Stihl HLA 85 Cordless Telescopic Hedge Trimmer, Testing/Review ( Any Good )

Stihl HLA 85 Cordless Telescopic Hedge Trimmer, Testing/Review ( Any Good )
Telescopic shaft, Variable speed. 50cm double sided cutting blades. Transport length 180cm. Total Length of 260-330cm. Weight 4.4 kg 36v. ( I Was using the AP 300 Battery with up to 3hrs run time on this machine )
DISCLAIMER: Forest Park & Garden have loaned me this equipment for testing & review. They have not asked me to do or say anything and all opinions in this video are my own honest thoughts about the products and using them. I've put links to the Forest Park & Garden website and the products used in this video below, if you want to check them out.
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[@obrienqwerty]

I invested in one of these two years ago and have never looked back. It is powerful, lightweight and easy to use. At my age...nearly 64...you need all the help you can get. This is one of my best allies in helping me continue to earn a living in a hard, physical job. Vive Stihl!

[@CalvinThomas05]

Hi Mike. Yes I was really surprised how good this machine is. Exactly as you say its a pleasure to use. Cheers Calvin

[@njmtbiker]

How much does it cost getting into the battery tools? What other battery powered tools do you own?

[@cloudwalk4566]

I use this for a few years now. I have cut things that I shouldn't (Im not doing that anymore)...like bamboo stems and woody parts...and its still working like a charm. It has an impressive reach, I can cut hedges from the ground, while others are struggling with ladders. I really like this machine.

[@TheFullyChargedGardener]

A great video chap. I absolutely love the battery kit - a pleasure to use 😀

[@davidhamilton8068]

Iv been using these for nearly 4 years now and still love them

[@sebastian56309]

Welcome to the future, battery powered equipment has come a LONG way!

[@scissorsharp9032]

Here’s a much more honest review. It weighs a tonne with the telescopic pole. (And Im an athletic 33 year old, 16 years gardening) With the weight and inconvenience of the trigger, head adjustment location… it is dangerous to use up ladders. The balance of the machine is awful, if you want to cut arches, balls or anything round, be prepared to fight against the weight pulling the blade back to horizontal. They just stop working, electrical faults being a common occurrence… we’ve got 3 of them (bosses idea🙄) not even 2 years old and have to be replaced as there’s no signal between battery and motor working. A lot of repair shops can’t fix them or don’t know how. Batteries are fukn expensive and last only a very short while so need multiple. Pros: Ok if box cutting. A little quieter than petrol Ok if cutting from the ground and not reaching. Remember guys, all hedge cutters seem great when there sharp.

[@shrimperlincs3395]

Love your relaxed honest approach to this topic. Thank you.

[@CalvinThomas05]

I appreciate that!

[@jasonhewlett1283]

Good review Calvin , thanks for sharing. 👍

[@timward3912]

I've just bought the 86 telescopic Calvin. I love it pal. I'm a commercial gardener in Chester. I do similar hedges to this. Great video.

[@dusty38uk]

I have the similar fixed length model and i love the cutting power it has, plus you have far more reliability than any petrol model after winter storage.

[@HoopersGardenMaintenance]

Great review Calvin👌🏼

[@sheepfarm7560]

Thanks for the video thinking of purchasing one . 👍

[@Rob73428]

This is a great review. Thanks very much.

[@algarvegarden77]

I bought the hla65 this year and was just like you. I kept thinking why the hell didn't I get one of these years ago!

[@DunningsMillLawnCare]

Really good video, found it very interesting

[@gunton21]

Absolutely love ours, do everything a petrol will do, they are quiet, light, have used them all day in the rain, ours don't reduce in power as the battery loses life, they just stop, last all day trimming hedges, battery charges in 30 minutes, one can always put an inverter in the van to charger when on sight if required, we carry petrol hedgcutters but they don't get used.

[@PaulTheGardener]

Great review interesting information just the price wow. New subscriber 👍

[@seagullsbtn]

Have one, it's been great. Added more AP powered tools since then.

