Fiskars Pruning Stik Extendable Tree Pruner & Pole Saw, Rope-Free Design with Rotating Head for High Branches, Chain-Drive Gearing for 3X More Power, 15 Inch Saw Blade, 7.9-12 Foot Extension

I am a 78 year old woman that has taken over yard maintenance since my husband has been having more problems with mobility. We have a crab apple tree that had a number of dead branches in addition to other trees with the same problem. I trimmed as many as I could with my new extendable lopper, but many were still out of reach. My husband had a similar tool, but the lopper was controlled with a rope pull. In addition, the saw was not detachable. I did try to use this tool, but most often, the saw got in the way when trying to position the lopper. In addition, when I could position the lopper, the rope cut into my hand when I tried to cut anything over 1" in diameter. I found this tool and decided to buy it. This tree pruner/pole saw works so much better than the one my husband has. Granted, at least for me, the weight at an extended length is heavy holding it on an angle with or without the saw, but this could be an age thing. So what do I like about this tool. 1) The adjustment to extend it up to 12' is very easy. 2) The saw is removable. So it doesn't get in the way when you are using this only as a lopper. 3) Cutting dead branches up to 1" in diameter is much easier than using the rope type. 4) The saw works well, but only on branches that are near a stable branch or trunk. 5) The pole and design of this tool looks to be very durable. 6) Cutting small branches is extremely quick, but thicker branches take some effort. Overall, I like this pruning tool much better than the rope type my husband has, and would recommend it. Cutting small branches is not hard when doing it from an angle, but much easier when doing it from below the branch. Just have to make sure the branch doesn't fall on on you. I find the lopper much more useful than the saw. It may be an age thing, but, when the pole is extended, even just the lopper at the end feels heavy especially when cutting on an angle. Cutting from below is easier to control the weight. UPDATE 09/02/25: Since we have quite a few trees with dead branches, I have been using the trimmer part of this tool quite often. Any dead branches 1" or smaller are very easy to cut on any tree, but I have noticed that anything larger than 1" can be more difficult for hard wood trees. Today, I tried to cut a 2" branch on a crab apple tree. I got the trimmer onto the branch, which required the full extension. I couldn't cut the branch, so I asked my husband to help. I held the cutter while he pulled the cutter. We braced the end of the pole on the banister of the deck. Between the two of us we couldn't even make a dent in the branch. Tomorrow I will try to remove this branch with the saw. Maybe it's an age thing, but I have noticed that I can hold up the trimmer when it's fully extended for only so long before I need a break. I do have strong arms, but this tool gets heavy after extended use. I hope this review was helpful for you.

I bought my Pruning Stik in 2011. I didn’t use it very much once I moved, in 2013, to a place without trees, but it’s become my tool of choice for light pruning in recent years since moving again in 2017, because it is so light and cuts really well. I especially love not having to take out a ladder as often (if a limb is that high, it’s usually too large for me to cut safely, so that’s when I call an arborist) and I now find that I can easily prune and thin tree canopies (e.g., to improve airflow and/or reduce shading of my lawn or flowers below) on my own. I even managed to take out a tent caterpillar infestation. The last arborist I’d hired told me that cutting off infected limbs is rarely effective, but it’s been 3 years now and they haven’t returned. Although the limbs weren’t thick, I didn’t want to be anywhere near where the tents would come down, but thanks to the light weight and reach of the pruning stik, I was able to cut most of the limbs from my deck (nearly level with the branches) and the rest while standing well clear of the tent/larvae sacks. When the blade snapped a month or so ago, I submitted a claim under the warranty and, voila, they sent a replacement blade. While I was waiting for the replacement, I realized how much I missed this tool! Anyway, kudos to Fiskars for the great design and service!

