6 Best Cordless Secateurs For Hobby Farmers Old Farmers Swear By

There’s a point every season, usually halfway through pruning the apple trees, when your hands start to ache. You’ve made hundreds of cuts, and hundreds more remain. For years, that was just part of the deal, a sign of hard work, but it doesn’t have to be. Cordless secateurs have changed the game, turning hours of strenuous squeezing into a simple pull of a trigger, saving your joints and your time.

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The Shift to Cordless Pruning on the Farm

The old way of pruning was a rite of passage. You learned to sharpen your blades, leverage your body for a clean cut, and accept the blisters and sore forearms that followed a long day in the orchard or vineyard. But as farms get smarter, not just bigger, we’re realizing that our bodies are our most important asset. Preserving them is just good sense.

That’s where battery-powered pruners come in. They aren’t about being lazy; they’re about being efficient and sustainable in our own physical efforts. For anyone dealing with arthritis, reduced hand strength, or simply a massive number of repetitive cuts, these tools are a revolution. They allow you to work longer, make cleaner cuts when you’re tired, and finish jobs that you might otherwise put off.

The shift isn’t just for those of us getting on in years, either. A young farmer clearing an overgrown fence line or managing a new planting of a hundred berry bushes will finish the job in a fraction of the time. This frees you up for other pressing tasks. It’s the difference between spending a whole weekend pruning and getting it done on a Saturday morning with energy to spare.

FELCO 802-HP: Swiss Precision for Orchards

When you talk about pruning, you have to talk about FELCO. Their manual pruners are the gold standard, and their cordless models carry that same legacy of Swiss precision. The FELCO 802-HP isn’t just a cutting tool; it’s a surgical instrument for your trees. The cut quality is second to none, leaving a perfectly clean surface that heals quickly and reduces the risk of disease.

This level of precision is crucial for high-value plants like fruit trees, grapevines, or prize roses. A crushed or torn cut from a lesser tool can invite pests and pathogens, costing you a harvest down the line. The FELCO’s progressive trigger gives you incredible control, allowing you to partially open or close the blade with finesse. It feels less like a power tool and more like an extension of your hand.

Of course, this quality comes at a price. A FELCO is a significant investment, one that many hobby farmers might hesitate to make. But if your farm centers on an orchard or a small commercial vineyard where the health of every single plant matters, the cost is justified. Think of it as buying a tool for a lifetime, not just for a season.

Makita DUP362Z: Power and Twin 18V Runtime

If your pruning tasks are less about surgical precision and more about raw power and endurance, the Makita DUP362Z is your workhorse. Running on two 18V batteries, it delivers 36V of serious cutting force that chews through thick, woody branches without hesitation. This is the tool you grab when you’re reclaiming pasture edges or thinning out a dense thicket of overgrown shrubs.

The standout feature is the runtime. The twin battery system, worn in a comfortable backpack harness, lets you work for hours on end without stopping to recharge. For anyone managing a small woodlot, a large berry operation, or a long fence line, this is a massive advantage. You can get into a rhythm and keep going until the job is done, not until the battery dies.

The tradeoff for this power is the tethered design; the cutting head is connected to the battery pack via a cord. While the harness is well-designed, it’s still an extra piece of gear to manage. However, this also makes the handpiece itself incredibly light and maneuverable, reducing arm fatigue significantly over a full day of work. It’s a smart compromise for big jobs.

Stihl ASA 65: Lightweight for All-Day Vineyard Work

Stihl has a reputation for building durable, professional-grade equipment, and the ASA 65 is no exception. Its defining characteristic is its lightweight and ergonomic design. When you’re making thousands of cuts a day, as you would in a vineyard or a large rose garden, every ounce matters. This tool is built to minimize fatigue and allow for precise, repetitive work without wearing you out.

Like the Makita, it uses an external battery pack to keep the weight out of your hand, but the overall system feels a bit more streamlined. The cutting action is fast and clean, with an adjustable blade opening that you can set to match the diameter of the canes you’re working on. This small feature saves a surprising amount of time and battery life, as the blade doesn’t have to complete a full cycle for every small cut.

The Stihl is a professional tool with a professional price tag, placing it in the same category as the FELCO. The choice between them often comes down to brand loyalty and feel. If you need a nimble, feather-light tool for endless, precise cuts on material up to about an inch and a half, the ASA 65 is built for exactly that kind of marathon work.

