For thirty bucks I would not consider the Ryobi. IMHO, they are disposables. I work for the Canadian parts distributor and deal with their crapola every day.
The Shindaiwa is not cheap for sure but will probably outlast you and your kids.

Thanks, I am going towards the attachment for my old Troybilt trimmer for $99.

yumgman, there is a company selling a pretty nice pole pruner on ebay. It's a china made unit but I think it's pretty good. I bought one and of course paid more then most have been selling for since. LOL. Most of them are going for 130.00 + or -.

Anyway, it's called Maxtra and is 95" reach. I've been using mine for the last three days trying to thin my trees out since we have some tropical systems that might be threatening my state (Florida). I'm sure there are better units but so far I'm happy wiith the 30cc power and 10" bar. If you check them out, post your thoughts.