Out of all my favorite Ego tools, this has to be my favorite, well this and the lawnmower. One thing you want to notice is the bar, where all the action happens. This bar is a 24″ bar and you can see it goes all the way to the front of the tool. While some claim to have long bars, most don’t actually have that cutting capacity, where with the Ego, it does. This unit delivers 3,000 SPM and is powered by a 56V 2-Ah battery. You can cut up to 3/4″ thick branches, pretty wild for a battery powered hedger.
Besides the long reach, another item I like is the instant off. Once you let go of either the front handle or back handle, the unit shuts off. This is a great safety feature. In my use I did about 20 bushes and I have to say it works awesome. Most of the bushes I did were pines. I did about 6 bigger bushes where I cut through some thick branches and I have to say, not one hiccup. As with the other Ego tools, the only downside I can see is this is a new company, so there are no long term reviews to see how the tools or the batteries hold up over time. All in all if you want one battery platform for your house, the Ego so far seems like the way to go.
I like the power, I like the specs, I don’t like the style. These tools look a little gimmicky. They don’t look tough enough for the real world. Eric, now that you have handled these tools do they feel solid? Too plasticy? Do you think they can sustain an accidental drop on the garage floor?
Longevity will definitely play a role with this brand. Overall, it is exciting to see a battery option that is nipping at the heals of some gas equipment.
They surprised me. I haven’t dropped them in the garage yet, but I know I will in time. When I first heard about Ego, I thought they might be more of a gimmick, but they really do seem like the real thing. The big unknown is how long they will last since there isn’t a track record. I have to admit, i am keeping my gas stuff around, but the only thing I have been using is the Ego because it is pretty nice.
Well my blower fell on the garage floor the second day I had it. The blower still works fine. The only damage I could see is the plastic deformed a little on a corner a little bit. If you want I can take a picture and post it on the forum. Ego is using a pretty high quality plastic in the construction. I think part of the problem is the two tone grey with green highlights does not give the tool the best look aesthetically. Compared to the Ryobi tools that broke on me I feel that the Ego tools will keep working for many years. Some of the plastic on the Ryobi hedge trimmer was really bad it was super thing and going brittle. The only thing that concerns me like everyone with Ego is how is the battery pack going to hold only time will tell on that issue.
I have to agree with Eric the Ego hedge trimmer works great. I have no complaints about the tool its a good powerful hedge trimmer. The Ego true replacement for a gas powered model.
We have a new house so not many hedges to trim at this point but that looks like a cool trimmer.
Eric I’m still on the fence on EGO tools. I was at HD this past weekend & I had a chance to feel them & I was not impressed at all. To plastic for my tastes, but that is what I thought about my brothers Ryobi 40v power tools & they worked fine for a battery powered tool. I mentioned in one another comment that those tools are very weak, because he has returned the trimmer & hedger back because the plastic battery piece broke on him, twice on the hedger. He also chose Ryobi because they were less expensive than the EGO. His next purchases are the chainsaw & mower. I have to admit they are nice. Like Brien mentioned, these types of tools are still very new I think to the market & I want to see more reviews on them on their reliability plus toughness. If we are going to spend top dollar (& I mean top dollar) they better hold up to the task at hand. Can you guys do a review on the Ryobi 40v tools, if they give you some to test? I found them to be easy to handle, maybe too easy to handle with power. Let me stop rambling. Laters TIA