Short handled Fiskar loppers.
A good set of loppers is one of the most important tools a trail maintainer can have. Most maintainers tend to collect their own personal favorites, especially when it comes to loppers because you use them all the time and there are so many brands/varieties to choose from. I'm not quite sure how I ended up with my first pair of Fiskar loppers, but once I found them, that was 'all she wrote' for me as far as loppers were concerned - nothing else is quite the same. These Fiskars are very lightweight, easy to pack, and they cut like champs. They also cut diameters of branches/saplings that you would not expect from loppers this size and that is due to the 'gear' construction which you can see on the pair above and in the detail in the picture to the left, below. You can get these loppers in a 31" size and I'm thinking about asking Santa for a pair next December (they were about $50 last time I looked). With the extra length on the handles (although this does add weight), you have even more leverage and can keep your boots on the trail while still doing some serious reaching to make sure you are cutting back to a larger branch or the tree trunk itself (we do not leave 'stobs'!).
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I carry the Fiskars in my pack all the time, even when hiking. In the past two years, there have been at least three trails (not on R2R) that I've hiked on and come across a messy blowdown that was blocking the treadway. After maybe 5-10 minutes of work with the loppers, the blowdown was cleaned up enough that hikers could get over/through without having to get off the trail to go around. When headed for the trail, either on a maintenance trip or out for a hike, I don't leave home without my Fiskar loppers (I am getting no compensation from Fiskar for this statement!).
The pair above is getting pretty beat up and it's the second pair I've had .... the first pair is totally trashed from much use and especially abuse from cutting branches/saplings way larger than these loppers are supposed to cut (1-1/4") and there are no replacement blades for this smaller size. If you go to buy a pair of these loppers, be cautious .... there are Fiskars that look like the ones pictured above with one huge exception - no gearing. The 'geared' loppers can be hard to find in stores locally although I've seen plenty of the 'bypass' type loppers. They are not cheap ($23 - $30), but I've certainly gotten my money's worth out of them. One more (and last) thing .... as noted in the product description, they are a winner of the Arthritis Foundation's Ease-of-Use Commendation and after a long day on the trail cutting back brush, tree limbs & saplings, my hands aren't killing me - another reason these loppers are my personal favorites.
Product Descripton:
Winner of the Arthritis Foundation®'s Ease-of-Use Commendation. This unbelievably lightweight anvil lopper is stronger and more powerful than anything you've ever used. A unique gearing mechanism multiples the cutting force by nearly three times over single pivot loppers and the smooth action eliminates the jarring conclusion at the end of cuts. Razor-sharp, precision ground blades. Anvil blade design for cutting dry, dead growth. 1.25 inch cutting capacity.
Fiskars 7972 15" PowerGear Anvil Loppers Features:
• PowerGear technology doubles your cutting power
• Lightweight, virtually unbreakable Nyglass composite body
• Hardened stainless steel blade
• Full lifetime warranty
• 1-1/4" cutting capacity
• 15"
• 13 oz
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