Jameson JA-34DP-PKG Big Mouth Side Cut Double Pulley Tree Pruner Kit

This slices through limbs with ease. Because of its weight, it's a bit tricky to maneuver on a pole if you work by yourself. Being a double pulley system, it requires a longer "pull" from fully open to fully closed. (It's about 3 feet.) I have long arms so I am able to operate it okay. Overall, I'm very pleased with it.

Liked: Worked as expected based on Amazon's product description and reviewer comments. To date, has worked best for me with just a 6 ft. LS base pole. I haven't tried it with heavier duty Jameson poles.Disliked: Although not a fault of this pruner kit, I found that using this at the end of a 6 ft. Jameson LS-6 Extension Pole coupled to a 6 ft. LS base pole (the green ones) for a 12 ft. reach, this pole combination flexed into an arc as I made a cut well within the rating of the pruner. Not as extreme a bend as, say, a pole vaulter's pole flex, but reminded me of that. This required more rope length to be pulled to complete the cut (the length of rope you have to pull without pole flex is already pretty long). I anticipate, too, that this flexing would weaken these poles over time (with risk of a dangerous break increasing over time) if they are not put to lighter duty, less flex-inducing, use. Flexing is much less with the pruner on the end of just a 6 ft. LS base pole. I will be looking to obtain a Jameson heavier duty pole combo for 12 ft. and longer reaches and larger branches with this pruner kit, and keep the LS poles for shorter heights and/or very small branches.

If it's an option for you, get this clipper with thebigger cutting size and the double pulley. You'll likely be wanting/needing to cut bigger branches. The double pulley seems to help as well. This is one purchase I didn't really want to have to make, but don't regret paying the higher price for the better qualityFeels like it is better quality than the pole cutters you get at the local big box store. After using it, I'm certain of it. I've used several brands of pole clippers and this was worth the expense. I've had it on 21ft poles and it worked as well as I could hope (poles will bend). This clipper does not come with poles; I got Jameson fiberglass poles and the saw blade too, sold separately. Unless you just have small branches I'd suggest getting a saw blade too.

This Jameson pole pruner accessory is well balanced, efficiently engineered and the blade is hella sharp. I was worried the spring was too stiff and it would be stubborn to pull the blade down when clipping really high branches. It was at first, but eased up quickly. I just saved myself a lot of money by trimming dead branches off some trees that got hit hard by a freak April arctic blast. This thing made the work fun. I'm super impressed with it. It jammed up once over 2 hrs of work, but that was my own fault for trying to cut a too wide branch. If you use/treat this pruner kit properly, it should endure many years of trouble-free use. I can't imagine anyone making a better pole pruner contraption than this one at the price point. Not sure how long the blade will stay sharp. No blade can stay sharp forever and some kinds of wood are just blade eaters.

Larger jaw, allows cutting thicker branches. The pulley system adds more leverage, but requires a longer stroke.Seems well made, but heaver to use and balance on a longer pole. Recommended overall.

Because this is a well-made substantial cutting head, it is also heavy. This becomes a problem when adding more pole sections. The head starts to sway, making it very tough to control. I am 6'2" with good upper body strength and I could not use all four pole sections, because I could not control the sway.Note: pole sections purchased separately.

This is a truly outstanding, professional-quality pruning head.The only problem is that it's VERY heavy, so it can't be used on a pole that's too long, even light-weight ones sold by Jameson. It's completely unwieldy on a long pole (like 20 ft).Also, keep in mind that with a double pully, while it's easier to make a cut, you have to pull the rope twice as far to do it. So you have to hold the rope pretty high before making a cut. If the extra ease of cutting isn't a big deal, maybe the single-pulley version of this head would be a better choice.In any case, I'm extremely satisfied with this pruner head. You can just SEE the precision in the details of manufacture when you look at it (in person).They say that it's easy to take apart to sharpen but didn't come with instructions as to how (other than the usual, obvious way).

I read the reviews and was a little apprehensive to buy, with all the negative weight issues. I'm 71 and very active and had zero issues with the weight. Mind you I only extended it 12 ft.I would recommend this to anyone who needs a great pole lopper