Customer Reviews

Fiskars 9627 21-Inch PowerGear Bypass Lopper

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I've tried just about every type of lopper, and this one is by far the best. I've used them just about every day for the past 3 years. For heavy duty pruning they are fantastic. I even use them for limbing trees while I'm logging (it saves on gas and wear-and-tear on my chainsaw, and is much faster and safer).
The patented gear design is what sets it apart. It allows for tremendous leverage (much more than even a compound lopper - which can be double the price, and being more complicated, less durable).
I'm amazed more people don't know about these. I guess the simple, inexpensive design appears too good to be true.

This is Fiskars model # 96276935. I bought model # 96276949, which, through close examination of photos, appears to be identical (difference might be the retailers it's sold to, or perhaps country of origin -- which, BTW, on mine, was unfortunately [illegally?] not listed anywhere).

I bought this lopper because of the "gearing" or as I call it, "mechanical advantage", or as some others call it, "bypass" feature. Basically "gears down" your movement to make every stroke much more powerful, like a truck shifting into a special low gear to tow. And it really works great. Not only that, the nyglass handles make the whole unit extremely lightweight. This model is cheaper than the bigger version because it's smaller, which is an advantage for most home users -- easier to store, lighter weight and smaller size make it easier to get into the brush and awkward positions. This lopper will take surprisingly wide sticks for its size -- anything within reason, and maybe a little more. But the best part is that if you can fit it into its mouth, you will be able to cut what's inside, even if you are elderly. This is not true on many other loppers, even for strong people, especially on those "old school" loppers (you know what I'm talking about), and, even worse, "clippers" with that dreaded "lopping notch" which never worked right.

My friend who is a gunsmith and knows more about metals than anyone I know, doesn't like the fact that the blades are made out of stainless steel. He says stainless dulls quickly on greenery, which surprised me, because stainless is the hardest common metal. He does think fiskars garden/flower snips are the best made, though. I am personally glad the blades are stainless though, because I left it out for a few days with moisture, and there was no rust. Plus, the cutting blade is coated with a 'non-stick' coating, and just about everybody who buys this medium-sized model is not using them for professional purposes, just around the house. I keep the blades oiled up and upon doing 2 medium-sized jobs so far the blades seem just as sharp and I expect that to continue. The blades are replaceable anyway with two simple nuts, and the blades were very sharp from the factory, which again is not always the case with other mfrs. The whole unit, though lightweight, feels very solid and has very tight tolerances -- shake it and twist it, and there is little to no rattle or play -- very impressive. The light weight is something most people overlook when shopping for loppers -- again, good for everybody, but especially seniors. I also like the look. I find the actual shape of the handles works well, too. I don't miss the foam handgrip found on some huge loppers.

The blades are very curved, and there must be a reason for this, but it can make getting larger pieces a bit trickier to get in, especially in an awkward, overgrown bush. No biggie. I do think the biggest room for improvement would be the placement of a rubber or plastic shock absorber where the metal pieces meet when fully closed, to make it easier on the user in terms of vibration. I took a piece of folded-up duct tape and duct-taped the small wad to that connection point to decrease vibration. It's a little messy and needs redoing every job or so but can help make the job painless, especially for those with arthritis or joint or bone pain. Even without that "mod", the loppers perform very well, and I think most people wouldn't see a problem there, though I do. Fiskars' high-end (big) loppers do have the rubber or plastic bumpers.

I bought mine from Lowe's because I needed them immediately, but these at Amazon are a little cheaper, with the free super saver shipping, and Amazon's return policy is actually almost certainly more liberal. The previous Amazon review helped me come to my conclusion, and I think Amazon is the world's best online retailer and ecommerce website. Though completely email-based, I have had very good customer service which has gone above to exceed my expectations when returns were needed. I wouldn't hesitate to buy these from Amazon, especially if your job can wait a few days. For most jobs, I think this medium size will better-suit most people, as it's lighter, easier to use, and cheaper, and still has a wide mouth.

Bottom line: this is the only medium-sized bypass/mechanical advantage/geared lopper I could find, and that's okay, because of its exceptional quality of design & solid manufacture, bringing good value in quality, price, and uniqueness. I just don't see why anyone would buy a non-mechanical-advantage lopper, so if you're in the market for one, this is it, and this is the lowest price you will see (I checked around). I just wish I knew where they were made (if any subsequent reviewers know this, please say it).

