Best Pole Saw

Today I am going to guide you with details information on how to find the best pole pruner fitted for your purposes.

Pole saw is very useful when you want to prune the branches of a tree from a long distance. Trimming unwanted parts of a tree is must to grow up a healthy and good shaped tree.

Removing dead, infected or damaged tree branches prevents the insects or decay organisms from entering the tree.

You may use any sharp cutter or saws if the cutting area is within reach of your hands. But the problems arise when you cannot reach the areas because of its distance from you. As I said earlier, pole saws come handy here for you.

To cut down tree branches correctly from a distance there are many handy long distance pole saws available on the market.

Here I have made a list along with buying guide based on my practical experiences as well as extensive research on the internet.

It should be noted here by profession I am a hardcore gardener and working with various types of pole saws for last six years.

A comprehensive and Complete Buying Guide to Best Pole Saw

The first and foremost rule of making the best deal with anything you want is to have sound knowledge of it. Here I’ve tried to make a comprehensive and contemporary guide to buying a pole saw so that you can be greatly aware of what you are buying and why. I would like to make the details buying guide in question and answer method. So let me start first with:

What Is Pole Saw?

Pole saw is also knows as pole pruner, pole trimmer, telescoping pole pruner or saw, or pole chain saw.

A telescopic pole pruner is mostly composed of two important parts.The first part is Cutting Bar consisting of saw or chainsaw and the second part is Pole or stick.

So, pole saw is nothing but a tree pruning saw attached to a pole. The saw attached to a pole could be either just a regular saw or chainsaw.

In other words, the most simple answer is “Take a lightweight saw/chainsaw, add a stick, and together you get a pole saw.”

What Does A Pole Saw Look Like?

This may seem a silly question to most of you all, especially to those who are used to gardening. But I found some guys are asking this question on the internet. I think “A picture is worth a thousand words.” Here I have attached a good picture of it.

What Are Pole Saws Used For?

Pole saw is used for cutting tree branches from a long distance. With the help of a pole, you can get your saw reach those high branches while keeping your feet on the ground.

Types of Pole Saws Available on Market

From the perspective of usage, I have categorized Pole Saw off the following ways.

• Manual Pole Saws
• Power Pole Saws/Chainsaw pole pruners (Electric or Gas)

Manual pole saws:

Manual pole saw comes handy when you go for tree pruning occasionally. For lightweight uses and also for less frequent users manual pole pruner is the best choice.

Professional pole pruners can reach up to 21 feet, and you don’t need to be a bodybuilder or superhuman to use one.

 Some of the most noticeable pros of manual telescopic pole pruner are-

• Best for light and non-professional uses.
• Easy to use. You can cut down thin branches with cutting head and also thick branches with the saw crossing back and forth; the most traditional way.
• Maintenance is easy and with careful use, should last for many years.
• Cheap or cost effective as no requirement or electronic cord, batteries or gas.

Some of the most noticeable Cons of Manual Pole Saw are–

• Not best for heavy/professional/frequent users.
• Might take your efforts and be time-consuming as it requires the manual or traditional process of cutting.

Verdict: Recommended for very light and less frequent users.

Powered Pole Saws

These types of saw require no manual effort of cutting tree branches. In these types of pole pruner, the cutting bar has a chainsaw rotated by electricity or gas power. To cut a tree with such pruner, you just need to touch the area you want to cut and turn on the power of the chainsaw, that’s it.

Pros of chainsaw pole pruners

• Mostly automated.
• Can perform heavy work.

Cons of chainsaw pole pruners

• The power of the motor kick-back, if the blade jams in the wood.
• Your hands could be twisted if the chainsaw is powerful.
• You have to take safety cautions seriously.

Warning: You are highly recommended to use safety glasses, a hard hat, and a tough pair of gloves.

Energy Powered motor rotating chainsaw on a pole are two types-

1. Electric pole saws

What is an electric pole saw?

Electric pole pruner sources its power or energy of rotating chainsaw either from direct electricity (plugged with a cord) or from batteries installed on the products.

