Toro 51496 Hedge Trimmer Review

The Toro 51496 cordless hedge trimmer is a convenient solution to your garden maintenance and comes highly rated by gardeners all around the country. It comes fully assembled, so you don’t have to mess around with confusing assembly instructions and has a battery that actually performs and last longer than a few minutes. Not really powerful enough to be used on hardcore tasks, this trimmer is best suited to regular maintenance. The type that most homeowners in the country carry out each and every year.

At 7.2 pounds the Toro 51496 is light enough for most people to use, with many females who have used it stating it’s easy to carry around. It actually looks a lot heavier than it really is. The battery provides you with total freedom, allowing you to roam around your property taking care of shrubs and hedges, without having to listen to a deafening racket or breath in fumes.

Here are the Benefits of the Toro 51496 Hedge Trimmer:

• The 24-volt lithium-ion battery that the Toro 51496 is powered by is a real solid performer. You get more than an hour off each charge, which allows you to get a lot of trimming done before you are forced to take a break. In fact, you will probably want to take a break before the trimmer does. Even better news is that the re-charge time is ridiculously good too. No need to wait until tomorrow. A couple of hours after you plug it in to charge it will be ready and raring to go. It also has a handy charge indicator, with led lights showing you how much charge there is left at the push of a button. One other thing that is good about this battery is that the performance of the trimmer doesn’t really decrease as the battery drains. It is steady right up until it is completely drained.
• Trimming hedges and shrubs can be tiring on your body, especially if you are having to bend your wrists and arms all over the place as you trim in a number of different positions. You wake up the next day with aches and pains all over. The good news here is that the Toro 51496 has a neat handle which can be rotated 90 degrees in each direction. You might not think this would make such a big difference but it is really useful and definitely makes the job a lot more comfortable.
• If you require extra reach when trimming, the 24 inch dual action blade that is found on this model is ideal. Rather than stretching you can cut most areas from a comfortable, solid stance. The dual action refers to the fact that there are two blades that move in opposite directions. This provides one major benefit to you – less vibration. And when trimming that is a big help and helps prevent your hands from getting fatigued. One thing people have really liked about the blade on this model is the large slots in the blade, making it possible to deal with thicker branches you may come across in your yard. In terms of how this blade performs in practice, it provides solid cutting ability and can handle anything up to 5/8-inch.
• There is a plastic guard just before the blade that prevents debris from being flung back at you. Although we would still recommend wearing some sort of protective glasses, this guard will protect you from most things. There is also a bale handle that you can grip on 3 different sides, allowing you to find the comfiest position in every situation.
• As with many other hedge trimmers, Toro have incorporated a safety switch into the design of this one. Where it differs is how you use it. Rather than pushing it in, you pull it back with your thumb, which many users have commented is less tiring for your hands. When you think about it, hedge trimmers could be a dangerous tool if accidentally started and this feature prevents those situations.

Here are the Reported Disadvantages of the Toro 51496:

• Some of the feedback regarding this model has indicated that when dealing with thicker branches, the cut is not as clean as it could be. Yes, it will deal with branches of 5/8-inch, but it won’t zip through them like a gas trimmer would and you might see a splintered finish. If you are going to be cutting through thick branches regularly this one might not have the kind of power you are looking for. For thinner branches (1/4 – 3/8-inch) it has no problem whatsoever though.
• On the one hand, the fact that you have to have your hand on both the starter trigger and the safety switch all the time when you are using the Toro 51496 is positive. It means you can turn the trimmer off within seconds if you need to. On the other hand, if you have a large area to trim it can be tiring for your hand. There’s no way to lock the trigger into the “on” position, unless you manually craft your own work around. Some people have used garden ties to do this.

What has been your experience with the Toro 51496 Hedge Trimmer? Leave your comments and rating below.