help me buy a tree pruner

[mattkime]

a tree i planted herein brooklyn has gotten wrapped into some telephone lines which i should really undo. brooklyn being brooklyn, its both hard to find tree pruners and transport them since i don't have a car unless i rent.

http://www.amazon.com/Corona-Clipper-Tel..._4?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1238945709&sr=8-4
http://www.amazon.com/Fiskars-Profile-12...33?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1238945821&sr=8-33
http://www.amazon.com/Wallace-12-Foot-Tr...21?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1238946073&sr=8-21

since i'm a cheapskate, i'm trying to figure out why i shouldn't get the bottom model for $42 shipped.

thx!

[lafinfil]

The pluses I see for the Fiskars is the chain drive cutter and a longer cutting blade. Also a readily available replacement.
Probably more important if you are going to use it a lot or for years to come. If your needs are not frequent then
one of the cheaper ones would probably suit your needs.

[John B.]

Tree pruners aren't much bigger than a broom, so there wouldn't be a reason you couldn't carry one on public transportation if you could find one locally.

My dad has the Fiskars, it's pretty neat. I bought a cheap one from Harbor Freight which satisfies my needs just fine. I think it cost somewhere between $9.99 and $15.99.

Also, if your worry is that your tree has grown into utility wires, most of the utilities (at least in the 3 states I've lived in) come and trim around their wires on a scheduled basis.

[Rick-o]

I also have a cheapo, for the times when I can't get to a limb with a chainsaw. For my needs, it works extremely well.

As laf mentioned, if you can replace the blade easily, it may be all you need.

[fromish]

I have had both Corona and Fiskars and finally broke down in frustration with mediocre tools and bought a good extension pruner:

http://www.amazon.com/Wolf-Garten-720100...B00023S6P6

You need the tree loper head and the handles which extends to 160" or so.

The Wolf-Garten has teflon-coated blades, quality pulleys and very strong cords, a high pulley ratio for great leverage when working over your head and deals with branches 2+ inches in diameter. If you have larger branches to deal with, you need either a manual saw or an electric or gas mini-chainsaw mounted on a pole. However, the Tree Lopper has worked flawlessly for me for over three years of heavy fruit and ornamental tree pruning.

[Carm]

Still have a Fiskar. Bought a few years ago. Use it to trim queen palms and regular palms. The tree looper part is not used that often, but still functions.

Joe