When it comes to pruning season, trimming and shaping trees and shrubs with thick, woody growth can feel like a daunting task. While your secateurs and other essential gardening tools may not be up to the task, a strong pair ofgarden garden loppers is more than capable of tackling tougher trimming jobs. Used with with both hands their long handles make them ideal for cutting branches up to 50mm thick, depending on the lopper.
If you’re pruning dense dead wood, then a pair of loppers with an anvil blade is the tool for you. Cuts are made as the top blade slices through the wood onto the flat anvil base. They can crush stems as they cut, and although bypass blades make cleaner, more precise cuts, anvil blades have greater force. They’re ideal for clearing dead branches and making the first cut on thick branches before removing them cleanly with bypass loppers or a saw.
Bypass loppers carry on where your secateurs leave off, giving a lovely clean cut on living stems that are just that bit too thick for secateurs. They have two blades, which pass over one another to give a precise cut in a scissor action and that makes them perfect for the finer pruning of shrubs and trees. Both types of loppers are available with telescopic handles that extend for greater reach and many have an additional cutting mechanism to help you cut thicker wood with less effort, helpful for those with less strength and for very tough wood.
If you’re pruning larger branches, take a look at our review of the best pruning saws or for smaller cuts our round up of the best secateurs. For help clearing up see our test of the best shredders, best splitting axes and the best wheelbarrows. To save some money on your favourite tools, take a look at the best Black Friday tool deals we’ve found for you.
We also have guides detailing how to prune fruit trees in winter and pruning mistakes to avoid, as well as information on other tools such as the best Japanese gardening tools and how to use them.
Best garden loppers to buy at a glance
- Best bypass loppers for general use: Felco 221 70cm straight head loppers
- Best value bypass loppers: Kent & Stowe SureCut All Purpose Extra Power Bypass Loppers
- Best telescopic anvil lopper: Wolf Garten Telescopic lopper
- Best anvil lopper for general use: Fiskars Power Gear X anvil lopper LX9
- Best anvil lopper for ease of use: Darlac Compact Compound anvil lopper
- Best ratchet anvil lopper: Spear and Jackson Razorsharp Advantage Telescopic ratchet anvil lopper
Our expertise
We tested the different types of bypass and anvil loppers, using them in the garden on a range of different woody shrubs and trees to help you find the right one for your garden. Each pair has a detailed list of pros and cons for clarity and has been rated according to handling, cutting, maintenance and value for money. Every pair in our round up below has scored a minimum of three out of five stars, so you can buy with confidence.
Jump to:
In every review we award the outstanding products our coveted Best Buy award. To see these and the others we recommend, browse our pick of the best anvil loppers below:
Best bypass loppers in 2024
Felco 221 70cm straight head loppers
RRP: £119.99
Our rating: 4.3/5
Available from Amazon and Felco
Pros
- Simple, no fuss styling
- Comfortable and easy to use
- Effective shock absorbers
- Strong and robust
- Repair service and lifetime warranty
Cons
- Expensive
Robust, well made and thoroughly practical, these loppers from Felco are user friendly and simple in design. The lightweight, aluminium handles are comfortable and well balanced with grip handles in ‘Felco red’ and the hardened steel blades have a generous 45mm cutting width. A hooked lower counter blade helps to keep a firm hold of the branch you’re cutting. The loppers are also easy to maintain and come with the same tool you get with Felco secateurs to take them apart for cleaning and sharpening. They also come with a lifetime warranty and although they’re the most expensive loppers on test they’re a lifetime purchase for a serious gardener. We awarded them a BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine Best Buy for general use.
[squirrel-affiliate-embed widget_type=”price_comparison” squirrel_id=”646835″ /]
Kent & Stowe SureCut All Purpose Extra Power bypass loppers
RRP: £39.99
Our rating: 4.5/5
Available from Marshalls and Amazon
Pros
- Handles are comfortable with good grip
- Easy to adjust telescopic handles
- Excellent shock absorption
- Hanging loop
- Good value
Cons
- Colouring makes them hard to see in undergrowth
- Design may not appeal to all
This comfortable, versatile pair of loppers cuts cleanly and smoothly and is ideal for cutting live, green wood. Made from high quality carbon steel, the blades are coated for high rust resistance and chunky rubber bumpers help ensure easy cutting with little effort and no reverberation travelling through your wrists and arms. They have a maximum cutting width of 35mm, which is adequate for most garden tasks, and the shaped handles are gripped for extra comfort. They’re also telescopic, giving you extra stretch to reach higher branches, but when reduced in length, they’re still easy to manoeuvre through dense stems. Unfortunately, no spare blades are available but otherwise these loppers are very competitively priced, come with a five year warranty and we’ve awarded them a BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine Best Buy for value.