Electronic pole pruners are less dangerous than gas-powered one.If you are a mid-level user or tree pruner, this could be the best choice for you.

The electric pole pruner is of two kinds based on its power source.

a) Corded pole saw.

Corded pole saw is best if you are going to use it within a limited range of area. Cord length limits its working area.

Verdict: Recommended for Small or mid-level uses as well as within limited ranges of areas.

b) Cordless Pole Saw

Cordless pole saw is useful when you want to use it in a remote area for light or moderate uses.

The limitation of cordless pole pruner is its battery adds some extra weight on pole saw and also you cannot use it for a longer period as the batteries could be drained out and you have to recharge the batteries to make it usable again.

Verdict: Recommended for Small or mid uses in a remote area.

Gas Powered Pole Saws:

This kind of pole saw uses gas as a power source and the most powerful one. For a professional level of usage with large tree branches, you are recommended to buy a gas powered pole saw.

Pros of the gas pole saws are-

• It will give you heavy duty.
• The pros of such kind of pole pruner are power and mobility.

And the cons are-

• the buying price is higher than the other types.
• It is heavier regarding weight.
• Much more dangerous if not used with proper caution.
• Expensive in term of maintenance as well as gas.

Verdict: Recommended for the Heavy and professional level of uses.

How Long Are Pole Saws?

If a manufacturer says their product has a ‘Fifteen-foot reach’ this does not mean it is Fifteen feet long.The pole is actually a few feet shorter than 15 feet, and your arms provide the extra reach.

The sound knowledge on following factors will make you know/understand what could be an exact or tentative length of a telescopic pole pruner.

1. Cutting Bar Length

The head part of a pole saw is known as cutting bar. It is also known as saw or chain saw by which you can trim the limbs.

The cutting bar length of pole saw is measured to the inch. The most common cutting bar length of pole saw are 6 inches, 8 inches, 10 inches, and 12 inches, in some cases which are extendable up to 15 inches.

A longer bar has the ability to cut through thicker tree limbs.

How to chose a perfect cutting bar length of a tree trimmer.

Keep it in mind that your trimming will go smooth if you use a higher length of cutting bar than your tree limb’s thickness. So, for 1-11 inch thick tree branches choose at least 12-inch cutting bar.

As Gas pole saw are the most powerful among all types and the larger chains/cutting bar demands more power, gas powered pole saw’s cutting bar is longer than other types.

You’ll only find cutting bar of gas pole saws in a 12 inch which is the maximum (in most cases)

2. Pole Extension range

The tale part of pole saw is known as a pole. The pole is extendable within the range as specified in product description. So the length of pole extension depends on the product you have purchased/will purchase.

If you see a product with 7-12 feet extension range, it does mean that the pole is extendable up to 12 feet and foldable onto 7 feet or more or you can set and lock the pole height within any length you want between seven to twelve feet.

For Example: With above-mentioned extension (7-12 feet): If you need to cut down a 9 feet high tree limbs, you can set and lock your pole saw within 10 feet and do your job easily but if the tree limbs height is more than 12 feet e.g. 20 feet, it is not possible for you to reach it from the ground without the help of something else e.g. ladder.

3. Maximum Working Reach:

Some companies advertise maximum reach or pole range as a feature on product description. What does it mean actually?

Well, while counting or measuring the “maximum pole reach” or “Maximum working reach” the height of the person holding it is added with the maximum extension length of the pole. Another 3-6 feet gets added to the maximum extension. Why 3-6 feet?

Because the manufacturers think 3-6 feet is the average height of most people.

So on average if a pole’s maximum extension reach is 20 feet, its maximum pole or working reach might be more or less 25 feet.

The maximum pole range is calculated on following way:

• Cutting Bar Length 12 inch/ 1feet.
• Pole extension length 7-12 feet, so maximum is 12 feet.
• User height is 6 feet.

Here the maximum working or pole reach is 18-19 feet and perfect for cutting any tree branches the height of which is below 17-18 feet from the ground.

I do hope everything is clear regarding pole saw length.

