Weak spring

Reviews: Fiskars 9461 16-Foot Power Lever Tree Pruner

I would echo R Casengo's review, it is spot on. On my first use with the pole extended to maximum length, the flexing that was present while pulling the rope to activate the cutter on a relatively small branch was a bit ridiculous. I tried it on a very large branch and the whole thing acted more like a fishing rod than a tool, fighting me to make the cut. The bottom line is the tool can cut twigs while fully extended but rapidly loses effectiveness as the branch size increases. As the pole is retracted it starts to become more useful at lengths below 12 feet or so.

It's not a bad pole. I also have the Fiskars 12 foot pruning stick and that pole is solid when fully extended. This 16 foot pole's mechanism has the advantage of hooking a branch into the jaws, whereas the pruning stick requires you to push the jaws up against the branch ... though I find at maximum extension it is difficult to maneuver the pole to hook the branch and then make the cut vs push the jaws and quickly get the cut underway. When you have your neck bent out of shape trying to move the pole into position, the quicker you get to cutting the better.