Hand pruning vs pole saw for live oaks, no contest

I spent 3 hours last week using a pole saw on a big live oak in Austin and wrecked my shoulders. Switched to hand pruners for the same size tree yesterday and got way cleaner cuts in half the time. Anyone else ditch the pole saw for most pruning work?

2 comments

2 Comments

victor_adams6d ago

Man, really? How tall was that oak that a pole saw took you three hours? I'm curious if you were fighting with a heavy gas one or one of those battery jobs that just don't have the reach.

rose_hart6d ago

Heard a story from my buddy Mark who tried to take down a big limb on his neighbor's silver maple with one of those battery pole saws. Said the battery died THREE times and he spent most of the afternoon waiting for it to recharge instead of actually cutting. By the time he got the limb down he was so fed up he sold the saw on Facebook Marketplace the next week.