I had the same problem that another reviewer mentioned in that you can not buy the spare blade for this lopper at the retail outlets. Its not on the Fiskars website, either, so I e-mailed them and got a very helpful response. You have to call them at 800-500-4849 and you can buy any of the parts for any of the Fiskars products. They sent me a couple of pages out of their parts catalogue which detailed all the parts they sell. I'm planning on buying 2 spare blades --- even though they last a long time (mine lasted about a year of heavy use), when they go you can't sharpen them, so you'll want another one near by. If you do sharpen the blade, you will find that if you take off enough steel to get the sharp edge on the blade, the lopper blade no longer bypasses the stationary part and it renders the lopper useless. Still, this is the best garden tool I have, so I'm going to invest in the parts --- it beats buying a new one every year.

I have mixed feelings about this lopper. The light weight and smooth action are great, and it cut without requiring great effort. A minor complaint is that you have to open the handles very wide - almost 180 degrees - to get the sharply hooked blades open enough to reach around a branch. Thus the lopper can't be used to thin out interior stems in shrubs. My major complaint is that after a couple of years of use, the cutting blade snapped in half while cutting a small branch. Yes, there's a replacement warranty. But you have to have your proof of purchase, and enough time had gone by that I had misplaced mine. Admittedly I was careless with it, mostly because I had never had a quality tool break before. I plan to replace with a Felco lopper - the blade isn't as sharply hooked; I've never had a problem with my No.2 pruner; and I know I can get replacement parts if I need to.

These loppers are simply the BEST! When my husband and I moved into a new old house, we found the yard filled with very old, overgrown shrubs in great need of serious pruning. We purchased these loppers for that purpose and have not been disappointed. They're pricier than the average pruner but the gearing really does help make cutting big branches a snap (so to speak).

Upper-body strength is something I don't have a lot of, but with these loppers, I can lop off 2" branches with a single snip. Very, very impressive. They have a good "feel" and when you're lobbing off branches, you feel like you're using a *real tool* and not some cheapo, lightweight imitation.

They've been dropped, tripped over, used to cut tree roots down deep in the dirt and more, and they're still sharp and strong and impressive. From now on, I'll probably stick with Fiskars for all of my sharp-edged garden implements.

I bought my Fiskars 96276935 lopper from Amazon in December 2004, a little over a year ago and have used it extensively. I really like that it will cut relatively large branches. However, while cutting a small 1" or so diameter tree recently the blade snapped off as reported by E.Chang. I bought a different model Fiskars lopper locally, one without the power gear, as I had a lot of trimming to do. I noted on a label on the new trimmer that it has a lifetime guarantee. I don't recall if the broken one had a lifetime guarantee, but will try to get Fiskars to send a replacement or replacement blade.

I am a member of the Chequamegon Chapter of the North Country Trail Association. Our chapter is responsible for maintaining 61.4 miles of North Country National Scenic Trail in the Chequamegon National Forest. After first trying a pair of these on the NCT (North Country Trail), I ordered some of these for our chapter's tool box for our volunteers to use. Over the last few years many volunteers have also purchased these on their own for use on their adopted sections of NCT. Some members have the smaller size that fits in a day pack (the PowerGear still gives these plenty of power) and others have the larger sizes. The 21-inch PowerGear is powerful enough to cut smaller evergreens and makes lopping branches a snap. Some of our volunteers are women and senior citizens and these lightweight PowerGear loppers make lopping a easier task for them. If I have any complaints, it would be the actual blade. I little more durable blade would be more desirable. Given the advantage of the PowerGear, this has been a minor consideration for our chapter.

Our volunteers would be a true testing ground for any lopping product. Not many people do as much lopping in the time span of one year than some of our dedicated volunteers. It would be fair to say, that all of our volunteers that have used these loppers give them a resounding thumbs up!!

Starting with the positive, the mechanical advantage is amazing. You really can effortlessly cut anything that fits in the jaws. The negative side is that the jaws are flimsy and separate sideways. On small 1/4 twigs they don't cut, they just wedge between the jaws. On large branches it cuts through everything except the last piece of bark leaving the two pieces still joined. The whole point of the loppers is to cut through branches, and when it leaves the pieces connected with bark, or wedged between the jaws, it doesn't do its job. I even tightened down the pivot bolts hoping this would hold the jaws together, but that didn't work either. I don't care how powerful it is when it doesn't make the cut. I am returning this and buying a different brand.

I have used other loppers before and nothing can compare with these. They

make short work of small limbs and power through all smaller jobs. The Power Gear really does make it easy to cut with. I won't buy anything else for my small trimming jobs. They are the top of the line and well worth their cost.

Works well but handles can't take the torque of a large person. Mine broke off after about a year of fairly heavy use. Also, has trouble with harder wood like mesquite.