[squirrel-affiliate-embed widget_type=”price_comparison” squirrel_id=”646842″ /]
Best anvil loppers in 2024
Wolf Garten Telescopic Anvil Lopper
RRP: £114.99
Our rating: 4.8/5
Pros:
- Comfortable with non-slip grip handle
- Easy telescopic handles lock securely in place
- Cut effortlessly
- Flat screws prevent damage to wood
Cons:
- Expensive
The Wolf Garten loppers were our highest scoring model overall and were awarded a BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine Best Buy for the best telescopic loppers. They have a non-stick steel blade with a metal anvil and the extending aluminium handles have matching locking holes on each handle to keep them even and a comfortable, non-slip grip. With flat screws, there was no damage to wood and the cut was effortless. Replacement blades are available and the warranty lasts for 10 years.
[squirrel-affiliate-embed widget_type=”price_comparison” squirrel_id=”467873″ fallback_link_text=”Latest Prices” /]
Fiskars Power Gear X Anvil Lopper LX9
RRP: £79.99
Our rating: 4.5/5
Pros:
- Light and comfortable
- Good reach
- Clean, powerful cutting action
- Curved anvil hooks branches into place
- Long warranty
Cons:
- Expensive
A BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine Best Buy winner for general use these garden loppers feature a coated, non-stick steel blade with a curved metal anvil that helps you catch and grip branches as you cut. There’s a geared mechanism as well as light and narrow, aluminium handles, which have a rubber grip. The loppers cut cleanly with a wide cutting width and there are also useful hanging holes in the handles. They come with a generous warranty of 25 years.
[squirrel-affiliate-embed widget_type=”price_comparison” squirrel_id=”463714″ fallback_link_text=”Latest Prices” /]
Darlac Compact Compound Anvil Lopper
RRP: £39.99
Our rating: 4.5/5
Pros:
- Very light
- Simple design and easy to use
- Excellent cutting strength for size
- Great value
Cons:
- Small cutting width
- Limited reach
Awarded a BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine Best Buy award for the best for ease of use, these small, light loppers have a steel blade with a rust-resistant coating and a metal anvil. The oval handles are made from aluminium with a rubber grip for added comfort and there’s also a compound-action cutting mechanism, which we found provided excellent strength when working. These lightweight loppers have a small cutting width, however a lifetime warranty is included and replacement parts are available.
[squirrel-affiliate-embed widget_type=”price_comparison” squirrel_id=”461998″ fallback_link_text=”Latest Deals” original_product_name=”DARLAC HEAVY DUTY COMPOUND ACTION ANVIL LOPPER” /]
Spear & Jackson Razorsharp Advantage Telescopic Ratchet Anvil Lopper
RRP: £57.49
Our rating: 4.5/5
Pros:
- Light and comfortable
- Cuts smoothly
- Handles adjust easily with one hand
Cons:
- Narrow cutting width
- Handles slide into place by eye only
Our testers were impressed with these Spear and Jackson loppers and awarded them a BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine Best Buy award for the best ratchet loppers. The carbon-steel blade and anvil are non-stick and rust-resistant, plus there’s a five-stage ratchet mechanism. The twist-and-slide aluminium handles have a rubber grip and extend 72-104cm. The included warranty is valid for 10 years.
[squirrel-affiliate-embed widget_type=”price_comparison” squirrel_id=”467874″ fallback_link_text=”Latest Prices” /]
The best of the rest
Although some models didn’t quite achieve a BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine Best Buy award, they still have various features that make them worth recommending. Browse our pick of the best of the rest on test.
Niwaki Loppers
RRP: £99.00
Our rating: 3/5
Pros
- Simply but beautifully made with quality materials
- Minimal parts to malfunction
Cons
- Overall design too basic and simple
- Hard work to use
- No shock absorbers so uncomfortable in use
These stylish but simply designed loppers from Niwaki have strong, forged carbon steel blades and sturdy oak handles. Packaged in a simple cloth bag, which is also useful for storage, they’re suitable for branches up to 25mm thick. But, despite the beautiful crafting of the blades they’re not easy to open and close and we found them uncomfortable, and with no bumpers they’re hard work to use, even on softer woods like green sycamore. Their simplicity makes them easy to clean and use and although no spare parts are available, they come with a two year warranty.
Spear & Jackson Kew Woodland Collection bypass loppers
RRP: £49.99
Our rating: 3/5
Pros
- Traditional design
- Sustainably sourced wood handle
- Comfortable
- 10 year warranty
Cons
- Very basic
- Not as user friendly as others in our test
Traditional in design, with the Kew name attached, these loppers will appeal to gardeners who prefer a classic style of lopper. The blades are hardened carbon steel, with the upper coated for rust resistance, and the handles are sustainably sourced and weather proofed, and are both sturdy and pleasant to hold. They’re comfortable but simple and basic with no added grip or cushioning bumpers and are a little less easy to open and close than our other loppers on test. They have a 30mm cutting width diameter and come with a generous 10 year warranty.