[@CalvinThomas05]

Hi Chris Browne. Yes I think its a fantastic bit of kit. Cheers, Calvin

[@paulf2529]

I have the equivalent husqvarna machine with the 9ah battery. For me it is my go to machine, light quiet and no vibration, no time wasted filling up with petrol and no expensive petrol. The only thing were I use my petrol machine is if I'm doing reductions 95% of my work I can do with the cordless. The husqvarna has a protective bar on the back and sits better than the stihl when transporting. I have used mine all day in heavy rain with no problem, the husqvarna is quite a different design. Personally I still carry petrol machines in my van but I always opt cordless. I'm not a million miles from you so if you ever want to try the husqvarna machines I have the pole hedge trimmer, normal hedge trimmer and the poles saw, I'd enjoy meeting you in person.

[@CalvinThomas05]

Hi Paul. Thanks for the offer to show me your cordless equipment. Yes we can arrange a meet up in the future lol. I think I'm getting the Husqvarna version from my dealer on demo very soon to do a side by side comparison video so I'm really looking forward to that. Keep a look out for that. Yes I really like this cordless machine but like you say I will always have a petrol one with me for big jobs and if the weather takes a turn for the worst. Cheers Calvin

[@paulf2529]

@@CalvinThomas05 Sounds good , a head to head comparison would be brilliant. If you do ever want to meet up and try my husqvarna machines then my mobile is 07947 030071 I've got the equivalent petrol husqvarna also.

[@bernardcwilliams2508]

If you are doing reductions invest in the R94. It is a savage beast and rip through anything. Big money with back pack and fast charger but worth every penny. Oh and that will eat Laural as well.

[@houghtongardenservices4362]

Great video, not used anything electric yet but thinking of buying something next year.

[@edwindude9893]

I’ve been climbing with a msg 161 for a while it’s great.

[@richardj4651]

Yep great review going to buy one and not bothered about weather due to i dont work in the rain never have! and told all my customers i dont and they are happy with that . so win win due to getting pissed off getting the petrol hedge trimmer out the van for easy jobs .Just waiting for a good deal with 2 batteries and charger now as alot of places are out of stock.

[@KOL630]

I borrowed my brother ms petrol sthil and was dead after about an hour as it was so heavy. I need to cordless trimmer but have been using my mini sthil and it’s amazing. The li battery gives you mega power considering it’s tiny size.

[@wayneessar7489]

The battery end of the case looks like it will cope well with being stood up at rest. Cool machine! Good testing!

[@CalvinThomas05]

Hi Wayne. Many thanks for the comments. Yes the end of the battery case is quite sturdy and it extends well past the battery. Cheers Calvin

[@wayneguest9151]

Wow that's brilliant

[@mantrafiscus]

I got one at the back end of last year and even though I have a petrol hedge cutter I reach for the electric one every time now. If in future you go down the cordless route I'd also check out the Ego brand. I've no experience of them myself as yet but I keep seeing good reviews about them.

[@paulf2529]

Same as you Rob, unless I am doing a reduction job with really thick growth i pick the cordless up, no filling up with petrol just switch on and cut, they are a pleasure to use. I have the husquvarna and find the blade speed superb for conifer and yew, better than many petrol machines.

[@CalvinThomas05]

Hi Rob. Yes I was really surprised by the performance of this machine. I think having one of these by the side of a petrol will be a good way to go for me. I will check out those Ego brand. Cheers Calvin

[@jaysysumakaRatMaster3]

It's a £600 hedge trimmer, it should be good for that price

[@alfonsogarcia2547]

I need one of these sick of inhaling all the smoke from the motor ones

[@carlwaylett7013]

Great video cheers for sharing 👍👍

[@CalvinThomas05]

Hi Carl. Thanks for the comments. Cheers Calvin

[@saiedkamaalmohamed6203]

Very good

[@drnh4444]

What about on something challenging like laurels? Have you tried it on those?

