Chris Bennett - Loppers Designed with Seniors in Mind

 Read more from Chris Bennett.

Well it’s now into January and Christmas is disappearing into the past, doesn’t time fly as you get older! Anyway I hope that everyone had a fantastic Christmas and celebrated the new decade in style even if it was with  a cup of cocoa and a soft biscuit rather than champagne and caviar.

A couple of things for this the first DIY feature of 2010, first my New Years resolutions. Beside all the usual ones of more exercise and less food, which I have already broken, my main one was to spend more time this year doing research on DIY products and tools. Then I can pass this information to you my fellow Grown Ups, quite a noble gesture I thought.

What bought on this inspirational resolution was one of my Christmas presents which I’m going to tell you about as point number two for this feature. But first I have to confess that although I consider myself fairly good at buying and using good DIY tools I haven’t applied the same logic to garden tools. I have tended to approach the art of gardening with a ‘she’ll be right mate’ mind-set and if the tools get broken ,bent or rusty all I have to do is put a bit more effort into using them or buy some cheap new ones.

So now moving away from my usual DIY themes and at the risk of some cross over with our gardening expert I’m going to tell you about the Christmas present and why I am now going to restock my garden shed!

The gift comprised of a pair of Atlas Xtend Ratchet Loppers and a pair of McGregor’s Secateurs and I mention the brand names unashamedly as I sincerely believe that I can recommend them to other Grown Ups to use.

The person who gave me these gifts had obviously watched me pruning back some heavy duty growth in the bushes at the back of the section. It was hot sweaty and unrewarding work with my relatively new but ‘cheap as’ loppers and secateurs .

Working with the new tools a couple of days after Christmas made me realise how easy the job can be when you have quality tools,  cutting back the bushes was so much easier as was throwing my old tools in the recycle bin. Although a bit of cheek from the gift giver who said he had read that heavy duty ratchet loppers were designed with the elderly in mind went down with a weak smile.

Anyway as I said at the beginning I will now pass on the information about these two tools which I can now recommend:

McGregors Secateurs Stainless Steel Precision Ground Blade And Counter Blade For Long Corrosion Free Life Features High Density PP Grips With Soft Touch.

Atlas Xtend Ratchet Loppers heavy duty ratchet are lighter to use, with a 5:1 cutting ratio. They will cut stems and branches up to 45mm (approx. 1 3/4) with ease.( I did!)  For double the cutting power and extra reach, the telescopic handles can be extended to double their length - up to 900 mm (approx 3 feet). For ease of maintenance and service, all fittings are screwed together. The blade is Teflon coated to prevent gumming and rusting. This product is ideally suited for the professional as well as the hobby gardener who demands accurate, easy cutting, strength and reliability.

Finally please don’t ask me any gardening questions as I don’t know a grape from a gooseberry!

Email Chris with any DIY questions and queries you may have.

Click here to see Chris' Q&A page.

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