I work alot in the garden and I tough it out pruning my own trees and bushes, within the limitation of being 5'2" and how high I will climb up the ladder. It is also a great work-out and a great way to get a tan. Granted, living in San Diego, helps in that area. My favorite tool for cutting branches and pruning bushes that have thick branches is the Corona Lopper with extendable handles. I have used it on my magnolia tree branches, my annoying neighbor's elm trees that keep growing over the fence, my palm tree branches and all my shrubs, including my large oleander bushes along the circumference of the yard. It cuts right through all these branches with ease.

I decided to write this review because this tool really helped me save my house from the fire that was on the other side of the hill here in San Diego a few months ago. My neighbors came scrambling over to my house because I have six huge palm trees in my yard and I had been remiss in trimming off the dead palm leaves. My neighbors proceeded to tell me that palm trees will ignite immediately on contact with fire. They had a couple of regular pruning tools but they were impossible to use for cutting the palm branches so that I could cut them small enough to fit into the trash cans expediently. When I got my Corona lopper, I was actually complemented by my male neighbors for having that tool and quickly cutting the palm branches while they sawed down the palm branches. It was as a relief to do that and the fire stayed away luckily.

Product Description

* Corona FL3470 Compound Action Bypass Lopper With Extendable Handles
* 2 in. diameter cutting capacity
* Lightweight
* strong fiberglass handles extend 21 in. to 33 in.
* Four-bar compound linkage triples your cutting power
* Resharpenable
* PTFE non stick coated
* high-carbon steel bypass blade
* Slant ground hook with sap groove
* Cushion grips for comfort.


Full Specifications

* Manufacturer Part No. FL3470
* Model FL3470
* UPC 038313034702
* paid $32; bought at Home Depot

What are my favorite aspects of this lopper

* I have had the lopper for seven years and I have yet to have to sharpen it
* Rugged and still looks like new and has not oxidized
* powerful with cutting through branches with ease yet safe that if you leave it on the ground; it will not hurt your pet in the yard
* It is very easy to change the length of the handles where you just turn the handles counter-clock-wise to unlock, pull it either away or towards you until it is your desired length. Then you just turn it to lock in place.

What could be a little better

My only complaint is that when I extend the handles to reach the back side of tall bushes, the lopper is hard to manage, since it is more top heavy and it is tasking on my arms if I extend it for longer than 30 seconds. Granted being a woman, without the upper strength of a man, is a little bit of a disadvantage but eventually I can sway the lopper to the branch that I am trying to trim.

This is only an issue when I have been working on the oleander bushes over two hours and my arms start to tire.

Summary

I would highly recommend this lopper for anyone that needs to quickly and efficiently cut a thick branch in your yard. It is comfortable gripping with the cushioned handles, which helps to combat fatigue. It also has extendable handles for reaching 21 inches to 33 inches from you and is reasonably easy to maneuver. After all, $32 is a cheap price to pay for a tool of this magnitude.
Hiring a gardener to do it would be more expensive and it has paid for itself time and time again.

Recommended: Yes