BOTTOM LINE: Whether you're just doing occasional trimming ...or tackling a big project, this Fiskars extendable pruning saw will amaze you with its speed and simplicity. It sawed circles around my supposed 'top-of-the-line' Craftsman pole saw. 5 STARS THOUGHTS: With Sears going out of business everywhere you look, I knew I needed to buy something besides another Craftsman unit when my old one started acting up. Surfing around, this Fiskars pole saw racked up solid reviews on every site I checked out. The brand is well-renowned for sharpness and durability, so I decided to pony up and buy one. This spring I finally got a chance to try it out... and I must tell you that I am beyond impressed. My driveway is almost 100 yards long, lined on both side by tall pine trees anywhere from 20 to 40 feet high. They've been slowly growing together for many years but I never had cause to trim much since the interwoven branches helped minimize rain and snowfall in my driveway, which is always a bonus. However I knew I had to do some major trimming recently because delivery trucks (fuel oil, UPS, etc.) coming up to the house were starting to complain about several of the lower hanging branches. So on a cool Spring weekend I headed out and began trimming the trees along my driveway with this new Fiskars pruner. First impressions were positive. The oval shape of the handle keeps the pole from twisting in your hands, which inspires confidence, especially when the pole is extended fully to reach high branches. The snap lock collar and simple push-n-pop spring-loaded retention pin make extending and retracting the pole a breeze; though the snap collar often popped open. Irritating, but it never adversely affected the saw's performance. (The positioning holes in the extension section have started to elongate after a few months' use, but this saw still works great in spite of this apparent design flaw. It's the only real complaint that I have about this otherwise excellent pole saw.) The lopping feature has a thick heavy cord with a large, easy to grasp plastic T-handle. It snips easily through anything that will fit inside the hook. But what impressed me the most was the hellaciously fast cutting power of the curved saw blade. The aggressive design of the blade & saw teeth quickly zipped through branches, seemingly in half the time (and effort!) of my old Craftsman saw. Wow! I am sold on this unit forever! After ripping through over 100 branches, ranging in thickness from an inch to well over 4 inches, I remain in awe of the ease with which this tool does its job. [I had 6 stacks of branches piled waist-high in just a few hours - check the picture! (The Fiskars is leaning against my first stack of branches, in the background.) A picture is worth a 1000 words: this saw WORKS!!!] I recommend the Fiskars 393981 to ANYONE looking for a telescoping saw. It may cost a bit more than others but this is one case where you absolutely get what you paid for! And then some!!

Excellent product. Excellent value. This is my second one. My only concern is the strength of the (telescoping) extension tubes. This Pole Saw cannot withstand any sudden impact with the ground, should you be trimming a larger diameter, higher, heavier branch that suddenly comes crashing to the ground. To be clear, this is a very well engineered tree pruning, tree trimming device. I absolutely have loved mine. You have to sort of "know when to say when" in not becoming too greedy in bringing down those extremely high, extremely large branches. Having said that, I've been able to repair my Fiscars Pole Saw three times now by simply (carefully) cutting the damaged telescoping tubes and (carefully) redrilling new fastener and height adjustment holes, as necessary depending on the needed repair. Also the chaindrive pruning hook tool is fantastic! It provides additional mechanical leverage for pulling down the pruning mechanism rope. Very, very effective tool. Just know that the higher you trim (saw) branches, the greater the odds you will damage this Fiscars Pole Saw. In many instances, however, it can actually be repaired ("repurposed") again, although you will likely have less overall height. Regardless, this is a very good value for the price. Lastly ONLY use this Pole Saw when standing on the ground. That's a basic safety thing that even this "greedy" Fiscars Pole Saw amateur user strongly advises. I am grateful for this product. It immediately opened up additional capability for me as a DIY customer. I know there are other (Commercial Grade) Pole Saw Pruning Tools. This Fiscars tool has more than met my needs. It adjusts well... adjusts easily, provided the tubing has not been bent. I have trimmed branches up to 25 feet high with this fully extended Fiscars Pole Saw. I've learned to have more reasonable expectations of the tool, while still appreciating its capabilities, particularly from an amateur / home owner perspective. The saw blade is magnificent. It is best utilized by having both feet firmly planted on the ground.

This has quickly become my favorite garden tool. We have a palm collection, including many Mediterranean fan palms and Phoenix reclinatas--both with sharp spines along the petioles. This allows me to cut fronds from a distance without reaching into the plants. The rotating head allows me to quickly change the angle for the best cut. It's light enough, feels durable, and makes my life so much easier. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Aside from my small bypass hand-held pruner, the Fiskars Extendable Tree Pruner is the most used tool in my shed. I recently bought a second one because my first, after 12 years of use and abuse, had rust on the chain, a rat-chewed (but mended) pull-strap, a bent lower jaw and other issues inflicted by me and a few neighbors. It’s still usable for trimming branches, but this new pruner cuts like a dream, releases instantly, and doesn’t let small stems get between the blades and freeze the jaws shut. (I haven’t had a need to use the pruning saw.) Love love love it.

