How do you prune bushes that are very low, plants that have thorns and can hurt you, or branches and stems that are above you and cannot be reached without using an extendable pruner or a ladder? The new and well-made stick-style pruner created by ARS is named the ARS Long Reach Pruner.
What is a Fixed Length Stick-Style Pruning Tool?
Normally, this type of pruner is between 5-6 inches in length, and it’s created with a straight aluminum shaft to hold down the weight. Two kinds of cutting heads are available, and they’re a fixed cutting head that rolls around a pair of handles or a modifiable cutting head that rotates around a fixed shaft.
The blades of the pruner are a pair of grip handles at the rear opposite the blades.
Stipulations for the ARS LongReach Pruner
- · Total length of the pruner: 1846mm
- · Total length of pruning blade: 53mm
- · Element of the Blade: High Carbon Steel
- · Surface Finish: Hard-Chrome Plating
- · Grip Substance: Aluminum Die Casting
- · Highest Cutting Diameter: 22mm
Design of the Cutting Head
The blade features a sharp cutting head and a balance blade (counter blade) opposite the cutting blade. The counter blade serves as a gripping instrument; it’s not used for cutting, and that’s why it is not sharp.
To cut a branch with the pruner, press the handles at the rear of the shaft. There is a strong rod that shots inside the shaft and activates or deactivates the blades.
Also, springs inside the handles keep the blades on standby until they’re ready for use.
The handle of the saw is coated with rubber grips. This helps make the pruner comfortable, enhance the grip, and reduce heat when working with the pruner under the sun.
There’s another lovely design of the cutting edge that you’ll love; it has a hook built into the pruner and serves as a hanger. This will be very useful when you want to hang the tool on a branch while moving to another place without stopping to take it up from the floor.
Hanging the blades on the branch is better than keeping them on the floor because they get dulled on the floor.
The ARS LongReach pruner features a stabilized blade assembly joined with two pins to a spinning aluminum shaft. The shaft rotates about 100 degrees from side to side, allowing it to fix the cutting blade in any desired pruning form.
Also, the grip of the shaft is covered with rubber about 12 inches above the handles. The aim of this is that it makes the pruner very relaxed to hold and allows you to easily spin the shaft so that you can cut any angle easily. You can also hold on to the aluminum handle itself rather than holding the grip.
Safety Issues with the Blade Locking Mechanism
A vital safety feature of stick-style is that it can lock the blades in a bolted position so the blades can be safely transported, or it can be used to prevent the blades from dulling if you decide to put the pruner on the ground. This is very important because the blades are very sharp.
It might be disappointing to find out that the blades of the LongReach ARS pruner don’t close properly when it is locked.
A plastic locking tab has been integrated to one side of the grip handle, and all you need to do is squeeze the handles together and slip the plastic piece into a fixed position, so it blocks itself against the other grip handle.
The test unit that comes with the pruner doesn’t work like it’s supposed to. When you try to lock the blade, you’ll notice that the blade is still a bit open by about ¼ inches, which can cause a safety hazard. This is because the plastic locking tab isn’t long enough.
After detecting that the blade isn’t covered enough, you can use the plastic sheath that comes with the package to cover the cutting head, but this will not last long.
How Deep Can It Cut?
The specifications claim that the LongReach pruner will cut live wood up to a diameter as wide as 22 mm, which is just a little below 7/8 inches. This has been tested to be true because it comes with a caveat, and you’ll need to modify the length of the connecting rod to let the blade open as wide as you want it.
After you’ve done this, the problem of the locking mechanism becomes worse because the blades are separated even more. The highest blade distance should be just below ¾ inches.
It is advisable to test this by loosening the connecting rod from the cutting blade and adjusting it to make it longer. You’ll notice that the more you made the rod longer, the farther the blades open. The blades even stay farther open when locked.
When you’re trying to do this, it is better that you’re alert to the fact that if you modify the connecting rod by stretching it too far out, the blade will not completely be closed.
Excellent Blades
When cutting a ¾ inches live-wood, the excellently-sharp blades were seen to have made very clean cuts. The blades were developed with chrome-plated high-carbon steel, and this makes them very sharp.
The chrome plating helps to prevent the blade from rusting, but it’s still good that you clean and dry the blades when you’re done using them for the day.
When you’re cutting deadwood, you’ll notice that the LongReach ARS 180LR-18 can cut over a range of a little above ¼ inches. It’s also highly advisable to remember that this tool was created mainly to cut or trim live wood. When trying to cut through strong deadwood, it’s better to use an anvil hand pruner or loppers.
The LongReach pruners’ handles are very convenient to hold, and they give you a solid grip on the tool while moving from one place to another. The blades also have hooks at the back of them.
The hooks are useful because they let you hang the pruner on a tree branch when you want to adjust your position before making another cut.
Conclusion
This article is a review of the ARS LongReach (180LR-1.8) pruner. It thoroughly talks about the features of this tool and explains how to use it. The post also talks about the safety measures involved when using this tool.