However, my personal advice is while choosing or buying, make sure to look at the maximum pole extension and not the pole or working reach.

Best Electric Pole Saw Reviews

Electric pole saw is the best investment for light or mid-level unprofessional uses. It is a handy tool for pruning thin or sometimes thick tree branches around your garden.

It will not cost your physical effort that much as that in manual one-this is the best advantage of this kind of pruner.

What is an Electric Pole Saw?

An electric pole saw consists of mainly a pole and chainsaw on the head. The chainsaw rotates here with the power sourced from electricity.

The electricity may come either through a directly plugged in a cord or from a battery on the base of the pole. You can control the passing of power and thereby the rotation of chainsaw by a trigger found on the handle.

That is why it is called electric pole pruner.They are also known as a telescopic chainsaw or electric pole chainsaw because of their way of work and nature.

Types of Electric Pole Pruners:

There are two different types of telescopic electric chainsaw available on the market.

They are-

1. Corded electric pole saw.
2. Cordless electric pole saw.

They both provide excellent performance especially in light and mid-range uses.

Corded Vs Cordless Telescopic Saws:

You might find yourself in a dilemma, whether you should go for a corded one or for a cordless/ battery powered one.

You may consider following criteria while choosing the right version for you.

The Size of Your Yard

The range of working area plays a vital role while choosing between corded or cordless one.

If the range of uses or working area is small, you may choose corded one. You need a direct electric power source to plug in.

Corded one will not be useful when you are going to for remote area uses and where there is no electricity access, in such case you will have to go for the battery powered one.

How Much Will You Use It?

Corded pole saw is superb for a continuous long hour usage. As long as you do have an electrical outlet to plug in the cord within range, You are the boss.

But Cordless or battery powered pole pruner is not good for continuous or non-stop long hour uses. Battery backup plays a crucial factor here.

Most of the time you will find that battery support is available more or less around one or two hours. After that, you will have to recharge the battery again to bring it to a working condition.This could be pretty annoying if the distance of working place and recharging point is long enough.

Cost Effectiveness

In term of price, Corded pole saw is much cheaper than the battery powered pole saw. Most of the time the price is half.

On top of that, you might need an extra backup battery for a battery powered telescopic saw for convenient. You will also be required to replace the expired batteries with a new one. This will cost some extra bucks from you.

The same is not applicable for corded ones.

• Maintenance: Compared to corded one, battery powered pruner takes some extra effort in maintenance. If you don’t use it for a long term, your battery might get damaged.

Verdict: Based on above mentioned pros and cons or features, try to decide which features are most important to you and which can be ignored. Then pick the best fit for you.

My personal suggestion is to go with the battery powered telescopic tree pruner.

Pros of Electric Pole Pole Saws

To my knowledge, these are the best choice for unprofessional lightweight uses, Both in term of price and also regarding value you are getting.

However, I would like to disseminate some clear advantages of them.

They are-

• Easy to use: They are very easy to use. If you buy a high-quality pruner, you will find that cutting tree branches are nothing but full of fun.
• Time-saving: Powered Chainsaw will save your huge amount of time. Cutting will go so smooth with a quality chainsaw. These are powerful enough to cut down thick branches so quickly and much effortlessly.
• Frequent And Bulk Uses: For the frequent and bulk amount of uses, it’s the best investment to go with a powered pruner.
• Lightweight: The weight of powered pruner is not too much. You can easily carry it away without much effort to the spot.
• Noise: You don’t have to worry about noise or sound pollution. Modern electric pruner is almost noise free or produces an ignorable amount of noise.

Cons of Electric Pole Pruners

There are some disadvantages of such types of pole pruner. These can be ignored by mid range or slightly heavy users.

They are-

• Professional Uses:

They are not as powerful as the gas powered telescopic pruner and not meant for the professional level of usage.

• Energy Sources/Backup:

Both corded and cordless one has the drawback in term of energy sources as well as the backup which has been mentioned above.

However based upon above information, if you have decided to go with it, you should check the guideline mentioned below.

