In the course of all that work, we also looked at whether the trimmers were well balanced and comfortable to use, whether we could easily insert their batteries, and how responsive the triggers were. From there, we went on to shape yews, various evergreens, and boxwoods and cut back vine-tangled shrubs in a variety of locations. We produced enough trimmings from that one hedge to fill the bed of a pickup. One of our test hedges was 8 feet tall, 6 feet wide, and 60 feet long. We trimmed hedges and bushes in a variety of locations in Connecticut, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. This is particularly useful if you have large, flat-topped hedges to trim, since the trimmings fall over and have a tendency to get stuck in the bush unless you move them out of the way. Or a hedge-sweep bar (a fin that brushes fallen trimmings off the top of the shrub as you work). There are other features to look for, of course, like a spacious handle opening if you wear work gloves while you trim. Note, again, that increased bar length adds to trimmer weight and to the cantilever effect produced when you trim with your arms extended. For wide or very tall bushes, use a trimmer with a bar 26 inches and longer. Unless you’re trimming a wide hedge with access only from one side, use a trimmer with a bar that’s 22 to 24 inches long.

That may not sound like much, but you can definitely feel it on a hot day, particularly if you’re kneeling down or bending. The tradeoff, however, when you step up to a heavy-duty, long-bar trimmer is anywhere from a pound to two pounds of increased weight. Generally speaking, heavy-duty models also have better blades and deliver a neater cut. The large-voltage motor is able to withstand the rigors of long trimming sessions and cutting thick branches. Generally speaking, these are trimmers with a larger voltage battery and motor (36 volts and higher). Larger, more expensive, and more powerful trimmers have a physically larger motor, a heftier drive mechanism, and a long cutting bar. For tall and long hedges, you’re going to need a tool that’s up to the job, something close to being pro-duty. If all you have are a handful of yews to shape, even a light-duty and inexpensive hedge trimmer will be adequate.

Read on for our evaluations of the best, along with features to consider to help you select a hedge trimmer to produce the best looking shrubs in your neighborhood. And to make things as easy as possible, it takes the same battery that you would use in a cordless drill or a string trimmer. It consists of a small-but-mighty electric motor that drives a reciprocating blade and its drivetrain. It’s got no power cord to get tangled nor does it have a roaring gas engine complete with a hot muffler. There’s only one that fits the bill: the battery-powered hedge trimmer. To get those bushes from shaggy to sheared as quickly and as easily as possible, you need a tool uniquely designed for speed, mobility, and power. Everybody loves neatly trimmed shrubbery.

Hedge trimmer attachment