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Hedge trimmer buying guide: How to choose the best trimmer for your lawn

We'll help you compare cordless, electric and petrol models and maintain a perfectly manicured garden.

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Tim Falk
Updated
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Key facts about hedge trimmer:

  • A hedge trimmer can make it easier to boost your home's kerb appeal, taking a lot of the time and effort out of what can be a monotonous chore.
  • You can choose between electric, cordless and petrol-powered models.
  • Prices range from $60 up to $500.

Compare some of the best hedge trimmers

Data obtained December 2018. Prices are subject to change and should be used only as a general guide.
Name Product Average Price (AUD) Type Blade length (mm) Weight (kg) Purchase today
Ozito HTL‌-072
Ozito HTL‌-072
$124.95
Cordless
150
0.75
">
Buy at Ebay
The Ozito HTL-072 is suitable for smaller hedges and shrubs and allows for quick blade changing.
Stihl HSE 42
Stihl HSE 42
$135
Electric
450
3
">
Buy at Ebay
The Stihl HSE 42 is designed for trimming and cutting twigs and thin branches.
Ozito HTE‌-550
Ozito HTE‌-550
$149.95
Electric
450
2.9
">
Buy at Ebay
The Ozito HTE-550 has a blade brake for safety and comes with a three-year replacement warranty.
BLACK+DECKER GTC1845L20
BLACK+DECKER GTC1845L20
$169
Cordless
450
2.6
">
Buy at Ebay
The BLACK+DECKER GTC1845L20’s battery is compatible with other machinery.
Makita DUH523Z
Makita DUH523Z
$199
Cordless
520
3.4
">
Buy at Ebay
The Makita DUH523Z is equipped with a two-handed safety switch to prevent accidental starting.
Victa VHD2226
Victa VHD2226
$200
Cordless
550
5.2
">
Buy at Ebay
The Victa VHD2226 is fitted with a built-in clutch for durability and safety.
Bosch ASB 10.8 LI
Bosch ASB 10.8 LI
$241.95
Cordless
200
0.9
">
Buy at Ebay
The Bosch ASB 10.8 LI has a lightweight, compact design and a 100-minute running time per charge.
EGO HT2402E
EGO HT2402E
$259
Cordless
610
2.79
">
Buy at Ebay
The EGO HT2402E can complete 3,000 strokes per minute with a hardened steel blade.
Bosch AHS 50-20 LI
Bosch AHS 50-20 LI
$292
Cordless
500
2.5
">
Buy at Ebay
The Bosch AHS 50-20 LI is designed to prevent blockage and ensure continuous cutting.
Ryobi RHT3600R
Ryobi RHT3600R
$359.95
Cordless
600
4.5
">
Buy at Ebay
The Ryobi RHT3600R operates with a two-speed gearbox and a 24mm cutting capacity.
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Why should I consider a hedge trimmer?

If you care about how your garden looks, whether from the street or simply when you're spending time in your backyard, you'll need to trim your hedges. Unfortunately, doing this by hand is not only time consuming but also labour intensive.

But with a hedge trimmer at your disposal, grooming your hedges, bushes and other plants to look just right is a breeze. It's quicker and easier than trimming by hand and requires much less elbow grease. A hedge trimmer will also let you turn your hedges into intricate shapes to create a perfectly manicured look.

Aesthetics aside, regular trimming can also improve the health of your hedges, allowing you to remove dead or diseased portions and promote growth.

Why shouldn't I consider a hedge trimmer?

The main reason you might pass on a hedge trimmer is simply if you don't have many hedges or bushes that need regular trimming. If this is the case, you can probably get by with manual shears.

Also, if you don't care whether your garden is in pristine condition, your money would be better spent elsewhere. And on those occasions when you decide it's time to tame the wilderness in your front or backyard, you can always call on a professional gardening service to take care of it.

What types are available?

If you're buying a hedge trimmer for your garden, there are three main options to choose from:

Electric hedge trimmers
  • Lightweight, quiet, quick-starting and affordable, electric hedge trimmers are easy to use and maintain. If you have suitable power points so you can easily access the areas you need to trim, an electric model may be a wise choice. However, when using electric trimmers, there is a risk of cutting the power cord. These models also don't offer as much power as petrol-powered models.
Cordless hedge trimmers
  • An increasingly popular option, battery-powered hedge trimmers provide freedom from power cords, strong and quiet performance, and less vibration than a petrol-powered model. The other advantage of a cordless hedge trimmer is that you may be able to use the battery to power other tools from the same manufacturer, for example, a whipper snipper, leaf blower or mower. Just remember to check whether the battery and charger are included in the purchase price of your trimmer, as they may be sold separately.
Petrol-powered hedge trimmers
  • For maximum power, you can't go past a petrol hedge trimmer. These can make fast work of hedge trimming jobs of all shapes and sizes and can be used anywhere. However, they do have a few major disadvantages – they're noisier, heavier and vibrate more than other options, and they also require more maintenance.

How to compare hedge trimmers

Once you've chosen between electric, cordless and petrol power, you'll also need to look at the features and the performance of a variety of hedge trimmers. Electric hedge trimmers tend to be the cheapest models, so expect to pay more if you choose a cordless or petrol-powered model. Most hedge trimmers fit within the $79 to $399 price bracket, but there are outliers at either end.

When comparing your options, consider the following features:

Which hedge trimmer is best for me?

The best hedge trimmer for you will depend on the type of bushes and hedges you need to trim, the size of your garden and, of course, your budget.

To help make it easier, we've compared the good and bad points of five popular hedge trimmers in the table below:

The goodThe bad
Ozito HTL-072
  • Affordable
  • Lightweight
  • Short blade
  • Not suitable for bigger jobs
Ryobi RHT3600R
  • Long blade
  • Battery compatible with a wide range of other Ryobi 36V garden tools
  • Expensive
  • Some negative user reviews
Bosch AHS 50-20 LI
  • Powerful
  • Easy to use
  • Not the cheapest
  • Some users complain about trimmer cutting out when in use
Victa VHD2226
  • Powerful performance
  • In-built clutch adds durability
  • Heavier than other models
  • Fairly expensive
Makita DUH523Z
  • Reasonably priced
  • Simple and effective to use
  • Not designed for heavy-duty work
  • Flimsy guard

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