Fiskars PowerGear II Hedge Shears HS551 Featured Reviews

Fiskars PowerGear II Hedge Shears (HS551): Product Review

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GPR Recommendation

Ease of Use
Quality
Cutting Performance
Final Thoughts

A low-end tool with several problems, including blade slippage and extra weight.

Overall Score 2.3

Available on Amazon

Buy It

Any tool that promises to make pruning or shearing hedges “three times easier” is worth looking at. The Fiskars PowerGear II shears with their patented gear technology are supposed to multiply your power but, unfortunately, we found that it was suited for light shearing only.

Features

  • Hardened blades with low-friction coating
  • PowerGear® patented gear technology
  • Ergonomic handles and bumpers

Hardened, Low-Friction Blades

Fiskars steel blades are fully hardened, so they will remain sharp with extended use. They are also coated to lessen friction and to prevent the blades from gumming up with sap.

This coating, it seems, works to the user’s disadvantage, causing larger limbs to slip from between the blades. Other tools have serrations to prevent this from happening, or the blades are beveled for more precise cutting. This flaw makes the shears unsuitable for many shearing applications.

Fiskars PowerGear II Hedge Shears HS551

A tool suited for light shearing only.

Fiskars PowerGear II Hedge Shears HS551 Gear Technology

The gear technology makes cutting fairly effortless.

Gear Technology

The PowerGear® patented gear technology makes cutting fairly effortless, multiplying leverage to give you up to three times more power (according to Fiskars). With better blades, this would be a plus.

Ergonomic Features

The handles are steel, rather than lighter weight aluminum, which adds to the weight of the tool. At 23 inches it is comparatively small, and at 2.4 pounds, comparatively heavy. The weight is concentrated at the handles, rather than the blade end, which helps some.

The rounded steel handles have Softgrip® touchpoints securely riveted.

The bumpers are small, and offer less cushioning than most.

Recommendation

Fiskars Power Gear II HS551 is a low-end tool with a medium price tag of $30 to $45. If you have any amount of heavy shearing, the blade slippage will frustrate you. The extra weight, due to the steel handles, can cause arm stress with continued use.

Where to Buy

Fiskars tools can be purchased at some local retail stores, on the Fiskars website, as well as through Amazon.

Fiskars Power Gear II Hedge Shears
A hedge shears better for light shearing

Last update on 2024-03-29 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

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Disclaimer – GPReview would like to thank Fiskars for giving us a free sample to review. There was no expectation that it would be a positive review and we received no compensation for writing it. All opinions expressed here are those of the author based on personal experience using the product.

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1 Comment on Fiskars PowerGear II Hedge Shears (HS551): Product Review

  1. Margaret and Robert Garza

    my fiskars hedge pruner broke a tooth, is there a warranty on your trimers or how can i get a replacement part

Comments are closed.