Wasted 200 bucks on a cheap pole pruner that snapped on the third branch

I bought a no-name pole pruner off Amazon for about $200 back in April. Thought I was being smart saving money over a name brand one. Third time using it, I was trimming some dead oak branches near the house in Cleveland. The fiberglass pole just cracked right in the middle and the head went flying. I was lucky it didn't hit me in the face or land on my truck. Had to pack up and finish the job with a hand saw which took me twice as long. The company wouldn't refund it since it was past 30 days. Has anyone else had bad luck with those cheap poles or am I the only one who got burned?

2 comments

2 Comments

lisa9761mo ago

...my neighbor had the exact same thing happen with one of those off-brand poles, but his snapped while he was leaning out of a second story window and he almost took a header into the bushes. He spent the rest of the afternoon with a ladder and a regular limb saw feeling like an idiot. I figure you pay for the peace of mind with the name brands, your safety's not worth saving a hundred bucks.

valsullivan1mo ago

That neighbor story is a good cautionary tale but I think people also overlook the damage your house takes when those cheap poles break or bend. Last summer I watched a guy's fiberglass pole snap, the sharp end sliced through his vinyl siding like butter, left a 3 foot gash. Plus the recoil can whip back and crack a window or dent a gutter on the way down, which costs way more than a hundred bucks to fix.