North Coast Gardening

Fiskars PowerGear Pruning Shear: Rolling Handle Pruners That Don’t Kill Your Pocketbook

One of my most popular posts has been a Hand Pruner Showdown in which I compared and contrasted Felcos, Coronas, and Bahcos. One of the first comments on that post was a Fiskars fan, saying essentially – “OMG! Try the Fiskars pruners – they’re inexpensive AND ergonomic”.

And so they are! Now that I’ve tried them for myself, I’m shocked at how much I have been enjoying them. As a professional landscaper, ergonomics are incredibly important to me. I want to be able to garden for years to come with no pain or injuries, and the Fiskars PowerGear Pruner has a wonderful fat grip that is very comfortable to use.

I’ve never been a fan of rolling handles on a pruner, because the handles on some brands are hard to grip and get into position. The Fiskars are the first pair that actually felt comfortable to me right away. The rolling handles are meant to help our hands bend in a natural way when pruning, and these pruners have actually gotten approved by the Arthritis Foundation for being easy on the hands.

I’m already a fan of the metal that Fiskars uses on their blades and the special non-stick coating that lets the blade make cleaner cuts – I’ve been using the Fiskars PowerGear Hedgers for years – so I was happy to see it on these pruners. The only improvements I’d recommend to these pruners are a wire-cutter included on the blade, and a sap groove to help divert sap from the moving parts and keep them from sticking together.

So, the good:

  • Replaceable blade
  • Easily adjustable blade tension
  • Very comfortable rolling handle
  • Good for small to average hands (even petite-handed Amy was able to prune comfortably with these)
  • PowerGear helps it cut thicker branches with less effort
  • Non-stick coating on blade
  • Very inexpensive considering the features

And the wish list:

  • Wire cutter
  • Sap groove to divert sap
  • Purple (why oh why does nobody make a pruning shear in purple? I think we should petition Fiskars to change their brand’s signature colors to purple and black. I would SO BUY THEM in purple.)

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Anyway, Fiskars was kind enough to provide two pairs to give away, so if you want to try one of these bad boys out for yourself, you know what to do: leave a comment here and over at Garden Rant and we’ll each choose a winner next week. Good luck!

EDIT: Ms Green Jeans is the winner of the PowerGear Pruners! Congratulations, Ms Green Jeans! Your pruners will be on their way shortly.

And if you want to get to know the nice people at Fiskars, check out their Facebook page and Twitter stream.

Genevieve

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25 responses to “Fiskars PowerGear Pruning Shear: Rolling Handle Pruners That Don’t Kill Your Pocketbook”

  2. hmm…..I wonder if these were the pruners my husband put in our cart at Lowe’s this week and I took out and put back because I wanted to look for a review…..he’s an impulse shopper, I research everything to the nth degree! Anyhow thanks for the review and the either post as well….in the market for new pruners!

  3. I would love to have the Fiskars Power Gear pruners. I still have the pruners I bought when I started gardening five or six years ago (don’t remember what brand) and they are awful. I would love to have something that would make pruning fun.

  4. I’ve dealt with carpal tunnel syndrome in both hands in the past. Don’t know why, but I’ve never tried pruners like those. They would probably help ease the pain in my hands at the end of a long pruning session.

  5. Young at heart if not young-in-hand, I would love a pair of these Power Gear pruners from Fiskars! (And I’ll vote for the purple color change too!)

  7. I had a pair of those. Loved them, but they disappeared in my garden somewhere. Since I’ve moved, I don’t expect to find them again.

  12. Boy, would these babies ever come in handy when I start “fixing” all the damaged shrubs due to snow and ice this winter. My little, tired (from shoveling) hands would thank you! 🙂

  14. I would love to try these! I just pruned all of my grapevines, berries and fruit trees with cheap ones where the handles have fallen off! Not comfy.

  16. Hey, I’m a guy, and I’d be proud to be sporting some new Fiskars –even if they came in purple! Any you make pruning look so enjoyable in that slide clip 🙂

  22. Blogging, gardening, reviewing and drinking all at the same times??? Sounds like a winning formula. You gals are hilarious. Loved your video and the rooster throwing in his two cents. My friend Mike sent me over – he’s right – the camera you use is really good. 🙂 Nancy

  23. I’m very interested to hear that these pruners are a good choice; to be honest in the past I’ve been less than impressed by Fiskars quality, but companies do change and improve and these sound like a winner. Thanks for taking the time to write about them (and for offering some as a giveaway.)