Barnsdale Gardens Tools On Test – STIGA Loppers
Barnsdale Gardens Tools On Test – STIGA Loppers: The hardworking team at Barnsdale Gardens have been busy not only tending to all 38 beautifully designed gardens, but also putting STIGA’s brand-new, stylish loppers to the test.
Stiga continues to deliver excellence in garden tool design with two standout products: the Anvil Lopper and the Telescopic Bypass Lopper. Both tools share key features that highlight Stiga’s commitment to quality, comfort, and performance, but they also offer distinctive benefits suited to different gardening needs.
Barnsdale Gardens Tools On Test – STIGA Loppers
Shared Features
Both loppers boast a robust construction and user-focused design:
- Japanese carbon steel blades with a Teflon non-stick coating for smoother cuts and easier maintenance.
- Recommended cutting capacity of 42mm, suitable for most garden pruning tasks.
- Blade safety cover that doubles as a hanging hook – practical for storage.
- Integrated bumpers reduce hand and arm fatigue by absorbing shocks.
- Easy-cut power multiplier mechanism enhances leverage, requiring less effort.
- Ergonomic, rubberised grips over strong alloy handles, finished in vibrant yellow for easy visibility.
- Backed by the Stiga 5-year extended warranty, ensuring peace of mind.
Designed primarily for dry and dead wood, the Anvil Lopper features a flat anvil blade that provides excellent grip and control. Anvil loppers typically compress the material before cutting, which is why they are better suited to non-living branches.
- Length: 71.5 cm
- Width (closed): 24 cm
- Weight: 1.424 kg
In practice, the ridged anvil surface provided a firm hold on branches, allowing for clean, slip-free cuts. Although not recommended for live wood, testing revealed minimal bruising on green stems, suggesting it could serve as a versatile option in the right hands.
RRP £39.99
Optimised for live wood, the Telescopic Bypass Lopper offers precision and extended reach. The bypass blade system features a hooked lower blade to hold stems securely during the cut, ensuring clean results without slippage.
- Length: 65.7 cm (retracted), 93 cm (extended)
- Width: 22.5 cm (retracted), 35 cm (extended)
- Weight: 1.864 kg
The telescopic mechanism is intuitive – simply flip a durable plastic clip to adjust length, then lock it in place. Despite the added weight, the extra leverage and reach provide a significant cutting advantage, especially for higher or thicker branches.
RRP £44.99
Field Testing
Both loppers performed exceptionally well on a range of materials including dry hazel poles (45mm), mahonia, forsythia, and conifer stems. The anvil lopper’s grip made precise cuts easy, while the telescopic bypass model impressed with its versatility and reach, making light work of both living and dead wood.
Verdict
Both Stiga loppers are high-quality tools that deliver on performance and comfort. The Anvil Lopper is excellent for managing dead wood with precision, while the Telescopic Bypass Lopper offers greater range, power, and cutting flexibility, making it the ideal all-rounder for gardeners.
Our pick: Both of the loppers are great tools and the Barnsdale team would happily recommend and use either. But if they had to choose, it would be the the Telescopic Bypass Lopper, its versatility and reach make it the top choice for demanding garden environments like Barnsdale.
You can read all of the team’s Tools On Test here: https://shop.barnsdalegardens.co.uk/blogs/tools-on-test
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