We have a willow style tree which overhangs our patio. Lately it's started to look like a kid with an unruly hairdo who hasn't seen a barber or stylist in a long while. A few scaggly branches popping out here and there. It seems less than ideal - not to mention due to it's height, not possible - to really use a ladder effectively with a trimmer or lopper in hand. So pole lopper/saw it is. After looking at a lot of reviews and specs - this Fiskars model hits the right mix of features (length and cutting capability) for a good price. The model I purchased extends from 7' - 16' and has the "chain drive". Overall the tool seems sturdy - time will tell. The fiberglass pole is striking a nice balance between weight and strength and reach. The tool head with lopper worked fine to nip thru 3 branches that were just a bit over 1" in diameter (thickness). I have not yet tested the saw - other than to remove the blade while using the lopper. When fixing the saw for use - you undo a single wingnut and align a support hole with a nub on the tool head and the hole for the bolt for the wing nut to (re)secure the saw. It would be nice if they'd include a second nub so you could secure the blade to the tool while it's not in use and not worry that it could slide out of position. Overall I'm happy with the price/performance - it made easy work of the test branches on the willow over the patio - requiring not too much strength to pull the rope for the lopper. It's a bit unwieldy but extended to 12 or 16 feet that's to be expected. Time will tell about the durability - but I have a weekend coming up soon to do some trimming on a number of trees around my property.

The 50% of the time the cut goes off without any malfunction is amazing. The other half of the time, you are: 1) getting pinched by an angry plastic knob that flails around 2) untwisting the ribbon from around the pole, which a causes a jam 3) reattaching the bottom cone piece, because you need to take it off to untwist the ribbon 4) reattaching the bottom cone piece, because once you take it off it falls off every 3 or 4 cuts 5) slamming the pump handle into your hand when you pull the knob, because the best places to hold the pole are right in the line of fire. That's another different kind of pinch. The type that just makes you angry; where you yell the F word at the top of your lungs. 6) unjamming the sticks of virtually any size from 1 cm up to 1 inch that regularly go sideways and lodge between the blades, regardless of sharpening the blade, tightening the blades, and practicing 7) scrambling to catch a falling pole when you make a cut right at the limit of the range of the stik, because the only place you can hold it is on the very bottom of the pole, otherwise the pump slams into your hand- and your other hand is pulling the knob. As soon as the stick is cut, the pole starts to fall. If you reach with the hand that was pulling the cord, the plastic knob will zip up and hit or pinch your other hand, if you reach with the only hand that was on the pole already, then you are almost performing a juggling act, and something will go wrong. I think the best thing Fiskars can do with this product is somehow attach a tiny webcam to it and constantly stream little tiktok clips of people getting hurt or getting really mad. I'm think after every time I get hurt by this pruning stik, the one thing that might make me feel better would be seeing a little video of it hurting someone else. I was actually looking for the 5' Fiskar's pruning stick but I only found this longer one. Longer must be better right? Wrong. Here are the absolutely major failures compared to their shorter product which has the exact same pruning shears and ribbon & bike chain operating hardware. 1) The ribbon (it's not a rope! a flat rope is not the same thing as a ribbon!) is on the outside of the stick. It was on the inside of the stick on the other model. I get it, they probably did that so it wouldn't interfere with the telescoping extension piece. Now it interferes with multiple other things instead. 2) Careful where you put your hand if you get a good grip and your hand is over the ribbon, you could get a ribbon burn on your hand when you try and cut, or you might get lucky and merely prevent the product from working effectively. 3) Also watch out for wayward sticks or debris, things will get stuck in the ribbon. 4) the section of the ribbon running from the pump action grip down to the pull cord likes to start getting twisted around the pole and it will get stuck- you will have to remove the end piece to untangle this. 5) The pump grip and the pull cord are now synchronized in tandem on this model- meaning when you pull the cord it also moves the pump grip down the pole and vice versa- pumping the grip gives slack to the pull cord and it will flop around. On the 5' model these two methods of pruning were independent of each other, which worked WAY better. Pumping the grip wouldn't send a floppy hard plastic knob falling out of the bottom of the pole trying to find the right place to smack you so it will optimize the pain. And conversely, pulling the knob doesn't send the pump grip crashing into your other hand, making a fair effort to score a blood blister on that flap of skin between your thumb and index finger. Does that little piece of webbed hand have a name? It is pruner-averse for sure. 6) because the pump and knob cord work the same mechanism, watch out where you put your hand! When trying to get to the furthest lengths you can, you will put one hand on the pole near the bottom and then pull the knob with the other hand- only the pump grip will come crashing into your hand when you do, preventing the cut, pinching your hand and possibly causing you to drop the pruner. And if it lands wrong, that pole WILL bend out of shape. 7) When cutting with the cord and pull knob, do not let go of that knob after the cut like you're starting a lawnmower. It it will flail around and retract into the bottom of the pole until it smashes a finger or hand that may be in the wrong place at the wrong time. I'm torn about which one hurts worse: the knob smack or the pump grip collision. I'm; thinking the pump grip collision. So here is the TL;DR: don't get this thing. Fiskars always had choice gear at the store and for prizes or demos. I am going to see about other things I can get that aren't crazy battery expensive . I am almost certain there are at least 1 and possibly 2 or 3 things that I forgot to mention, but this review is long enough and my anger-typing-cramps are pretty bad. Cheers.