Recommended hedge trimmer?

[skotl]

I understand that I may be risking a religious war here, but wondered about recommended hedge trimmers?

We are about to move into a house in November (so I don't envisage using this till the spring) that has a whole bunch of 20ft trees (probably bushes, to be honest, but I do like to exagerate) and lesser bushes.

I'm not going to get on a ladder, hire scaffolding, etc; I'll get a "chap" in to do the hard'n'dangerous stuff. So, just to cope with what is reachable, what would you recommend?
For the record, I'm as happy with a petrol unit rather than having to heft around 200m of flex (which is what would be required, given the size of the garden).

Cheers
Scott

 

[Burnerman]

There's loads of Chinese cloned stuff out there, but if you want the best then its Stihl or Husqvarna.
Do check out the Ryobi add on range though, it could give you some ideas.
I have a Stihl extended reach hedge cutter with the Stihl 4 mix engine - tremendous bit of kit that cost around £550.
John

 

[Muzz]

i recently also needed a hedge trimmer but wanted to get one which doubles as a line trimmer as well, settled on a ryobi with expand it acccessories due to the cost of the quality alternatives like stihl.

i bought the rlt430ces 4 stroke engine which was a big mistake. i'm sure it works fine as a trimmer, but as soon as you add the hedge trimmer and tip it so the head is higher than the engine it leaks oil all over the place.

ryobi's advice is to put less oil in it needless to say it went back. i've got a 2 stroke version coming but not tested it yet.

the expand it articulating hedge trimmer worked fine though. i also bought the extension bar to use with it, not sure if they actually recommend that but you get a good reach, heavy on the arms though.

 

[r896neo]

I have an echo hc33es that is 4 years old and it's the best hedge trimmer i have had, kawasaki and stihl included. Really light and really easy to start. Spares can be a bit of a problem i'm lead to believe but i haven't needed anything other than new blades.

Get yourself a set of 30''ish single sided, as they take a few goes to get used to but are a decent bit lighter and a cutting deflector is really useful.

 

[skotl]

Thanks folks - I'll check out the suggestions.
The Stihl looks awesome, but not sure my budget will stretch that far!

Cheers