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If you're pruning larger branches, take a look at our review of the best mini chainsaws, the best wood-splitting axes and the best pruning saws, or for smaller cuts our round up of the best secateurs and electric pruners. For help clearing up see our test of the best shredders, best splitting axes and the best wheelbarrows. 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.
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.
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:
RRP: £64.99
Our rating: 4.5/5
Available from ALPEN Swiss tools
BBC Gardeners' World Magazine lopper review ALPEN Wiesshorn 280 loppers
Pros
Cons
These simple, unfussy loppers are light, with Japanese SK5 carbon steel blades and a cam assisted mechanism that makes them a great choice for gardeners who lack strength. The gearing gives greater cutting power for tougher woods, and they really do make light work of even tough older wood, with shock absorbers also helping to take the strain. We awarded them a BBC Gardeners World Magazine Best Buy award for ease of use.
A 40mm cutting width makes these perfect for pruning larger stems and branches and the long handles are useful for reaching up into shrubs although theyre light and easy to manoeuvre, they do make it trickier to work in tight spaces. Theyre excellent value for money, the blade is replaceable and they come with a two year warranty.
Available from ALPEN Swiss tools
RRP: £39.99
Our rating: 4.5/5
Available from Marshalls, B & Q and Amazon
BBC Gardeners' World Magazine lopper review Kent & Stowe SureCut All Purpose Extra Power Bypass Loppers
Pros
Cons
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. Theyre also telescopic, giving you extra stretch to reach higher branches, but when reduced in length, theyre 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 weve awarded them a BBC Gardeners World Magazine Best Buy for value.
RRP: £119.99
Our rating: 4.3/5
Available from Amazon and Felco
BBC Gardeners' World Magazine lopper review Felco 221 70cm straight head loppers
Pros
Cons
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 youre 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 theyre the most expensive loppers on test theyre a lifetime purchase for a serious gardener. We awarded them a BBC Gardeners World Magazine Best Buy for general use.
RRP: £114.99
Our rating: 4.8/5
BBC Gardeners' World magazine Wolf Garten Telescopic lopper
Pros:
Cons:
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.
RRP: £79.99
Our rating: 4.5/5
Fiskars Power Gear X Anvil Lopper LX9
Pros:
Cons:
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. Theres 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.
RRP: £39.99
Our rating: 4.5/5
Darlac Compact Compound Anvil Lopper
Pros:
Cons:
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 theres 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.
RRP: £57.49
Our rating: 4.5/5
Spear & Jackson Razorsharp Advantage Telescopic Ratchet Anvil Lopper
Pros:
Cons:
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 theres 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.
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.
RRP: £99.00
Our rating: 3/5
Available from Crocus and Sarah Raven
BBC Gardeners' World Magazine lopper review Niwaki loppers
Pros
Cons
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, theyre suitable for branches up to 25mm thick. But, despite the beautiful crafting of the blades theyre not easy to open and close and we found them uncomfortable, and with no bumpers theyre 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.
RRP: £49.99
Our rating: 3/5
Available from Dortech, BrandAlley and B & Q
BBC Gardeners' World Magazine Spear & Jackson Kew Woodland Collection Bypass Loppers review
Pros
Cons
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. Theyre 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.
RRP: £36.99
Our rating: 4.3/5
Darlac Heavy Duty Double Compound Action Anvil Lopper
Pros:
Cons:
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.
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RRP: £38.99
Our rating: 4.3/5
Wilkinson Sword Ratchet Lopper
Pros:
Cons:
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.
RRP: £48.99
Our rating: 4/5
Burgon & Ball RHS-endorsed Telescopic Ratchet Lopper
Pros:
Cons:
Theres 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.
RRP: £34.99
Our rating: 4/5
Stanley FatMax Anvil Lopper
Pros:
Cons:
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 doesnt open as wide as some other models and some effort is required to cut thicker stems. The included warranty lasts a lifetime.
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 loppers and the various features they offer, so you can understand which type might work for you.
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.
Bypass loppers have two blades that operate in a scissor action to slice cleanly through stems and wood. They are best for all general pruning of green stems and thicker live branches. They often have a slightly narrower cutting width, of up to 45cm, than 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.
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.
