Loppers

Loppers come in several different styles, including bypass, anvil, ratcheting, compound and telescoping. See our article on Best Loppers for details, as well as our top recommendations for each lopper style.


Centurion Multi-Gear Lopper 2X: Product Review


If you’re looking for bypass loppers to tackle thick branches, the Centurion® Multi-Gear Lopper 2X performs adequately. While the company claims the lopper cuts diameters of 2 inches, in reality, the maximum cutting diameter for hard wood was 1-½-inch. The telescoping handles offer a comfortable grip, and they lock securely with a pin mechanism. The pruning information provides a good resource for the user, but the blades create ragged cuts due to “spread.” Additionally, the Continue Reading


Centurion Link-Force Double-Gear Drive (Monster) Lopper: Product Review


I’m a big fan of this lopper and highly recommend it, although it’s probably not the best choice for those who are petite or have limited upper body strength. The guillotine-style, geared cutting head is by far the most interesting design I’ve seen in quite some time. It works exceptionally well on deadwood, blasting through 2-inch deadwood like a hot knife through butter. If you have a lot of deadwood pruning to do, this is Continue Reading


Melnor Talon Telescoping Bypass Lopper: Product Review


Melnor’s Talon lopper has some nice features, like strong, curved aluminum handles, a very sharp cutting blade, and extendable handles for extra leverage. And it cuts cleanly through 2-inch branches. But the extendable handles slipped constantly, the bumpers fell out, a handle grip fell off and the blade developed burrs. If Melnor can clean up the quality control problems, this would be a very nice lopper. Continue Reading


Fiskars Ratchet Drive Lopper: Product Review


The Fiskars Ratchet Drive lopper does an exemplary job at pruning branches and cutting up brush and deadwood that’s 1 ½“ in diameter or less. In the 2” diameter range cutting is more difficult and takes a lot of strength, especially through deadwood (which is what an anvil lopper is ideally suited to cut). The curved handles are a nice feature; you don’t have to open your arms as far to get the blades Continue Reading