Key Factors To Think of While Buying:

I

would like to introduce some of the most important key factors that you should try to consider while buying. Get the answer of following questions to determine the best fit to serve your purpose.

The questions are-

Which one should I buy? Cordless or Corded One?

My Suggestion: Read corded vs cordless telescopic pruner posted above.

What is the maximum tree branches height of your garden that is to be pruned?

My Suggestion: Look on to the maximum pole reach that matches the height of your tree branches.

How thick are the branches of your Tree that are to be cut down?

My Suggestion: Look on to the Cutting capacity of the pruner. For example, if the thickness of tree branches is around 6 inch in diameter, then chose a pole saw that has at least 8-inch cutting bar or chainsaw.

Should I go for the cheapest one?

My Suggestion: If it is the cheapest among the best rated one, you can. But I don’t recommend if the most inexpensive mean the lowest priced one with not enough positive feedback or no feedback at all.

Keep that in mind that there are lots of great mid range pole pruner available under $100 in the market. I believe they are cheap in term of value you are getting in return.

Just imagine how would you feel: If you have bought one with 40 USD having not enough positive reviews and the day after you made the purchase it stopped functioning properly or you are facing hardship to prune tree branches with that one.

What is your maximum budget?

My Suggestion: It is very general that the more features, the merrier its price. You can not get all the high available feature with a limited amount of budget. So, Don’t just waste your valuable time to look for the best available pruner on the market.

While selecting the perfect one for you, you may follow these three steps method-

• Make a short list of all the top rated pole pruners within your budget range,
• Read their individual reviews and
• Make one winner.

Is weight a factor to you?

Sometimes the weight of the product might be a factor. It has to be a weight you are comfortable using and lifting up higher than you.

Is it a good reputable brand and are they providing warranty on the products?

A renowned brand with positive customer impression will provide you best products. They will also provide you very friendly post purchase support such as after sale warranty.

Best Gas Powered Pole Saw Reviews

Gas powered pole saws are best used when you need to cut over large areas, and you need to get the job done quickly. If your trimming at a professional level like having a landscaping company, or you’re using your trimmer for a large volume of tree, then a gas pole pruner is the right choice for you.

What is Gas Pole Saw?

Gas pole saw consist of mostly three essential parts. They are, Cutting head containing chainsaw, a long extendable pole, and the bottom containing a rubber handle with trigger and stroke engine consist parting gas cylinder.

The simple reason for calling it gas pole saw is the source of power to run or rotate the chainsaw comes from gas.

When Should You Decide To Buy A Gas Pole Pruner?

Gas Pruner is not suitable for the general user. They are meant for the professional level of the user. So if you are a regular occasional user with a small of mid-level lawn, this pruner are not for you.

Here are some important reasons that make the buying of gas pole saw justified.

They are-

• More Frequent Use:

You are a regular user. e.g. going to use it at least once per week /month.

• Large Garden With Strong Limbs:

You do have a very large lawn or garden with lots of thick trees branches to be pruned.

• Professional Level of Use:

You are looking for a pruner to make heavy and professional uses.

• Looking for The Best Performance:

Money is not a factor if you gets a beast (Speed+Power) on hand.

Advantages of Gas Powered Pole Pruner:

Some of the definite pros of buying and using gas power pruner are-

• Commercial and Professional:

A must in the case of commercial and professional use. It will give you extreme support on heavy use. They are very robust and consistent also.

• Great Cutting Ability:

The chainsaw gets its rotating power from powerful strokes engine that is why it has an excellent cutting ability.

• Longer Run Capacity:

It has a longer run time than any other types. It can run continuously till you have gas+oil on the cylinder.

• Carry Anywhere:

As the power source attached to it, you can take it anywhere you want.

Disadvantages of Gas Powered Pole Pruner:

However, if you are not a heavy user, you will find lots of cons here. Some of which are-

• Heavier in Weight:

Gas pole saw is much heavier than other types of pruner. They can weight three to 5 pound more that electric pruner. One of the main reason is the cumbersome and powerful engine and its fuel.

