What hedge trimmer to buy??

[Larry's Lawns]

Will be buying my first hedge trimmer in the next few days and figure you guys know the ones to buy, and the ones to not buy. Interested in knowing both. Small town's store options are; John Deere, Home Depot, Tractor Supply, Sears and Walmart ;~). Thanx in advance- all good advice is appreciated. Larry Puckette Larry's Lawns Seguin Texas

Lawn care business tips

Hey Larry..... You cant go wrong with Echo hedge trimmers 20" double sided. You can get them at Home Depot for $269.00 I am not sure about what not to get but if you are looking for a good price and a reliable hedge trimmer Echo is a great first purchase. Greg

[FourSeasons]

Larry-

I have the echo also. I bought it off craigslist only used once for $150. Its a great machine. Olnly thing that I don't like is the on/off switch sticks out by your hand and I accidentally turn it off all the time.

I also have a Stihl HS 80 (i think thats it). And that thing is a savage. I would strongly recommend it. It has a 30" bar and can cut thru alot of big stuff. Great Machine. I used it to cut even little shrubs before I got the echo.

Originally Posted by [b

Quote[/b] ]Small town's store options are; John Deere, Home Depot, Tractor Supply, Sears and *Walmart ;~).

Stay away from walmart, sears, and home depot if you can. Except for the echo at home depot.
The ones they consider good at sears, home depot and walmart are garbage.
They are all basically the same if you really compare them close. Just with a different brand name almost.
Sears- Craftsman
Home Depot- Homelite
Walmart- Weed Eater

Its worth it in the long run to spend the extra and get the commercial grade. Don't waste your time with those cheapos.
I started with one and I hated it. You can only run it at full throttle for no more than 30 secs I think.
Your back will thank you to.
Anyways you get the idea.

Thats my opinion anyways.

[Little's]

I have a Husqvarna that I bought new off ebay for $180. It retails for $320. I have had awesome results with it. BTW I know the double sided hedgers are nice, but they are super dangerous (as compared to the single sided). The handle design on the singles always keeps the cutters away from you, and reduces the chance of leg nicks (or worse).
Just thought I would point that out.

[FourSeasons]

Originally Posted by [b

Quote[/b] ] The handle design on the singles always keeps the cutters away from you, and reduces the chance of leg nicks (or worse).
Just thought I would point that out.

Very Good Point. That just happened to me about 2 weeks ago. Good thing I was wearing double knee carnharts. Or I would have taken a little piece out of my leg. I still got a small cut. But yeah you have to be careful. I was using my Stihl and that thing is has huge cutters on it. Watch out.

[Larry's Lawns]

thanx for the good input guys. went to home depot today, they only had one echo and it was refurbished and discounted. not that i mind saving a buck, but just didn't feel comfortable enough to walk out with it. so after the Sthill was mentioned, i've remembered there was a western auto in town that handled that brand. went by there and the parking lot was being ripped up by front end loaders and it looked very closed.

very nice input about the danger of the double sided. now i'm wondering what the advantage is to weigh against that danger? faster? cleaner work? easier?

[Little's]

You may get a little more work done faster with a double sided, but
if you rip your leg open, then you will be losing more work if it ever did happen. I have always done just fine with mine. No trouble at all.

[FourSeasons]

Originally Posted by [b

Quote[/b] ]very nice input about the danger of the double sided. now i'm wondering what the advantage is to weigh against that danger? faster? cleaner work? easier?

I like the double edged ones and have put alot of hours in on them. I don't see the smaller 20-24" bar sizes being a problem. But my Stihl has a 30" bar and it gets heavy after a while. So you have to becareful when you bring it down. That must have been a little reminder not to be careless.
I always thought the single sided trimmers were for doing better sculpting type of work.
If I had to start fresh I would get one like mine with the 30" bar. I use it all the time and the small echo hardly ever gets used. That thing is great. There is alot of advantages to it.
It might be a little harder to shape smaller shrubs with it, but you can always do a little touch up with hand shears if needed. I've never had to do that though.

Everything we work with is dangerous. You just have to remember that when you are working.

[Larry's Lawns]

thanx for the previous responses guys.. small towns have their niceties but also their drawbacks. todays drawback is shopping limitations again.

about hedge trimmers- looks like home depot is just not gonna get the new echo gas hedge trimmers in and the stihl source has closed their doors. this has left me with a choice of husqvarna or the junk at sears and walmart, or 1 1/2 hour drive. ANY OPINIONS ON HUSQVARNA HEDGE TRIMMERS??

[FourSeasons]

I would go with the Husqvarna before anyone cheap one. Spend the extra money or time and it will pay for itself in the end.

Or you could buy one on the internet and have it shipped to you.
They don't weigh that much.