It is important to prune trees every year or so. Pruning trees regularly helps improve the trees health and maintains its shape and size as well as providing safety benefits. I used to use a but it somehow got misplaced and I decided to purchase a to replace it. I wanted to stay with Fiskars because their tools have always held up well and they have a good reputation. Both tools include a bypass pruner as well as a detachable 15' saw blade for cutting larger branches and telescope to reach higher branches but there are some features of the Pruning Stik that won me over. Update (7/13/2013): There are some tools you don't use often but are very important when you need them. I've had the Fiskars Pruning Stik for a number of years and have never regretted the purchase.
I keep my trees trimmed and healthy. During Superstorm Sandy, while other trees were getting damaged and falling one large tree on my property didn't have any problems. Well, other than another tree falling on it that is:) Using this pruner helped me get some of the other tree clear of windows so they wouldn't break from the weight of the fallen tree and I was able to trim any damaged branches on my tree, as well as pluck off dead branches from the tree that fell on to prevent them from falling on anyone. When I first bought it, I didn't think I'd use it as often as I do because I don't have that many trees but the few times a year I do use it have been worth the modest price I paid. I don't have a lot of trees, one large maple, and some smaller trees for privacy and decoration including arborvitae, hemlocks and cypress. The smaller trees weren't a big problem. I'm tall so I was able to prune them effectively with a and a.
The taller ones were close to the house and I was able to use a ladder to reach the tops. The tall maple tree was more of a problem. Before I had the tree pruner I would just reach up and grab branches and use the pruner or lopper to trim the lower branches that were too low above sidewalks, pahways and the driveway. It was easier with two people as one could use a garden hoe to lower some branches and the other could prune them. This wasn't ideal. I couldn't give the tree a good pruning to deal with problems higher up such as dead branches, limbs that rubbed against each other, branches that got too close to the house and allowed squirrels on the roof or to be able to open up the tree to allow to help it grow. The allowed me to address those issues.
Price: The Fiskars Power-Lever Stik Pruner is a decent quality manual pole saw - it's lightweight, not overly expensive and features both saw and lopper with an.
It was a very good pruner with good reach. The saw blade was very sharp as were the bypass cutters.
I decided to replace it with the because I didn't need the extra reach and the Pruning Stik offers some unique features that I thought would make it easier to use. After having the opportunity to use the Pruning Stik a few times I'm very happy I chose to purchase it. Both the Pruning Stik are Tree Pruner are fairly light, which makes them easy to handle, yet very stiff and durable. They both offer bypass cutters for small branches (1 1/8' for the Tree Pruner and 1 1/4' for the Pruning Stick) and a 15' detachable saw blade for larger limbs. Even with the Pruning Stick and Tree Pruner fully extended they were very easy to handle.
There is a slight bit of wobble when fully extended but not enough to make it unmanageable. The quick release works well and has held up to multiple uses. Edisecure Xid 580 I Manuali here. I typically extend and retract the pole after almost every cut because I can be a bit clumsy. The shorter length makes it easier to manage and I don't have to worry as much about accidentally hitting and breaking something. The big advantages of the Pruning Stick for me were the rotating cutting head and the ergonomic handle instead of the rope. Rotating Cutting Head. On the Tree Pruner the bypass cutter is in a fixed position.
