Felco Pruners Review: We Take a Look at the Quality
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Pruners are an essential tool for gardeners, and once you find a pair you like, you hold onto them with both hands. Felco pruners have a solid reputation for being hardy, and long-lasting but we wanted to see if they still came out on top compared to some of the other brands on today’s market.
Pruner’s are used for various garden tasks such as deadheading, pruning shrubs and plants, and cutting thin branches. They’re the most commonly used gardening tool, and perhaps because they’re so useful, there are many manufacturers’ producing them.
Contents
- 1 A Closer Look at the Felco F-2 Classic Manual Hand Pruners
- 2 Pros and Cons of Felco Pruners
- 3 What the Reviews Say
- 4 How the Felco Pruners Compare to Other Well-known Brands
- 5 A Brief History of Felco Pruners
- 6 The Felco Pruners Range
- 7 The Verdict Is In
- 8 Designed and Manufactured by the Experts
- 9 Felco Pruners: A high-quality Product for a Great Price
A Closer Look at the Felco F-2 Classic Manual Hand Pruners
Pros and Cons of Felco Pruners
Pros
Cons
These are the most readily available of Felco Pruners. Here are the specifics:
Weight: 8.8 ounces
Dimensions: 11 x 1.5 x 3.8 inches
Model number: F-2
Color: Red
Style: Original Secateurs
Material: Steel
Styles of Garden Pruners
There are three different styles of garden pruners: bypass, anvil, and ratchet. Bypass pruners are those that work in a scissor type motion, with one blade being slightly thicker than the other.
Anvil pruners have one blade that moves against another static blade, mimicking a knife chopping vegetables onto a board. The ratchet style uses the same motion as the anvil, but they have a mechanism attached that makes it possible to cut in stages. This gives you more control over your cutting.
Here's A Relevant Video From YouTube:
What the Reviews Say
The reviews on Amazon.com were mostly positive, and the only criticism seems to be that the Felco F-2 classic pruners may be difficult to use if you have small hands. If this is the case, the Felco F-6 Classic Pruner for Smaller Hands may be a better fit for you, or for people suffering from arthritis or carpal tunnel syndrome.
One reviewer stated that he had owned his Felco pruners for years and as he grows grapes his pruners are used almost continually. This reviewer was also impressed that none of the parts were made from plastic and that they all fitted well when he needed to replace them.
Some reviewers were dismayed to find that their Felco pruners were made in China. If your Felco pruners are made anywhere other than Switzerland, they are fake, so make sure you buy from a reputable seller.’
How the Felco Pruners Compare to Other Well-known Brands
The other big-hitters in the hand pruning business are Corona and Brahco. We looked at pruners from these two brands and compared them with the Felco pruners.
We chose pruners that are comparable in price to the Felco F-2 pruners and we looked at factors like weight, safety, and extra features. Here’s what we found:
Corona BP 7450 Convertible Hand Pruner and Lopper, 1-1/4-Inch
These were the closest in price to Felco’s hand pruners at low range, and we suspected that meant the quality might not be as high as the Felco pruners. The customer reviews on Amazon.com agreed with us, and they received an average rating of 4 stars compared to the Felco’s 5.
It has a feature that the Felco pruners don’t, and that is they can also be used as loppers. This means they can be used with one or two hands while the Felco pruners are designed to be used with one hand only.
The Corona pruners are shaped with a contoured grip and are the same red color that the Felco pruners are. At 9.6 ounces these are slightly heavier than the Felco pruners.
Reviewers
Reviewers of the Corona pruners mentioned that although they convert to loppers. They’re not able to cut through any branches of substantial thickness. The general opinion seems to be that while the convertible pruners are a good idea in theory, in practice they need some improvements.
Bahco 8-1/2 Professional Medium Right Handed Pruner PX-M3
These are priced at low range, so it’s reasonable to expect them to be of comparable quality to the Felco pruners. However, the average customer rating was 4 stars.
Complaints
The complaints from reviewers about the Bahco’s were about the spring not bouncing back as well as it could. This means that the blades need to be cleaned regularly. So if you’re doing a big job you need to be prepared to have several breaks for maintenance.
One reviewer was annoyed that the Bahco pruners didn’t slide back into their pouch easily. And this could be a potential safety hazard. The handles are an orange color which is not quite as bright as the Felco pruners. But they are probably just as easy to find if you leave them in the garden.
The Bahco pruners have replaceable parts as the Felco pruners do. And as the handles are similar in shape one pair is just as comfortable to use as the other pair. However, the Bahco pruners are the heaviest at 14.1 ounces.
Quality | Price | Our Rating |
|---|---|---|
High | $$ |
A Brief History of Felco Pruners
Felco pruners have been around since 1945 when Felix Flisch opened a small workshop with only four employees. Felix was a Swiss fitter and turner who decided he was going to create a superior pair of pruning shears and sell them to the rest of the world.
Felix bought an old watchmakers factory and set about creating the first pair of Felco pruners. The company now manufactures other products alongside their pruners, such as saws, power tools, cable cutters and loppers. They also have a range of accessories that can be used with Felco products which are now available all over the world.
First Pruners Shears
Felix had some set goals he wanted to achieve when he created his first pruning shears. He wanted Felco pruners to be as comfortable as possible to use while still being safe and up to the job they were designed for.
Felix wanted all the parts to be made to exact measurements so that they were interchangeable, and he wanted to use only the best quality materials. Right from the start, he wanted Felco pruners to have a superior reputation.
The Felco Pruners Range
Felco pruners come in a range of shapes and sizes, so it pays to know what gardening tasks you’re most likely to need them for. If you’re going to be pruning the rose bush once or twice a year, you probably won’t need to get a heavy-duty pair that can cut through thick branches, but you still want something strong and reliable.
Although there are other brands of pruners on the market Felco pruners still receive consistently good reviews. Because of the wide range of products that Felco has there is a pair of pruners to suit everybody.
A Selection of Felco’s Pruners
As you can see Felco put a great deal of thought into designing their pruners. They recognize that their customers have different needs and have tried to accommodate those needs.
The Verdict Is In
While all three of the pruners have their pros and cons, the Felco F-2 Classic Hand Pruners easily come out on top. As a manufacturer, Felco understands that different pruners are needed for different gardeners.
As we’ve seen from Corona’s attempt at creating a product that is both pruner and lopper. Single tools for single purposes usually mean a better quality of a product. After all, you wouldn’t ask your mechanic to perform oral surgery.
As we mentioned, there are cheaper pruners on the market, but if you’re a committed gardener, the cheaper pruners won’t appeal to you. If taken care of properly, Felco pruners will last a lifetime. As it’s the only pair you’ll ever have to buy, $50.95 isn’t expensive at all. Even if you do have to replace a part occasionally.
Designed and Manufactured by the Experts
Another benefit Felco pruners have over their competition is that their designers know what they’re doing. Although they have branched out into other products, their focus is always their pruners. Their range of accessories complements their pruners.
As important as it is to have pruners that will cut easily through branches the handle design is just as important. Avoiding risk shock is a serious concern if you’re doing anything more than deadheading roses. And Felco has worked hard to lessen the impact of this with their pruners.
Ergonomically designed handles mean that they fit into hand naturally. And because Felco pruners know their gardeners well. If a pair of pruners don't fit your hand easily then try another.
Felco Pruners: A high-quality Product for a Great Price
In our opinion, Felco pruners are good value for money, designed for safety, and durable. Being able to replace parts if they get damaged is a huge bonus. And saves you to buy a new pair because of a tiny problem.
Felco pruners are a great product, serves well, and are perfect for both the novice gardener and the professional.