Thank you so much for your time reading this article and if you have any questions about this review, please kindly leave your comment below, and I’ll be happy to write back to you.
CLAIM YOUR DISCOUNT: As the owner of this website, I’ve tracked down special deals for some of the products and services mentioned herein. When you use the links on this page to make a purchase, I may get a small commission and use it to improve & maintain the website, and you may get a great bargain too. Full disclosure.
Cynthia
This looks like a handy tool to have at a gardener’s disposal! It’s expensive to hire a professional to do all the yard work, so that makes the price of buying this all the more reasonable. I see the problem with the blades not locking tightly, but as long as one is aware (thank you), it would be easy to avoid injury. Other than this small caveat, overall, it appears to be a quality piece of equipment that will last many years!
admin
Hello Cynthia,
Welcome to my amazing website. Thank you for reading my article about ARS Long Reach Pruner Review. Thanks to that, you found it helpful to your gardening and pruning session. You are right; this equipment is durable and lasts longer if you give proper care as always.
Thank you so much, and have a great day!
Joyce
Erick
Hey Joyce, this is a detailed review for a long reach pruner! I can tell you do a lot of garden work, so I trust what you have to say about them.
I’m not looking to buy a pair of pruners, but reading your review reminded me of the time I helped my Canadian friend to maintain her back yard. She asked me to cut a bunch of live and dead wood and she gave me a pair of loppers to do so. I had no idea they were named loppers until I read your article. So thanks!
admin
Hello Erick,
Thank you so much for your time reading my article about ARS Long Reach Pruner Review. Thanks to that you found it helpful on your pruning in your backyard and friend’s backyard, that’s so great!
Thank you so much,
Joyce
Leahrae
Definitely, something I can use. I have neighbors whose bushes butt up against my fence and try to grow in between. I wouldn’t say I like this as my fence is new and I want it to last for a while. So I try to cut the bushes, etc as best I can. This tool would allow me to go all along the fence and make sure nothing is growing in between. Love this tool!
admin
Hi, Leahrae,
Thank you so much for your time reading my articles about ARS Long Reach Pruner Review. Thank you that you like this article and help you as your guide for your pruner’s future purchase. Good luck! Thanks.
Joyce
Nektarios
Thanks for the post, Joyce. I am a garden enthusiast, and I found the ARS long pruner an interesting product. I do know ARS is a brand of the highest quality that will never let me down. However, I will have to go ahead and purchase that product; it will help me with my gardening as I will be able to prune at places where it was hard to reach.
admin
Hello Nektarios,
Thank you so much for dropping by and reading my articles about ARS Long Reach Pruner Review. Thanks to that, it will be helpful to you and your next purchase. Thank you.
Joyce
Aly
Thanks for sharing your recommendation and review for the ARS long reach pruner. It is helpful to know that there is a bit of a safety concern with the blade-locking mechanism. Even with that in mind, the features on this stick-style pruning tool would make it a very helpful addition to our lawn care and gardening tools. Thanks for sharing your insights!
admin
Hello Aly,
Welcome text article sound no good anymore.
Thank you so much the dropping by, my friend.
Thanks,
Joyce
Yvonne Bray
Hi Joyce, the long arm pruners will be ideal where I work. We have some climbing rose bushes that often grow out of control. They would be ideal for this bush type because they have thorns that stab you whenever you try to prune them with the smaller pruners. I did notice you mentioned the blade locking mechanism as not closing properly, and we have pruners here that seem to have the same problem. It could be a fault of some sort or dirt getting in the cog that stops it from locking properly. If you spray oil on the blades after pruning the bushes, it will help the blades to close better.
Josephine
Hello Yvonne,
Thank you so much for your kind comment given here in my articles. Yes, you are right, my friend. Right after the pruning session is needed to clean them and then put oil for sure.
Thank you very much.
All the best,
Joyce
yvonnebray
Hi Joyce, I loved your post review on ARS Long Reach Pruners. I find the pruners will be ideal for bushes such as roses that can grow out of control if you let them. A link to the care and cleaning of pruners would be ideal. You could have a separate topic on cleaning and caring for garden tools.
I have used many different pruners, and I found they all seem to have a locking issue. Most of our pruners don’t lock properly, but if I clean them and then spray them with mechanic oil, it seems to protect them, and the locking system works better. It can become stiff.
I loved your explanation of the topic. I thought some close-up pictures would be ideal, so it is easy to see where the locking mechanism issues are.
The image at the top of your post would be ideal, and you might find a rose bush or something that needs pruning or put up the image of the long ARS pruning shears.
All the best, lovely site.
admin
Hi, Yvonne!
Hello, my friend; I’m surprised to see you here on my site. I know your garden is pretty and beautiful too, my friend. I want to visit you one day, my friend. Thanks to that, you love what I review here, and thanks I will take note of those, my friend, some of your advice. Once again, that you so much for coming. See you soon.
Joyce