• Mixing Oil and Gas:

There is also a task of mixing oil and gas in the 2-cycle engine. That you will also get, pre-mixture gas+oil available on the market could be a bit expensive sometimes.

• Noise and Fumes:

These pruners create heavy sound and fumes also which could be annoying to both you and your neighbor.

• Expensive In Term of Price:

These are the most expensive category of telescopic pruner. The reason for such high price clearly visible. It had much more features than other types and produced thereby professional results.

• Maintenance Demands:

Some of this pole saw require frequent maintenance work because of tremendous pressure of work it takes regularly. You have to keep the blade sharp and definite, oil the chain on regular basis ( If it does not have any automatic oiling feature)

However That compared to the return it provides you is nothing at all.

The Features You Should Look At While Buying:

• Cutting Capacity:

Cutting capacity is a major factor of pole saw. You can know the cutting capacity of a chainsaw quickly through its bar length. How? In the case of gas pole saw, a 10-inch cutting bar can easily handle 8-inch thick tree branches. Now your task is to assess the average diameter of the tree branches of your garden and choose the right cutting bar for that.

In general case, the cutting capacity of a tree trimmer is the half of a cutting bar. But in the event of gas pole saw, a 10-inch cutting bar can easily handle 8-inch thick tree branches. Now your task is to assess the average diameter of the tree branches of your garden and choose the right cutting bar for that.

• Maximum Extension

The maximum extension means the highest extendable length of the pole. If you see 8-20 Feet pole extension on the product description, that means the pole is foldable onto 8 feet and extendable up to 20 feet.

Maximum working reach might be 25 feet which mean the maximum pole extension (20 Feet) and your possible height (5 Feet) totaling 25 feet.

So don’t focus on maximum pole reached but on maximum pole extension while selecting.

• Weight

The electric pole pruner is lightweight but Gas powered pruner are not. Waight could be a factor to some of you for any medical or other reason. If you work continuously with an overweight pruner, you could have a backache. So award a pruner as the winner which is a comparatively lightweight one and also comfortable to your

If you work continuously with an overweight pruner, you could have a backache. So award a pruner as the winner which is a comparatively lightweight one and also comfortable to your strength or holding capacity.

• Balance and Control

Gas powered pole saw are the heavier one available on the market. That is why it is imperative to have the balance of the weight properly all over the pole. Luckily you will find that some company produced a well-balanced pruner with a comfortable handle and mentioned the feature on product description.

Kicking back of chainsaw is another big problem of smooth cutting. So look in the product description and see whether it has anti-vibration systems or not.

• Engine Capacity

Most of the time you will find 25 CC 2 cycle engine which is enough for many works.

• Automatic Lubrication:

Make sure the chainsaw includes an automatic lubrication features while cutting with it; otherwise you will have to do it manually. For safe and efficient cutting, Proper chain lubrication is necessary.

• Attachments

You will find some good manufacturer will offer attachment capacity on the description of the products. This attachment will bring your pruner to an extra level of working.

For example, some of the useful attachments are Hedge Trimmers that can take care of the tops of tall bushes and leaf blower that can help clean gutters.

• Easy Maintenance

As you will work with more frequently, regular maintenance is a must here. Thereby if the maintenance is not easy here, it will be a burden of a headache for you.

Make sure the parts came on purchase fits perfectly together and the users manual are clear and informative. And also there is lots of information (e.g. blog post, a youtube video on assembling and disassembling it) available on online that might help you in future.

Buying a popular model from a well-reputed brand is the best choice here.

• Replacement Parts

Nothing lasts forever is a universal truth or principle. It is possible that some of the parts of your telescopic pruner might be needed to repair or replaced. Availability of replacement parts is crucial here. Just have a quick search on the internet to make sure the such are available.

• Brand Reputation

In most cases staying with the good brand means staying on the safe side. A popular brand always tries to maintain qualities and get positive feedback from customers. They never think of one-time business but for forever business relationship.

• Warranty

Warranty comes as a blessing when you find your tree trimmer dysfunctioning or not functioning at all and in no way you can understand the reasons and fix in theryby.

