Customer Reviews

Fiskars 9301 Power-Lever 14-Foot Tree Pruner

5 star:		(30)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I went looking for a pole saw because branches were rubbing on my roof and hitting my gutters. I found a few at a local hardware store, which the salesperson described as hard to use, then he tried to steer me toward buying either an electric or gas-powered pole-mounted chainsaw. I don't trim trees often, so I wanted to avoid the expense of and maintenance on a chainsaw. However, the manual pole saws they carried were all a brand I had never heard of, heavier than I wanted, and priced comparably with this Fiskars, so I decided to buy it from Amazon. I was pleased that this saw was significantly lighter, and that the replaceable Woodzig blade is an aggressive cutter -- it doesn't require a lot of weight on the blade, although I found a rapid jab-tug worked best to keep branches from swaying back and forth. I also debated buying the model that's just a saw, but having the pruner for smaller branches (which aren't stiff enough to saw efficiently) is well worth the extra money and weight. I haven't used this tool long enough to speak definitively about how the extension lock holds up over time, but I found it easy to use and it did not slip. This tool was much easier to use than expected, and I have no doubts that the decision to order this model rather than what the local store stocked was a good one.

I also want to make an observation based on other pole saw reviews I've read. I've read complaints about blades binding and how dangerous falling branches are, leading me to suspect that people were sawing on branches directly above them. That's not how you should use a pole saw; you should extend it so that you're standing off to the side and cut on the top of branches rather than their side. This technique results in the weight of the branch opening your cut rather than pinching the blade, and when the branch falls you aren't underneath it.

I first bought the more expensive "3X power" 15ft trimmer which has a much more engineered look. The shear cutter required tremendous effort to cut a one inch branch. I returned it and bought this model figuring that I'd at least save money even if it cut the same...! It cost 35% less and cuts 100% better than their more expensive model. Better send that mechanical design engineer back to school.

After reading the reviews I thought I would buy this tool because it was longer than the one in my local hardware store and since there were only 3 reviews out of 21 that did not give it a good rating I assumed those individuals were not using the tool correctly.

My pruner came today and the first thing I did was check the pole extension and durability. Sure enough the extension part of the pole was easily moved even when the lever was in the "lock" position. Since this was the reason for one of the bad reviews I inspected the mechanism to see if anything could be done. With a simple adjustment to the bolt secured by the nylon locking nut I was able to adjust the lock to the point where I could no longer move the extension when it was in the "lock" position (about 1 full rotation of the bolt on the locking nut).

Next was the saw blade. There were no instructions on how to tighten the blade so I put the pin in the first hole and secured the blade. It was very difficult to saw with the blade attached this way. Again after inspection the blade could be tightened on a second hole which made the blade straighter on the pole. After this adjustment I was easily able to cut through a 3-4 inch tree branch with not much effort.

The pruner blade easily was able to cut a branch that filled the entire opening of the metal hook that holds the branch. The rope did stretch a little but not much more than would be expected for a nylon rope.

Bottom line is this tool will do exactly what is expected of it with a few minor adjustments. It is well worth the money and performs its job very well.

This tool is really usefull around the house especially when you have alot of trees. Like the item says its 14ft and its very strong. If you are looking for one of these instead of a ladder this one is great! I have it myself and it does exactly what it is sappose to.

Until got it right, I thought this Fiskars Power-Lever Tree Pruner was impossible for my weakling arms to handle. Now that I've figured it out, it's not bad at all. I've felled some pretty big branches.

The saw blade is best either on or off. Switching back and forth is not quick and easy. It's screwed on with a wing nut, which gets stuck on me and requires the use of pliers.

The saw blade is sharp and cuts quickly and easily. I find it best to make the cut when I'm off to the side and not nearly underneath -- for safety's sake and also ease of use.

The saw blade will get in the way when I'm trying to use the pruning feature. If I were going to use it strictly as a pruner, I'd remove the saw. Although its pruning blade cuts better than the Fiskars 9234 62-Inch Pruning Stik, I like the Pruning Stik better. The rope and pulley design of the Power-Lever Tree Pruner just doesn't do it for me. I find it hard to use, especially when the branches are very tight. The lever near the head gets stuck on the branches. There just isn't room to pull. I use this pruner when my Pruning Stik won't reach. The telescoping pole is easy to adjust and set.

Although it has some shortcomings, I do like this product. For a woman with weaker than average arms, I'm cutting big branches off my oak tree without much effort. That's saying a lot.

At first, I had trouble getting this thing to cut. I soon realized that the blade can be set to a couple different angles, and I had it set at a 90 degree angle and it did not want to cut on the pull stroke. After I did some adjusting to the blade, it did a very good job. The craftmanship seems to be of good quality!

I have a lot of queen palms that need pruning regularly. But did not want the hassle of power cords, or gas engine maintenance . In order to get the job done easily I bought this pole pruner and saw. It is well made and sturdy. I find it cuts the smaller branches extremely easy and quick using the cutter with the rope. I use the saw on the palm fronds and the saw has teeth on it that are sharp and cuts quickly. The extension pole has a lever lock which is great because it is fast and easy to use. So far i have not found any problems with this tool at all. I highly recommend it.

The Fiskars 9301 cuts through the hard to reach limbs with ease, and it is relatively stable to use. I've used extension pruners in the past, and always had problems with the spring mechanism for the cutting blade getting caught up in branches, and trouble with loosening/tightening the extension rod. The Fiskars 9301 doesn't seem to have a problem in either category, and the lever for extension is easy to use. Watch out for falling limbs if you're standing right below where you're cutting! I wish the cutting width was wider so I could get through bigger limbs, but I'll try the saw blade attachment for those next time.

Bought to prune and remove branches from the 18+ trees on my 1/4 lot and this pole saw/pruner is light but durable enough to get the job done. I wish the rope was a chain, but that would add weight. And since the tool telescopes, it stores easily in my garage. The blade is replaceable so I anticipate keeping this tool 10+ years.

I received the Fiskar pole saw from Amazon in good condition and in a timely manner.The length (14') and weight of this unit is suitable for occational use around the home. The lopper feature is excellent. Cutting sizable limbs with one pull requires little force. However the saw is another matter. The reason I purchased a Fiskar is I had borrowed a friend's Fiskar and the saw cut just fine. His saw blade was steel with carbide teeth. I unfortunately assumed this blade was original equipment. The saw I received with my unit is all steel. While it cuts OK it requires more effort than the carbide blade. When the time comes I will replace the all steel blade with a carbide one. All and all the Fiskar is a good tool at a fair price. In the future I plan to be more careful in my assumtions.

Donkeyot