[@chrishewson40]

I've been using one for the last couple of years in all weathers and it's been fantastic. After very heavy usage, thick branches and over grown very thick brambles Sadly now the head where it swivels is cracked and is hanging on just, i can still cut hedges but i have to be gentle now, the plastic black casing around at the base of the blade has broken off, i will invest in another for sure.. I am interested in the husqvarna equivalent as I've heard they are a lot more stronger built and robust but do cost more. Any tips on pricing hedge cutting please? No one wants to tell so far

[@CalvinThomas05]

Hi Chris. Yes I was thinking the head could break where it attaches to the pole. But that was the only weakness I could see. Like you I really like this machine and I think they could be the way to go for me in the future ( This was a demo machine ) I'll be doing some Stihl vs Husqvarna side by side comparison videos in the future. ( keep a look out for them ) Pricing is hard. I roughly try to price by the hour. Cutting time £20-£25 per hour but then you got clean up time after that to cover as well and if you have to pay to dump the waste off. Usually for general hedge trimming at a local regular customer a 3hr job as a rough guide. 2hrs cutting time - 1hr tidy up time £60. ( Maybe £75 to a one off customer ) Like I say its hard to price because of location too and how big the jobs are. I might be too cheap. lol Cheers Calvin

[@stevenbell4053]

@@CalvinThomas05 I charge £30 an hour only because the extendable makes light of work,also with a 12ft henchman extendable ladder,I can reach up to 30 feet.

[@julianalderson6996]

Yer has some probs. One ive had is it doesnt extend like shaft cant extend bit of a twist better. Also battery can fall out. Ok but not round a pool. But really like it an remember it needs grease" cos i didnt. Cheers

[@roadstar499]

so does stihl sell a chainsaw head for this? so you can quickly switch so so don't need another long handle... thax

[@noelcahill6707]

They have there place now the battery stuff along side the petrol as long as the batteries keep improving and more important that they keep new batteries been able to work older tools

[@CalvinThomas05]

Hi Noel. Yes I really was impressed with this machine but like you say it has to be by the side of the equivalent petrol models for big jobs and in case the weather takes a turn for the worst. But I can see the attraction why someone would grab one of these out of the back of they're van to do a small jobs over a petrol version. I'm doing a review on a stihl HTA 85 pole pruner at the moment. Keep a look out for my next video. Cheers Calvin

[@noelcahill6707]

@@CalvinThomas05 will do I'm very interested in that pruner as I'm considering getting 1

[@AceHardy]

📝

[@adsb4187]

Yes its light, less vibration etc BUT Problem is its not weather proof. Not only that, but the batteries produce less and less power as the go flat. So that conifer hedge you started wont look the same at the end. Unless of course you swap batteries but at £200+ a pop? Try telling granny smith that you gotta come back next week because you ran out of juice! These cordless products only work if you work on grounds and have a yard on site. Other wise your better of sticking with petrol. 100% power untill you run out. 5L of petrol will last days. No matter the job or the weather. Honestly stick to petrol.

[@paulf2529]

I have the husqvarna machine, it is waterproof to splashing water ie rain (lpx44) and I've used it many times in pouring rain. I have 2 bl300 batteries and these are 9ah so more capacity than the stihl at 6.5 ah for their biggest battery, confusing that the stihl called a 300. For a day were the entirety was spent cutting hedges and tidying using the standard cordless hedge trimmer and the cordless pole trimmer I can get a days work done. This is allowing for time clearing up. I find the normal cordless hedge cutter uses more battery than the pole probably because of the longer blade so at lunchtime i swap the two batteries over. I have always got the equivalent petrol machines in the van but I rarely use them. These will never entirely replace petrol tools in their current format but honestly they will do almost 95% of the jobs I would have used my petrol kit for. The remaining 5% would be overgrown hedges, reduction jobs and a few hedges were the cutting deflector on my single sided petrol trimmer is useful. A lot of my work is done using cherry pickers and the cordless kit has many advantages for this.

[@adsb4187]

@@paulf2529 thanks for your comments buddy

[@CalvinThomas05]

Hi Ads B. I honestly think these are great but I would still run a petrol one along side for the big jobs and if the weather takes a turn for the worst. Like I say in the video I wouldn't chance the battery getting wet. Cheers Calvin

[@upscalelawncaremonroe408]

Looks like they are sharp and does a great job!! Check us out!

[@CalvinThomas05]

Hi Upscale Lawn Care Monroe. Yes I like you're channel and I subscribed. Cheers Calvin

[@XOneStarX]

Does that thing really cost over $800!!!! ----------- PASS!!!!!!!

[@mick7739]

Why are you you whispering ???

[@elliottbooth9962]

I'd rather but the money towards a petrol one, can't be messing round with charging and batteries

[@shakeelgulbarga7041]

Any one who can gift this chain saw me please7