Husqvarna Ha860 Pole Hedge Trimmer Attachment Double Sided Blade

I just took delivery of the HA860 and although I know Hasqvarna to make great products, I own a 324LDX trimmer, I was even further surprised to see the quality of the HA860. I think it's built like a tank and will provide me years of reliable service.

Purchased a few weeks ago as an accessory for my 524 power unit. The plan was to trim a cedar hedge that is 12 (height) x 80 (long) x 6 (wide) feet. I've been doing this job for 20 years with a variety of medium and heavy duty electric trimmers. It's normally a long and soul sucking job. My new HA860 reduces the time and effort by 60%, with far better results. The HA860 cutter bar is long and has a wide range of adjustments. The tooth spacing is wide but the taper of the blades and its variable operating speed allow it to provide fine cuts through dense cedar on a single pass — twigs, small branches, foliage. The effect is like a professional barber clipper shaving smoothly through a thick head of hair… not the usual bludgeoning that one does with most consumer clippers. The pole and cutter length can be a bit tricky to manoeuvre at times. This is not the result of any problems with the attachment design. It's just the trade-off one accepts with a tool reach of about 6 feet. So plan your cuts and let the tool do the work. The head can be angled about 45 degrees in one direction and 30 degrees in another direction in ~10 degree increments, allowing undercuts, over cuts, and longer reaching overhead cuts beyond the operator's line of sight. This range of motion makes it easy to smoothly shape contours, if that's your thing. Cleaning shrub resin (cedar is really messy) from the cutter bar is greatly facilitated by a manual Torx key (supplied) that can be used to park the blades in any position from fully open to fully closed. This is a unique feature that facilitates all aspects of bar maintenance (cleaning, demurring, sharpening, lubrication). The supplied harness is pretty basic. It's nothing more of a chest strap but works well enough to take the tool and motor weight. Commercial users will want to use a full shoulder harness. This accessory isn't cheap. It's price reflects its quality of manufacture and performance. It will pay for itself after one or two big jobs, So, for me, it's a good deal.