Darlac Heavy Duty Double Compound Action Anvil Lopper
RRP: £36.99
Our rating: 4.3/5
Pros:
- Light and easy to use
- Good reach
- Spare parts available
Cons:
- Long blade only cuts tough wood at base
- Struggles with denser wood
- Strain on wrist when cutting tough wood
A long steel blade with a rust-resistant coating and light, narrow aluminium handles with a rubber grip make these loppers light and easy to use. Guaranteed for life, the tool features a compound-action cutting mechanism and offers great reach. While spare parts are available, the loppers did struggle on tougher wood putting strain on the wrists while working.
[squirrel-affiliate-embed widget_type=”price_comparison” squirrel_id=”462875″ fallback_link_text=”Latest Prices” /]
Wilkinson Sword Ratchet Lopper
RRP: £38.99
Our rating: 4.3/5
- Buy now from Charlies (£24.99)
Pros:
- Very light and easy to use
- Cuts most wood cleanly and smoothly
- Good value
Cons:
- Narrow cutting width
- Ratchet catches occasionally
Good for less able gardeners, these loppers feature a long, non-stick blade made from carbon-steel with a metal anvil. There are long, narrow aluminium handles with a rubber grip, plus a three-gear rachet mechanism, although our testers found this did sometimes catch. The warranty on this model is 10 years.
Burgon & Ball RHS-endorsed Telescopic Ratchet Lopper
RRP: £48.99
Our rating: 4/5
Pros:
- Cuts tough wood well
- Handles easily adjusted with one hand
Cons:
- Handles slide into place by eye only
- Handles bow under pressure
- Narrow cutting width
- Heavy
There’s a five stage spring-ratchet mechanism on these Burgon and Ball loppers which feature a carbon-steel, non-stick blade with a chrome-plated anvil. While heavy, the tool cuts well through tough wood and the telescopic handles extend 72-104cm. The loppers are guaranteed for 10 years.
[squirrel-affiliate-embed widget_type=”price_comparison” squirrel_id=”467875″ /]
Stanley FatMax Anvil Lopper
RRP: £34.99
Our rating: 4/5
- Buy now from Trade Counter Direct (£35.99)
Pros:
- Bumpers absorb shock well
- Tapered handles cut narrower stems with ease
- Sturdy and strong
Cons:
- Big and heavy
- Struggled with thicker, tough wood
- Hard to hold above head for long periods
These garden loppers feature curved, tubular steel handles with bumpers, plus a plastic and gel grip to ease the impact on your hands. They feature a coated-steel blade with a metal anvil. There is a geared mechanism, but the tool doesn’t open as wide as some other models and some effort is required to cut thicker stems. The included warranty lasts a lifetime.
How to choose the best anvil loppers
Loppers are ideal for tougher pruning jobs later on in the year and there are a wide range of choices available. In this guide, we go through some of the different models of anvil loppers and the various features they offer, so you can understand which type might work for you.
What are loppers used for?
Loppers are essentially a pair of large, long handled secateurs, capable of taking on stems which would be too thick for even your very best secateurs. Ideal for the autumn and winter pruning period, loppers are designed to cut branches up to around 50mm thick. The tool features long, even telescopic handles, which are operated with both hands to tackle stubborn growth.
What are anvil loppers?
Anvil loppers feature a single blade closing onto a flat base, operating in a similar way to a knife cutting on a chopping board. There may also be a mechanism in the head of the loppers, which could be a ratchet, compound-action or geared mechanism which will help them cut more powerfully and with less effort from you. A ratchet cuts in multiple steps, while geared and compound action provide more leverage to a single cut.
Anvil loppers are the toughest type of garden loppers and will particularly suit any jobs which involve clearing a lot of dense, dead wood. Lopper blades are usually made from steel or carbon-steel and can have a protective or non stick coating to increase durability.
What are extendable loppers used for?
There are many long handled loppers which can help you reach further or higher up branches, but some are extendable, with telescopic handles. Being able to adjust and extend loppers means you can increase your leverage and cover more areas of your garden.
The adjustable nature of telescopic tree loppers means you can alter the length for your needs, rather than being left with excessively long handles while you complete jobs within easier reach.
Many of these long reach loppers with telescopic handles have an additional cutting mechanism which should help make slicing through tough wood a less strenuous job.
There will often be other handy features on loppers, extendable or otherwise. These include grips over the handles for added comfort or ‘bumpers’, which soften the impact of each cut by preventing the two handles from banging together.
How we tested loppers
We tested a range of anvil loppers with different features including telescopic handles and ratchet mechanisms. Our experts put the loppers through their paces on various woody branches and stems to test their overall performance. Each pair was assessed according to the following criteria with equal marks attributed to each:
- Handling: Looked at comfort, weight, balance, manoeuvrability and ease of use.
- Cutting: Focussed on the blade material, strength, cutting widths and cutting efficiency.
- Maintenance: Assessed ease of cleaning and sharpening and whether replacement blades are available.
- Value: Considered the price versus quality, design, performance and warranty.
For more information on our testing process, take a look at how we review.
This review was last updated in May 2024. We apologise if anything has changed in price or availability.
from BBC Gardeners World Magazine https://ift.tt/PahziTg
