IMHO, Little Wonder is the best electric available. It is very durable and has ample power. Electrics are fine as long as dragging an extension cord is not an issue and keep it short to minimize voltage drop.

Little Wonder trimmers have long been considered the way to go for commercial users who need an electric. Most electrics have very small teeth to prevent overloading their weak motors. You'll notice the Little Wonder has gas powered sized teeth and that's because they can handle it.

Thanks for the responses. After thinking about the points you made, I think I will get a gas model because some of my hedges are a long ways from an electric outlet.

Perhaps you should check the weight difference between
the two. Even a couple of pounds can make a world
of difference when you have to hold the equipment
at arms length for the time necessary to trim a
lengthy hedge.

Ibpod

Thanks for the suggestion. I had not thought about weight. I am also going to look at a couple of other brands if I go with the gas model so will check their weights too.

Here's another perspective/experience. As a home owner, over 5 acres and at least 3 acres that get some attention I have three hedge trimmers. One 18VDC and one 115VAC, and one gas, 2-cycle, powered. I don't have more than $200 invested in the whole set of three. Now none are commercial units, but so what? I'm not in the business of trimming hedges, and estimate the units sit in the garage/shed 99% of the time. Hum, lets see if that's a reasonable estimate: that computes to be about 80 hours per year, so the units sit on the shelf much longer, more like 99.9% of the time. I expect they'll last several years each.

I have 115VAC exterior outlets front and back of my house, so with an extension cord of about 50' I can reach everything around the house, that's the most of it. I then go to the 18VDC for light work away from the house, and go to the gas unit for heavy work (e.g., cutting into old wild rose bushes, and the like). So, my recommendation is for residential private use I'd spend under $200 and get both electric (either of both DC/AC) and gas powered.

I have been using a "commercial" electric B&D for several years and it is just not strong enough for my needs. I have to cut heavy branchs with a pruner frequently in order to be able to finish my cutting.

The point about how often these things sit unused is a good one and is a good reason to consider a cheaper cutter if I can find one that cuts heavy branches.

Thanks

I personally think dragging a cord is troublesome. I have not use electric lawn stuff, I use a lot of power tools. It was so inconvenient to drag a cord that I switched to all battery tools. A cord can catch on something and you have to stop all the time to unjam!!!

I would get commercial grade tool. My experience is they are a lot easier to use, last longer. If weight is a concern, there are two ways, 1) Look at Redmax CHT2200 less than 10 lbs. Stihl HS81 11.5 lbs. etc.

Or the second way...Start pumping weight!!!!!!

I have used a Little Wonder electric trimmer for many years. It certainly has all the power you would need from the motor. Because my hedges got to be 12 feet high, I finally had to buy a STIHL KM110R powerhead to drive an extended trimmer. This way I an reach to the top while standing on the ground. I still use the Little Wonder for my smaller shrubs. I don't think you can find a better electric one. Charles Ranheim

Could look on the web I suppose, but I ask here for general interest use: cranheim, who makes "Little Wonder", not a name I recognize.

My 18VDC unit is Homelite, seems pretty good, but the OEM battery was short lived, maybe worked for part of a second year. Happily the Roybi (spelling) battery is the same physically (suppose the same mfg) and they are available from Home Depot for something like $20 each in pairs (two packs). I don't remember the exact cost, but it was low enough for me to scrap the idea of rebuilding the Homelite OEMs.

My 115VAC unit was purchased from Walmart, a B&D I think. Nothing fancy, but works fine for me, but neither will cut a stem over about 1/2", I haven't tested but know/remember that I am limited in how deep I cut because of the branch size. My gas unit will cut larger stems, haven't given it a maximum size test, but suppose it'll go to 3/4" or a bit more.