he the dead stuff out. I'd like to take them out, but the wife loves them.

If they don't produce this year I might talk her into it.

 

[Shiftless]

They look like they've been hat-racked a few times over the years and they're a mess

30 foot tall trees in that kind of shape are difficult or impossible to fix In a reasonable amount of time. Years.
My suggestion of ARS extension pruners is more for removing dead twigs, fine tuning and maintenance of branch structure. Here is a pic from a few years ago of what my 10 foot high Magnolia looked like before I attacked it with my new ARS pruners. Unfortunately I can’t find an “after” pic. The goal is to have an open and attractive branching pattern and not have a lollipop tree growing in your front yard.
With the right tools and some careful and sensitive work, you might be able to save your trees.

 

[flushcut]

The look like they've been hat-racked a few times over the years and they're a mess. I had a guy out six months ago he took one out that was dead and got the others off the fence and house and he the dead stuff out. I'd like to take them out, but the wife loves them.

If they don't produce this year I might talk her into it.

Removal may be best if they are in really bad shape, not every tree can be pollarded/topped with success. One possible solution is to completely repollard during the dormant period, I don't know where you are but being that they are mangos some place warm. That being said removal and replanting might be best overall.

 

[flushcut]

30 foot tall trees in that kind of shape are difficult or impossible to fix In a reasonable amount of time. Years.
My suggestion of ARS extension pruners is more for removing dead twigs, fine tuning and maintenance of branch structure. Here is a pic from a few years ago of what my 10 foot high Magnolia looked like before I attacked it with my new ARS pruners. Unfortunately I can’t find an “after” pic. The goal is to have an open and attractive branching pattern and not have a lollipop tree growing in your front yard.
With the right tools and some careful and sensitive work, you might be able to save your trees.

Looks good!

 

[PCustoms]

Tree is about 30' high.

That's a ways up there...

I hadn't found a practical, economical way to cut 30'.

Fiskars is out

 

[Shiftless]

Looks good!

Thanks
I have some 50+ year old trees that are only about a foot tall growing in pots but that’s a different topic.

 

[flushcut]

The pinned style concrete bull float poles can be fitted with a Marvin or Jameson saw head to reach up that high with tolerable noodle effect.

 

[DaveAndStuff]

Removal may be best if they are in really bad shape, not every tree can be pollarded/topped with success. One possible solution is to completely repollard during the dormant period, I don't know where you are but being that they are mangos some place warm. That being said removal and replanting might be best overall.

I'm in Bangkok, and it's warm!

If they produce this year, I'll pollared them (I had to look that up, that's what I would call hat-racking) this "winter.

 

[banditbigdog]

I use a similar version of one of these.
Probably from the 40’s or 50’s.
Works fine.

 

[mike93lx]

That's a ways up there...

I hadn't found a practical, economical way to cut 30'.

Fiskars is out

30' is so much easier than 12'.

Hire it out, crack a beer and watch

 

[PCustoms]

30' is so much easier than 12'.

Hire it out, crack a beer and watch

Honestly, pretty sure I started a thread about saws and that was the result.

Wanted to limb a tree as far up as possible so I could take it down. Did 12-16' or so with the fiskars and looked at options. At the end of the day paid a guy $300 to climb and top it after he finished a job down the road, then I took the stick down.

No beers as it was middle of the afternoon on a weekday and we did it on my "lunch".

 

[Gmonkee]

Removal may be best if they are in really bad shape, not every tree can be pollarded/topped with success. One possible solution is to completely repollard during the dormant period, I don't know where you are but being that they are mangos some place warm. That being said removal and replanting might be best overall.

My mango had been four trunks and taller than a two story home. First I knocked it back to the straightest trunk then topped it to less than half height.
The crown has just started a healthy horizontal branching out the last months.
They're near impossible to kill.
It's three yards off the house so knocking it back that hard keeps rotten mangos off the roof.
Eventually it will be cut entirely, the roots could damage the house.

A warning, mango wood has an unpredictable break point when cutting and is heavy with sap. I was cutting 10" branches and didn't want to be under them when that cracking sound started.
Undercutting made it somewhat predictable to a faster break.

 

[JerseyBoatBuilder]

speaking of newspaper headlines...

This one has worked great for me.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Fiskars-PowerLever-1-1-8-in-Cut-Capacity-Steel-Saw-Blade-15-in-Fiberglass-Pole-14-ft-Tree-Pruner-393981-1005/300412758

Have that and been using it the past 5 years to keep the scrub oak away from my Palm tree's. I cut stuff I probably shouldnt waiting for the cable to break buy is doesnt sometime the cutters lock on and dont cut. But that is cutting stuff to big for the saw

 

[four.cycle]

I own two very old "pole pruners". One of them has a round handle. About 1-1/4" diameter. Just the right size to slip a piece of 1-1/2" chain link fence "top rail" tube over. The eight-foot wood handle bolted to a ten-foot piece of fence pipe gives me some serious reach.
Biggest issue is getting into the "swing" as the assembly flexes with each stroke - once you find the right rhythm it works fabulously.
Requires that you have a very sharp saw at the top end.

 

[RTM]

I have a Barnel Z555P2 pole which extends from 7.5 to 19 ft. I bought a Japanese saw head and a lopper head, no idea the numbers on the accessories. Been great the few times I've used it. The pole is an oval, which is much more rigid than my other one, below.

The other one was a HD or Ace purchase. Fiberglass round pole, the length locking mechanism needed work, the saw attachment screws were poor and stripped out quickly, the lopper rope was cheap and thin, and frequently jumped the wheel. I replaced the hardware quickly, the blade (with a Japanese style) and rope in the last few years. It's not great, but served me well for 20+ years, just needed more reach, so I bought the bigger one. Lube it, sharpen the lopper, keep it tightened up. And it works for almost anything, even using it on a ladder.

 

[four.cycle]

^ I've set up with a 8-foot step-ladder in the bed of my Ranger, which gets me 20+ feet up into the spruce in the back yard. Sketchy at best, but I was able to chop out enough pieces to avoid any problems should we get another heavy snow.
I'd love to have one of the fancy new battery-operated pole pruners, but I'd be done with it in ten minutes - I just don't have that much to prune any more.
The "chain link fence top rail" bolted to the wood handle of the old-school "pole pruner" was a major game changer - even loaned it to the next-door-neighbor so they could chop up an errant flowering cherry.

 

[Gmonkee]

That's the detail that keeps all my options in the manual use range.

I go up a big ficus for a few days and use it a lot. Then my knee hurts again and I won't go up into the tree for two weeks.
The simple saws store with no particular care required as I recover.

A battery tool would need to be cleaned, lubed and stored more carefully than just stuffing it in the shed.

 

[DaveAndStuff]

That's the detail that keeps all my options in the manual use range.

I go up a big ficus for a few days and use it a lot. Then my knee hurts again and I won't go up into the tree for two weeks.
The simple saws store with no particular care required as I recover.

A battery tool would need to be cleaned, lubed and stored more carefully than just stuffing it in the shed.

My thinking with the batteries is that you'd have to have a really good one to do anything serious.

 

[Gmonkee]

That and have a tree service company to sort of justify the costs.
I get free bamboo poles and 20 dollar saws to keep up yard. They last years of irregular use. I may not touch them for months and then use one for a week solid.