Sun Joe SJH901E 18-Inch Electric Telescoping Pole Hedge Trimmer

As others have mentioned, it's heavy. But would anything that's built to last not be? This is my 3rd Sun Joe product as I bought a blower and pressure washer previously. All three are well built and work well. The value is what appealed to me most. I won't be using but the blower regularly and expect all three will lastThe trimmer I used last week. The strap helps, but you still need to take breaks when trimming overhead. I paid a gardener $50 to trim two very large/tall hedges and this cost me a little over half that and next time it will pay for itself. It works great, clean cuts and no effort going through hedge. I'd recommend to anyone looking for a pole trimmer

I bought the item to use on about 60 feet of 8ft tall privacy hedge which had been allowed to grow unchecked for a number of years. I also plan on using it for some other trimming tasks which my 40V battery trimmer has proven unsuitable for. The Trimmer arrived quickly, on time, and well packaged. The trimmer was easy to put together and assembly required no extra tools. Overall I was happy with the trimmer, its use cut the amount of time the task had take previously by half, and the work was physically easier complete.Pros:The height and angle adjustment allowed me to cut the hedge more uniformly than previously. Also allowed me to stay farther back away from the hedge during operation saving me from thorns and scratches. The more powerful motor, verse my battery trimmer, allowed for the cutting of thicker branches. Using the pole trimmer on anything above shoulder height was far less effort than using the battery trimmer alone. Working this way preserved the battery trimmer for work lower down meaning I could do the whole job with these two tools without stopping to recharge the battery. Not using the battery trimmer with arms above my head or using a ladder to reach higher branches made the work easier on me and reduced personal risk of injury. I was a lot less sore the day of and morning after. I found the price and functionality very good for my use case.Cons:As many others have noted the placement of the trigger and safety lock switch is awkward causing one to hold the handle oddly and uncomfortably to operate it. The unit is not really all that light weight and it is all out at the end of the pole I did find it tiring to use it and was made all the more difficult due to the awkward ways I seemed to be required to hold it.Things to be aware of:For my use the strap seems unnecessary, you may find differently, but I found it to be more of a hazard than a help. As you likely have noted this is a corded trimmer. Working farther away from a power source you will need a decent extension cord or risk damaging the trimmer. The manual for the unit indicates at least a 12 gauge cord for 100ft, its less if your cord is shorter (reference the manual or the card attached to the unit) this will be an extra cost if you don't already have one. I am not sure this unit has a blade bind shut off, which my battery trimmer does, if it does I did not trigger it on the larger branches I cut.

As many have noted, the business end of this machine is not feather-weight. However, it is a reasonable weight for the utility it represents. The cutting blades are long enough to cut the entire top of a medium-sized hedge so there is no need to do the top from both sides. With the poles extended, it is also long enough to trim a 10 to 12 foot hedge without a ladder. Some may notice that I give an overall rating of 5 stars, but only 3 to light weight and 4 to weight distribution. I think that the overall performance is all I hoped for, maybe a bit better for a lower-priced tool. I suppose it could be made with more aluminum or other lighter weight materials, but that would bring about other compromises in quality and price. Sure, I would like it if it weighed only half what it weighs, but it is still a whole lot better for the job than my previous options. Hence, the stars.For a point of reference, I am a 71 year old woman, 5'4" (used to be 5'6", but age happens). I do most of my own yard work on 2/3 acre lot that has very little lawn. I work for about 2 to 4 hours at a time just about every day when it is not pouring down rain. I used to put in longer hours, now I am looking for the right tools to help me do the work with less of a time investment. This tool fits into my needs nicely.I have also found this very useful for the small ornamental trees in my borders. These are about 6-8 feet tall, just a mite too tall to conveniently trim with normal cutters. In the past I have resorted to doing the very tops of these small trees with a pole trimmer, 1 little branch at a time. In comparison, the extension pole trimmer makes very quick work of the job.I trade off between this trimmer, a regular trimmer, and clippers for clearing dead flower stalks between the trees. That takes care of the weight issue. By the end of a few hours I have done a considerable amount of trimming and cleaning.I was pleased with the blade protector that came with the trimmer, which makes it easy to store the trimmer in the shed. My one nit-pick with this tool is that the strap seems poorly placed. It actually is in the way and really does nothing to offset any of the weight of the tool when the pole is extended--which is the only point I see in having the strap. I have only used this for about 4 hours total, so far, but will update if any of my opinions change.