STIHL Pole Pruners – What You Need To Know

Now that the leaves are falling, winter tree pruning is at the top of the to-do list for many people….

STIHL Cordless Pole Pruners

Let’s start with our cordless pole pruners, the STIHL HTA 65 and the HTA 85. These are both part of the AP System of professional battery-powered tools, so the batteries that you use in them are interchangeable and can be used in over 25 other tools in the range.

Extensive research and development has gone into STIHL’s battery technology and our 36v batteries have an intelligent battery management system to help you get constant power from the first pull of the trigger to the last. This is particularly useful in our pole pruners – you can turn them on and off at the touch of a button, so a job can be so much more efficiently, especially if you are tackling multiple trees in one go.

But that’s not the only benefit to our STIHL cordless pole pruners – they are also light, quiet and have very low vibrations. The STIHL HTA 85 has a vibration value of just 1.0 m/s², so it’s much more comfortable to use if you are using it for extended lengths of time. As there is no exhaust, the cordless pole pruners can also be used either right or left-handed too.

The HTA 65 is a fixed-length model, with a total length of 240cm, so this is our lightest pole pruner, weighing in at 5.1kg including the recommended AP 200 battery. With this battery, you get around 42 minutes of working time, although you can use our bigger capacity batteries, or even one of our backpack batteries and an adaptor if you need longer run times.

If you need more reach, then the STIHL HTA 85 is a telescopic battery-powered pole pruner, which extends from 270cm to 390cm. This machine is great for use in urban areas thanks to its quiet operation and lack of exhaust emissions. The recommended battery to give you the perfect balance with this model is the AP 300 and this gives you around 55 minutes of working time.

Both come with a 30cm guide bar as standard and a 1/4” PM3 saw chain.

STIHL Petrol Pole Pruners

If cordless machines aren’t your thing, we also have three petrol pole pruners to choose from, the STIHL HT 103, the HT 131 and the HT 133. All three of these petrol models come with a STIHL 4-MIX engine, which is designed to provide more power and torque but at a lower RPM. These engines are also cleaner and more efficient so you can really get the most out of your machine.

The HT 103 and the HT 133 are both designed with a square-cut shaft, which is comfortable to use and very stable. These models also come with a 1/4” PM3 saw chain which gives a high-cut quality, but offers low kickback and minimum vibration. They both have captive nuts on the sprocket cover too for easy changing of the bar and chain, as well as a simplified start system.

The HT 131 has a round shaft and a 3/8” PMM3 saw chain, again delivering an extremely efficient cut. It also features automatic decompression so that it requires less force to start the tool.

Our petrol pole pruners deliver a reliable, consistent performance when pruning tall trees and thinning out shrubs at a distance.

Make The Job Easier With Pole Pruner Accessories

We also make a selection of accessories for pole pruners which really do help to make the job easier, including our RTS harness. This can be used with all five of our pole pruners and is designed to move the weight of a long-reach machine to your hips to reduce the strain on your back, so it’s well worth considering if you are using any long-reach tool for an extended length of time. It can be easily adjusted to suit your size too.

We also have two angled gear heads that can be fitted to our pole pruners too. These are great if access to the branch is limited, but they also give you better visibility when making an undercut into a branch too. They can also help keep you further away from the drop zone of any branches as well.

So whatever you need to prune and wherever you are, we’ve got the pole pruner and the accessories for you. Visit your nearest STIHL Approved Dealer to find out more.