I have to admit that the concept of pneumatic pruners (which I had never heard of) intrigued me, so I did some searches to see exactly what this animal was. Expensive little buggers, no??!! I'd think that lugging around a compressor and air hoses would limit maneuverability considerably, specially if ladders are involved.

FWIW, Fiskars makes some pretty incredible loppers that are very highly rated, very easy to use and can cut upto a 2" diameter branch. I am seriously considering their Powerlever30 loppers myself.

gardengal, thanks for the reply. My advice, forget the Fiskars. They make great scissors, but I have never had a pruning tool of theirs last real well for me...the best made it a week, mostly because I used it only a little.

If ya want a bigger lopper, Felco 22. Got one, use it regularly, love it. My favorite pruner is the Felco 20...I practically sleep with it.

For me, the concept of using the pneumatics is less about cost and convenience of lugging an air line around and more about trying to keep the wear and tear on my body down.

I'm not looking to totally replace my traditional hand held pruners, that will never happen. I'm looking for a way to reduce physical stress during peak pruning seasons.

Last year, I would up with a hand swollen to the size of a softball during spring potting. A guy I worked with got intense shooting pains in his wrist and elbow while he was pruning. Others reported varying degrees of discomfort that progressed through the season. It got to the point that the boss would schedule a truck to deliver bags of crushed ice to coincide with break and lunch times...because every freezer we had couldn't hold enough.

So really, for me, the price of a field compressor (gas motor or pto driven), hoses, and pruning guns is rather cheap when compared to alternatives.