Looking at powered pole pruners. Any experience with Stihl HT135 ?

GlennDog · September 2023

Title sez it all. Any actual experience with pros OR cons is welcome.

This is their TOTL gas powered Bad Boy. Overkill for sure, but I'd prefer more power over less
Not really interested in battery power, but . . . feel free to convince me otherwise

tell me why i should or shouldn't move forward on this

OR

OR

is there a better option?

https://www.stihlusa.com/products/pole-pruners/

treitz3 · September 2023

Do you have a Stihl head unit?

Tom

pitdogg2 · September 2023

I use a Stihl gas powered chainsaw on a stick very similar to that to cut down a whole Cherry tree that had lived a full life and died. Surprised the shiznet out of me on how well it worked, powered through all the way to a stump.
It was a good friend that loaned it to me. He has used it for years and Stihl going strong. 😉😁

They are very hardy chainsaws on a stick!

GlennDog · September 2023

treitz3 wrote: »

Do you have a Stihl head unit?

Tom

the only Stihl product I have is a chain saw MS251 . . . great product, cuts like "Butta"

I'm impressed with their build quality, so I wanna stay wit 'em

GlennDog · September 2023

pitdogg2 wrote: »

It was a good friend that loaned it to me. He has used it for years and Stihl going strong. 😉😁

nice one

GlennDog · September 2023

treitz3 wrote: »

Do you have a Stihl head unit?

Tom

for those that don't know, they have a Kombi System . . . with one head unit and several optional accessories/attachments to go with
I really don't think i'd ever use ... but 2 of those attachments. I need to dig further into that

treitz3 · September 2023

Yeah, I did.

It's all "relative". In other words? Unless you have the new connection with Stilh? Yo' posterior is FUBAR. It doesn't matter what kind of collection you have.

It's all irrelevant.

BTW, the edger sucks donkey you know what for many reasons. Cost is one of the main pain points but maintenance is an even bigger one. The engineers at that....

Okay, I'll shut up now. Let just say that that Husquvarna has me much happier.

Tom

msg · September 2023

I have the Kombi with three attachments. One of the best tools I've ever bought.

What don't you like about the edger, Tom? I love that thing. Edger, trimmer and blower all working great, minimal maintenance.

Used my first Kombi head for 10yrs before the wrist pin broke loose. I think.

I want to upgrade to the pro Kombi. Need more torque since I prefer to wet edge.

The Stihl factory is about 20 minutes through the city from me. Kinda neat. Not that this helps with cost. They sure are proud. Last RC-95 I bought wasn't as good as the first. Carb issues. First one was solid the whole time I had it.

treitz3 · September 2023

msg wrote: »

What don't you like about the edger, Tom?

Longevity. The edger attachment is no better than a civilian/consumer product. Special order blades and a bunch of BS.

We use these things on a commercial basis. As a regular buyer/consumer? YMMV but foe us? Yeah, I am looking for a different option.

Example - $7 per blade versus $50 for 20 blades that last just as long and are not as "difficult" to swap out for someone who isn't or hasn't been privy to doing things by themself and quickly.

Tom

Viking64 · September 2023

msg wrote: »

I have the Kombi with three attachments. One of the best tools I've ever bought.

Traveling in a fried-out Kombi
On a hippie trail, head full of zombie

(I'll leave the rest of that sentence and the entire next one alone. Just too easy.)

ChrisD06 · September 2023

At my house, we have a Ryobi 40V 4Ah brushed weed wacker which has the ability for addons. We got a pole pruner for it and were using it before the battery died (it got rained on for an entire day). It worked very well and was a very good investment.

As for the Stihl, while I have no experience with that model, I've used Stihl gear in the past and it's personally my favorite brand to go to. Me and my Dad decided to go all electric but if we were still running gas powered equipment, we'd absolutely be using Stihl.

I can't imagine the Stihl HT135 would be a bad buy. Reliable brand and if it's gas powered then it'll have more than enough power. I would look into electric tools though but it's depending on your needs.