We tested a range of bypass and 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:
For more information on our testing process, take a look at how we review.
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This review was last updated in May . We apologise if anything has changed in price or availability.
Essentially supersized secateurs on long handles, garden loppers are invaluable for tackling thick or out of reach branches. But choosing the right pair can be a minefield since they vary so much in weight, size and performance.
Like secateurs, loppers come with different cutting actions and the one you choose depends on the sort of work you need them for. For everyday use, youll want a pair of bypass loppers. These cut with a scissor action, with one blade crossing over the other. They tend to be the lightest so are good if you struggle with heavy tools or need to do a long session of pruning without your arms getting tired. They cut beautifully through green, living wood in a slicing motion.
For dead or brown wood, a pair of lightweight loppers with an anvil cutting action is the one to go for. These also handle living wood so are a good all rounder. With an anvil model, a blade presses down onto a curved anvil, crushing the wood inbetween the blades.
For thicker branches you need a more heavyweight pair of loppers with a geared or ratchet blade mechanism. These increase the power of the cut, taking the effort out and making short work even of branches youd normally tackle with a pruning saw. The mechanics at the head end make these loppers relatively top-heavy so theyre best for really hefty jobs or shorter bursts of pruning.
For really high branches, consider a pair with extendable or telescopic handles. These are easy to operate and will extend your reach to almost a metre. The material of the handles can make a difference too. Wooden handles feel warm and comfortable while tubular aluminium or plastic is the lightest.
An important distinction between loppers is the impact they put on the arms when you snap the blades together. If theres a hard jolt every time you close them it can lead to aches and pains so look for a rubber buffer between them for a soft finish.
We tested 10 leading garden loppers on a variety of garden shrubs and trees from willow to damson, eucalyptus, hazel to ornamental grasses. We considered their cutting performance, comfort, aesthetic appeal and value.
Bulldog Compound Bypass Lopping Shears
If you only buy one pair of garden loppers, you could do a lot worse than this bypass pair which weigh under a kilogram. With tubular aluminium handles and a small, cutting head, they feel particularly lightweight at the top end making them comfortable on the forearms and wrists to use for long periods. At 73cm long, their handles are relatively long for bypass loppers and this gives you powerful leverage for the cut. The blade is sharp enough to manage surprisingly thick stems (it advertises as coping with up to 3.8cm diameter) and branches with no trouble at all thanks to its compound cutting action.
We like: the large chunky grips at the bottom of the handles
RRP
£42.11
Available from Thompson & Morgan
Shop NowDarlac Heavy Duty Geared Lopper
These quite serious looking loppers have an unusual vertical cutting action with a curved upper hook to grab onto branches (or thick roots?) and then a 5mm blade that cuts down like a guillotine. We were astounded at how easily this managed thick branches 5cm in diameter, cutting through eucalyptus and dead damson tree wood without much effort on the arms at all. It made us all feel quite bionic, its extra power thanks to the heavy duty rack and pinion geared cutting action. Though the aluminium handles are lightweight, the chrome plated steel head makes them quite top heavy (the whole thing weighs in at just over 1.5kg) so these are best for using in short bursts, when you want to tackle really hefty branches.
We like: their power
RRP
£47.95
Available from Amazon
Shop NowGardena Supercut All Purpose Loppers
Of all the loppers we tested these were the ones I couldnt wrench off my 75 year old mother. Weighing only 620g she found this German-made bypass model so light and easy to use she was coppicing the willow at lightning speed. The chunky glass-fibre reinforced plastic handles are fairly short making them easy to manoevure, though not ideal for high branches, while an innovative gear mechanism gives the cutting action twice the power so they can manage stems up to 3.5cm diameter. Shock absorbers between the handles give them a nice soft-close finish, protecting the wrists from impact. They also come in a Hardwood version which have an anvil cutting action.
We like: how easy these were on the wrists
RRP
£29.95
Available from FFX UK
Shop NowBurgon and Ball Ratchet Lopper RHS Endorsed
These have telescopic handles that extend to 80cm so are great for really tall branches. They have a powerful, large ratchet mechanism to handle large branches and an anvil cutting action so can manage dead as well as living wood. We found it cut very well, the ratchet mechanism taking the strain as it cut through thick branches of dead wood up to 4cm in diameter in a series of five stages. Though the blades are straight, theres a curved portion at the tip to grab onto branches. When the handle are fully extended the leverage power is even greater.
