Terratek Cordless Hedge Trimmer Long Reach 20V 1HR Fast Charge, 2.4m Telescopic Hedge Trimmer Cordless Hedge Cutter with 2x Batteries, Shoulder Strap and Charger Included

First of all, I will state that I'm a Makita fan. Most of my electrical garden & DIY equipment is Makita brand and mostly cordless/battery operated. I am a gardener and was looking for a long reach battery operated hedge cutter. I read a few articles, watched some You Tube video's and then read even more articles on what was available. I was erring toward a Makita but the £300 price tag was making my eyes water, so I eventually convinced myself that at a third of the cost this Terratek would possibly fit the bill. And if it didn't I wouldn't be massively out of pocket. I did order an extra battery as I felt just the one wouldn't be sufficient. I've probably used it to around 20 - 25 hedges of varying size and constitution so far. The blade has kept its edge and no degradation of the batteries that I can tell.So 9 months in, what's the pros and cons?Pro's -Incredibly light, which in turn makes it easily manoeuvrable.Telescopic, for those hard to reach higher bits, no need for a ladder.Adjustable head, very useful.Battery life, amazing. I have just cut the top of a 25 metre hedge which is a mixture of Ivy, Cherry Laurel and Hawthorne. I had to do both sides and total time for that bit was about an hour +/-. The battery indicator was on Amber. Which for a 1.5a/h battery is amazingly good. And recharging takes no time.Cons -Just the one and really I'm nit picking with this one. The balance is biased toward the head, a heavier/larger battery would make it better balanced. But in reality it's not that bad. Just makes your arms ache a little if you're working at full extension and lower than 45 degrees to the vertical.Would I buy another? - In a heartbeat.

So far so good, tried it on my laurels which are always a challenge. It does a hard job well. However it is heavier than I expected, but that could be just getting it balanced using the shoulder strap. Good choice of angles to cut with. Overall easy to assemble and adjust and durability will decide , what seems to be good value.

So much easier than using one with a cable and the 2 batteries supplied make any garden job doable in one go!

I'm unsure what I was expecting from this but unfortunately it's almost too heavy for me to use. The jury is still out but I just a few test trims of hedges and realised that it's nearly impossible to use without also wearing the shoulder strap and, really, it should come with a full upper body harness. As I type this, my wrists still feel weak. Everything else seems OK. It seemed to cut fine. The noise isn't excessive or ear-piercing. Because the cutting teeth are so far from the handle it can be hard to cut things at close quarters, because you always need to be around 5 or 6 foot away. I'd say you should probably combine this with a more traditional trimmer for the close-up work.

Before I bought this last week, cutting our large variety of hedges, bushes and undergrowth need the services of our old mains hedge trimmer. Our old beast is very loud.It required a very long extension lead, and I have cut through the cable three times now! I needed a stepladder, wooden blocks to go under the feet, someone to hold the ladder steady, ear-defenders and some risky stretches to reach the high bits.Life just got a whole lot easier. All I needed was gloves and goggles. This machine is a lot quieter.I researched all the other main makes and chose this one for several reasons - all of which turned out to be vital:It is extendible without having to insert a separate extension piece. All it needs is to unscrew the big plastic knob and then extend it. Very simple.It is not as heavy as some of the others, but it is still heavy. You certainly know you’ve spent time cutting!It has two batteries. Each one cut a lot of hedges. At my mid seventies age, two batteries last for as much as I have the energy to cut, so it’s a natural limiter.It’s very well made indeed.It was around £100 less than the next choice, the two batteries were the clincher.TIPS1. Being right-handed, it was more comfortable to operate the switch with my left hand.2. When assembling, the part with the motor pushes into the other section, carrying the battery. There is a sprung domed button which will pop out through the small location hole when it’s been pushed in properly. That last little bit took a firm push. Make absolutely certain that you are pushing it in the right way round.3.The strap needed loosening to fit me, when my head and arm were pushed through the loop.IMPORTANT UPDATEI’ve just used it again and life got a whole lot easier when I added a strap loop, made out of cable ties and gaffer tape, at the other end of the handle. See the photo. Now it isn’t heavy and I could use it all day if I needed to. Putting the strap on that loop meant that it is now balanced on the strap and, when I extended it, the weight was in the right place whereas before, it made it a lot heavier.I might make something a bit more permanent but it works fine now.UPDATE ONE YEAR LATERWe have used it every few months for the last year but now the mechanism locked inside the gearbox. Also, the black plastic guides that keep the oscillating blade in line nearly all disintegrated, so that might be why the gearbox locked.It cost me £75 in 2023 and it's now in the bin, along with two healthy rechargeable batteries. Was it worth it? I don't know but I've now ordered a RYOBI with a three year guarantee and I know they're a good make because I have many of their tools.

I managed to cut my hedge ok and it did a good job,but after that it started to jam just using it for light work.When it did jam I always removed the bits in the blades that were stopping the cutter from working.Now when I try to turn it on the the motor makes a clicking noise and the blades are totally jammed also smoke was coming from the motor so I removed the battery. I've tried loosening the nuts on the cutting blades but it's still jammed up.I suspect it's where the motor assembly that drives the cutting blades that the problem lies.

Well worth the money. Light and long and easy to use. I bought to give my lane a light cut to get my motorhome instead of using petrol ones. Didn't expect it to be so powerful and batteries last really well. Only downside is its cheaper now they've lowered the price a bit, but buy one you won't be dissapointed.