Ryobi ONE+ Pruner: Best for Existing Toolsets

Not every hobby farmer needs a dedicated, professional-grade pruning system. For many of us, pruning is just one of a hundred different jobs. This is where the Ryobi ONE+ Pruner shines. If you’re already invested in Ryobi’s massive 18V ONE+ battery platform, adding this tool is an incredibly cost-effective decision.

This pruner is all about convenience. It’s powerful enough for the vast majority of tasks around a small farm—clearing suckers from fruit trees, trimming back overgrown shrubs, and cutting back perennials in the fall. It can handle branches up to an inch thick, which covers most maintenance pruning. You just pop in a battery from your drill or leaf blower and get to work.

Let’s be realistic: it doesn’t have the lightning-fast cycle time of a Stihl or the surgical precision of a FELCO. The blade steel is good, but not legendary. But for its price and the convenience of sharing batteries, it offers tremendous value. It’s the perfect tool for the farmer who needs a powered pruner, not a pruning specialist.

DeWalt DCMPP568N: Tough Pruner for Thick Branches

DeWalt tools are known for being tough, and their 18V XR cordless pruner is built in that same mold. This is the pruner you don’t have to baby. It feels substantial in your hand and has the power to back it up, easily slicing through branches up to 1.5 inches thick. It’s a great choice for heavier-duty clearing and renovation pruning.

One of its best features is the built-in LED light, which is surprisingly useful when you’re working in the dense, shadowy interior of a large shrub or trying to finish up as dusk sets in. It also has a soft trigger, which allows for repeated use without finger fatigue. Unlike some of the high-end models, the battery is on the tool itself, making it a self-contained unit with no cords or backpacks to worry about.

The DeWalt strikes a great balance between the budget-friendly convenience of the Ryobi and the professional power of more expensive models. It’s heavier than some, but that weight comes from a robust build that inspires confidence when you’re tackling a stubborn, overgrown lilac or hacking back invasive buckthorn. If you’re already on the DeWalt battery platform, it’s a fantastic, rugged addition.

T TOVIA G04: A Reliable, Budget-Friendly Workhorse

Sometimes, you just need a tool that works without breaking the bank. The T TOVIA G04 is a prime example of a new breed of affordable, direct-to-consumer tools that deliver surprising performance. For a fraction of the cost of the big-name brands, you get a capable cordless pruner that can handle most jobs on a hobby farm.

This tool is a simple, effective workhorse. It typically comes as a complete kit with two batteries and a charger, so you’re ready to go out of the box. The cutting power is impressive for the price, cleanly handling branches up to and sometimes over an inch. For someone new to powered pruning or who has a limited budget, the G04 proves you don’t need to spend a fortune to save your hands.

The tradeoff is in the finer details. The ergonomics might not be as refined, and long-term parts availability or service could be a concern compared to established brands like Stihl or FELCO. But for the price, its reliability is remarkable. It’s the perfect entry point into powered pruning, offering 80% of the performance for 20% of the cost of a high-end model.

What to Look For: Blade Quality and Ergonomics

When you’re choosing a cordless pruner, it’s easy to get fixated on cutting capacity and battery voltage. But the two things that truly determine how well a tool will work for you are blade quality and ergonomics. These are the details that make the difference between a tool you love and one that sits on the shelf.

First, look at the blades. You’ll want bypass blades for clean, healthy cuts on living wood—this is non-negotiable for fruit trees and vines. The blade material is also critical. High-carbon steel, especially if it’s Japanese SK5 steel, holds a sharp edge longer and can be re-sharpened. A titanium or non-stick coating is a nice bonus, as it reduces sap buildup and resists rust.

Second, and just as important, is how the tool feels in your hand. Weight and balance are everything. A tool that feels light for the first five minutes can feel like a brick after an hour. A top-heavy pruner will strain your wrist, while a well-balanced one will feel like a natural extension of your arm. If you can, try to hold one before you buy it. Your hands, wrists, and shoulders will thank you after a long day of work.

Ultimately, the best cordless secateur is the one that matches the scale of your work and the needs of your body. Whether you’re investing in a precision instrument for a prized orchard or grabbing a convenient tool that shares batteries with your drill, the goal is the same: to make the work easier, faster, and more sustainable. By choosing wisely, you’re not just buying a tool; you’re buying more time and energy to enjoy the farm you’ve worked so hard to build.