Pros for electric:
1. Less maintenance
2. Cheaper to maintain (motor and battery, both will last years)
3. Cheaper fuel (electricity cost Vs. gas+oil cost)
4. Lightweight and easy to handle
5. More power at equivalent prices to gas counterpart (Ryobi RY40250VNM compared to Echo GT225-6)

Cons for electric:
1. Less repairable (motor death = piece of gear)
2. Less power in general (gas powered gear goes up to obscene levels of power)
3. Lesser durability + poor/no water resistance
4. Lower runtime (30min-1hr average)
5. Batteries are hella expensive should you need a new one

For my yard, electric was the way to go, especially with Canadian gas prices.

audioluvr · September 2023

You said pole pruner.

Carry on.

treitz3 · September 2023

Glenn, I took a look at the model number. This looks like the unit is "just a pole saw". In other words, it cannot be used with other attachments. The head units are solid and I don't recall ever having to repair one (within my division or maintenance's division). We have about 5 or 6 head units that are used frequently and are not taken care of as well as they should be, especially in travel. I believe the oldest unit is about 3 years old.

I would recommend getting the quick release head unit and separate attachments. I have this set up for personal use at home (Husqvarna), with two head units and you already know about work, with Stihl units. It is very convenient when out in the yard and I have to switch between the edger to bush trimmer to weed whacker to the pole saw on a whim.

Once you have the head unit, if it is a quick release, the attachments.....while still expensive, are a heck of a lot lower cost than a dedicated unit and you can pick them up separately as the needs arise.

When I responded about the edger the other day, I was a little "perturbed" with Stihl because that very day, the brand new edger attachment (about 2 months old) is now disabled. If there is one thing that makes me furious, it's having equipment failures out in the field. I'll get the edger back up and running again but after 2 months, I should not have to buy parts or experience downtime because of design flaws or them using cheap parts on such expensive tools.

Again, Stihl makes some very solid and IMO/IME, impressive head shells. I don't think you will go wrong with them.

That said, make sure you keep your receipt and get the extended warranty, if you can wing it. The maintenance division bought a pole saw attachment and right out of the box, the chain would not spin. We brought it in for service at an authorized repair shop, went back out into the field and it failed again. Not one branch cut. So, they returned that one and got another one. Same thing. It failed right out of the box. The chain wouldn't spin, as if the brake was engaged. They returned that one as well and I guess the third time was a charm, as I haven't rec'd any other reports of issues since.

My only other word of advice is to buy from an authorized Stihl dealer and not HD or Lowe's.

Tom

GlennDog · September 2023

audioluvr wrote: »

You said pole pruner.

You’re right. Pole pruner vs pole saw. 2 different animals

I went to the Stihl authorized dealer near me to get my hands on this gas powered HT 135 pole saw. It is heavy duty. With emphasis on heavy. With the telescope handle fully extended, it’s Too heavy for me to work with.
They didn’t have the Kombi system on the floor for me to check out, so I’m gonna go to another dealer. This option might be the best route to go with for my personal needs. The 135 is definitely a good choice for the professional . . . but I ain’t that landscaping pro.

Thanks for the input!

Emlyn · September 2023

Although I have an Ego pole chain saw attachment to go along with the other attachment tools with their 56V system, most of the time I still rely on the easy old faithful method of using an extendable tree pruner with up to a 16 foot reach. A step ladder adds to the reach. Anything that won't cut through for me is best handled by a tree service. It's just a good quick supplement to have around even with a powered tree saw available.

The Ego tool is easier to use with the smaller capacity battery because of the weight of the thing. The only gas powered yard tool I still use is a Honda mower, and they stopped making those.

https://www.amazon.com/Fiskars-Chain-Drive-Extendable-Pruner/dp/B01N5610H6/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?crid=116VZX6MXWA4M&keywords=tree+pruner&qid=1695570192&s=lawn-garden&sprefix=tree+pruner,lawngarden,64&sr=1-2-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&th=1

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B075RV7GL5/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1

Looking at powered pole pruners. Any experience with Stihl HT135 ?

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