Which Bypass Pruners and Loppers?

[esshup]

A friend asked what were the best ones out there (realiability, ease of use, longivety, etc) and I can't give him an answer. I know what I have, but they were purchased a while ago and they aren't available now. (Corona loppers and Fiskars gear reduction pruners) I'm the one who uses my stuff, and take care of it, so it lasts.

We're out in the sticks, so buying locally is limited to homeowner grade crap. The purchase would be done on-line to get quality.

Suggestions please?

 

[TheJollyLogger]

Felco. The absolute best, last forever, and really not that bad pricewise.

 

[Zale]

Felco #2 handpruners, Felco handsaw and chainsaw. Skip the loppers, they make awful pruning cuts.

 

[beastmaster]

Some might laugh,but I recently bought a little mini pair of corona Loppers and I love them. (home depot)
I own several brands from 20.00 to 120.00 and depending what kind of tree I'm doing use them a lot. I can do anything with those minis I can do with a big(normal)pair, but their light and don't get me all tangled up like the others do. I like the wooden handled coronas but I break the handles on them all the time. My Felco's are just too heavy to use up in the tree, but indistuctable.
My all time favorites are the fiberglass Fiskars, 30.00 bucks at home depot.

 

[imagineero]

I think it depends on what you're using them for. For home use the fiskars plastic gear reduction pruners are very light and easy to use, and they last a long time for home use. For professional use the felco is better but heavier and needs more strength to use but will last in a professional use environment. For the hardest commercial use, Levin sawmakers of new zealand make the best there is.

http://www.timbersaws.co.nz/site/Documents/Forestry Catalogue.pdf

The prun-off lopper 26/660 really does take off branches of 2 1/2" in pine. They make a bigger pair that will do 3 1/2", but honestly, you need to be on crystal meth to achieve it. There are guys that use these loppers to remove 600~800 branches a day, every day, all in the 2"+ range. The loppers last for many years in that sort of environment so expect several lifetimes use for orchards, arborists and home users. Replacement parts are readily available. Theyre great guys to deal with.

Shaun