We like: that it can handle both living and dead wood
RRP
£48.99
Available from Burgon & Ball
Shop NowSpear and Jackson Razorsharp Advantage Telescopic Ratchet Bypass Loppers
Ive had a pair of these heavy duty ratchet loppers for several months now and theyve cut through hundreds of hazel branches and suckers with no trouble so I cant fault them. Theyve also been thrown around in the boot of the car so proved their resilience. The telescopic handles extend up to 80cm by twisting the ends of the handles so you can reach high branches. If used for longer periods they are easiest on the wrists used unextended. The ratchet takes the strain as you cut through wood up to 4.2cm In diameter with a sharp carbon steel blade.
We like: their reliability
RRP
£23.98
Available from Argos
Shop NowWilkinson Sword Ultralight Bypass Loppers
These are by far the lightest of all the loppers tested, weighing only 450g. You can carry them around with one hand and lop away for ages without getting tired. The curved bypass cutting head is small and light so its easy to get it into the right position for cutting each stem, speeding up the whole pruning process. Their weight and precision would make them ideal for tackling fruit tree suckers or bamboo when you are leaning down but they would be just as good with overhead pruning. These loppers would be ideal for anyone who struggles with heavy tools or who does a lot of lopping of stems and branches up to 2.5cm in diameter.
We like: the non-slip grips are particularly nice to hold
RRP
£30.43
Available from Amazon
Shop NowNiwaki Loppers
These very stylish-looking pair of loppers made in Japan have a carbon steel head and beautiful white oak handles that are a pleasure to handle. The bypass blade is robustly made with a shiny sharp cutting blade crossing over a matt black lower blade. The weighting is good and the wooden handles have a bit of flex in them as well to absorb the impact when you cut. They can cut branches up to 2.5cm in diameter though thicker wood should be cut at a 45 degree angle. With their relatively short handles and shallow curved cutting head we found these particularly excelled when pruning shrubs, large grasses or topiary. As with all Niwaki products, these arrived in a beautiful cotton drawstring bag.
We like: the high-end Japanese design
RRP
£99
Available from Niwaki
Shop NowArs Professional Lopping Shears LPB-30M
Ars (which stands for Always Really Sharp) is a Japanese made brand of cutting tools aimed at professionals. These sleek black, silver and red bypass loppers have 63cm long tubular aluminium handles, matt plastic non-slip grips and, of course, extremely sharp high carbon steel blades. The lower blade even has a metal step halfway down to strengthen and stabilise it. The closing action is a little on the snappy side, but this is a great pair of loppers lightweight (975g), well-balanced and able to handle living wood up to 3.6cm. Ars has a good spares department too, if necessary, so these should last you a long time.
We like: the no-nonsense efficiency
RRP
£71.95
Available from Amazon
Shop NowSophie Conran for Burgon & Ball Lopper
The combination of chunky carbon steel and graceful ash handles make these loppers perhaps the most elegant looking on trial, and certainly the best suited to be teamed with a straw hat. Interior designer Sophie Conrans range of garden tools always combine grace with efficiency and these are lovely to hold, the 70cm long handles moulded to give a particularly comfortable grip. At g, these are not the lightest bypass loppers around but thats down to the beautifully curved large drop forged carbon steel blades which effortlessly slice through living wood up to 2.5cm diameter.
We like: the ergonomic ash handles
RRP
£38.99
Available from Sophie Conran
Shop NowAlpen Weisshorn 260 Loppers
From the sister company of Felco comes Alpen, a new range with a lighter price tag but still featuring the performance and precision weve come to expect from the Swiss brand. Rather than the trademark Felco red, Alpens new range of tools come in a striking black and warm tangerine. These 975g bypass loppers have nice squidgy hand grips and a generous double shock absorber. The curved blade is hardened carbon steel and the 60cm handles tubular aluminium making them feel light and well balanced. Effective and comfortable to use even for long periods, cutting through wood up to 3.5cm in diameter.
We like: these are really comfortable to use
RRP
£49.99
Available from Alpen
Shop NowWant more information on china garden tools? Feel free to contact us.
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