Most of the good brand provides 1-2 years warranty.

Best Manual Pole Saw Reviews

Manual pole saw is the best choice for lightweight uses. If you have a very small lawn with a few trees, a manual pole pruner might be the best fit for you.

This type of pruner does not have any chainsaw on the head or any source of power on the bottom. This is the simplest type of pole saw consist of a pole and a usual saw on the head.

Advantages of Manual Pole Pruner:

A question may arise here that why should someone choose manual pole pruner instead of powered pole saw.

Because there are some clear benefits of choosing manual pole saw for pruning the trees of your garden.

They are-

• Very Lightweight

They are very lightweight in term of weight as they are consist of only a stick and a saw in the head.

• Cheap Price

Most of the time they are the most affordable option on the market.

As they don’t need any complicated or extra tools such as gas cylinder as in gas pole saw, or battery or cord as in electric pole saw also they don’t have any chainsaw but a simple traditional saw which reduces the production cost.

• The Length of Pole:

Length or extension of the pole is a great feature here. If you are looking something with a longer length to reach higher branches of trees, this is a great choice.

You will find some good qualities professional pole pruner that can reach more than 20 feet. On top of that, They are also lightweight, so you don’t have to worry to carry them in any remote area.

• Easy Maintenance

You don’t have to bear any future expenses or effort to maintain its attached tools as there are no gas cylinder or batteries or chainsaw as found in powered (Gas or Electronic) one.

Just keeping the blade sharp and nice is enough.

• Product Warranty:

Most of the time if you go with good reputable brands, you will get a lifetime warranty with it which is really great.

• Health Benefits:

If you do have enough time for yourself as well as enjoy physical exercise in order to keep yourself fit and healthy, it’s an excellent choice for you.

Disadvantages of Manual Pole Saws:

There are some apparent barriers of such kind of pole saw. One is, if you want to cut a thick tree branch, it will cost your huge amount of energy. Because you will have to do that in the traditional way of cutting anything with saws such as ups and down method.

Some of which are as follows-

• Not Fit For Heavy or Medium Use:

If you are looking for some heavy or medium use mostly with thick branches, and you don’t enjoy the physical effort, this is not a right choice for you.

• Cost Your Effort:

It will require a high degree of skill and considerable effort while working. Because, you will have to do everything with your physical force.

Verdict: If you are going to use it in a long term interval such as once in a one or two-month, then go for it.

But if you are going to use it more frequently, and unless your heart is set on a manual saw, we recommend that you consider a powered pole pruner option.

Tthe price difference between best manual pole saw and electric pole saw is not too much.

What To Consider While Buying?

Now you know most of the obvious pros and cons of manual pole saw. Considering them carefully, if you do think that this is the best fit or choice to serve your purposes, then, go with it.

In that case, I have made a buying guide for your convenience. You should look at them while buying.

They are as follows-

• Sharp and Strong Blade

Make sure the pole has a sharp and strong saw. So it does not twist or bend or separate while trying to cut a thick and robust branch.

• Highest Pole Reach:

Pole Reach is a factor sometimes if the tree branches are high enough. An assessment of the height of the tree of your working areas e.g. garden can be helpful here. But my advice is to go with highest possible pole reach not compromising qualities of other elements of pruner.

But my advice is to go with a pole saw with maximum possible pole reach as long as other elements of that pruner are perfect.

• Cutting Head or Mouth Pruner:

Make sure your tools have a strong mouth pruner or cutting head on top. A powerful cutting head is handy while working. The quality of rope that controls the cutting head is also a matter of consideration.

• Warranty and Brands:

A good reputable brand with good warranties works like a charm. You will get maximum supports in future maintenance if stick with a famous brand with positive customer review. They will give you a great hazard free support to maintain their brand value or fame.

Keep it in mind that a renowned brand will never want to make a negative impression on the market. They don’t believe in one-time business rather on long-term relationship or business.

The good thing is you will find some of the best brands are providing a lifetime warranty with post support on their products.