A few questions and items for your purchase consideration:
Do you really need a power pole saw ? How many trees per day ? What kind of production do you require ? What is the purpose ? General property maintenance ? or Tree Farm ? What diameter branches do you regularly anticipate cutting ?
If occasional use, of small diameter branches, then a non-powered (manual) pole saw might work well. They are light. Many saw blades these days are tri-cut, taper-ground blades, and with aggressive tooth pattern (~ 6 teeth per inch) that cut very quickly. They are wickedly sharp.
A rule-of-thumb is that hand saws can easily cut up wood to diameter of half length of the saw blade.
Forestry Suppliers http://www.forestry-suppliers.com/search.asp?stext=pole saw carries manual and power pole saws (Echo & Oregon)
Sherrill Tree (broken link removed to http://www.sherrilltree.com/Poles#!Poles), an arborist supply website, also carry both manual and power (Echo), and even ADI hydraulic units powered off an APU.
* Adjustable, telescopic (aluminum) extension pole saws are convenient but user needs to be careful not to damage extensions (and
don't use in proximity to overhead electric wires
).
Silky makes pole saws, albeit expensive, that come in a variety of lengths (up to 20').
I haven't used their saws, but
Wicked Tree Gear Tough Pole Saw sold by
Forestry Suppliers, is a collapsable, telescoping pole saw that seems more durable (broken link removed to http://wickedtreegear.com/index.html) .
* Fixed extension (fiberglass - hollow or foam, and wood) are less expensive, are typically more durable, and are good for utility, commercial use. They come in sections of 3', 4', 6' and 8'; even 12' sections (from
Forestry Suppliers). Buy a blade to suit your setup. Long fixed pole saws are not as convenient as adjustable poles, but more durable and probably more practical. Wood, especially spruce/ hemlock is cheap and light, yet durable.
An advantage of non-powered pole saws is that they are lighter, especially at the saw end, which is good when moving pole saw through crown for multiple cuts, and manual pole saws can can reach farther. Powered pole saws often have much weight at saw end, increasing user fatigue (shoulder). The novelty of using powered pole saws wears off after 5 minutes. Also, chain-saws-on-a-stick are a
one-fer. Can't be used for much else, and one more engine to maintain.
STIHL has its Battery KombiSystem, and with the quality of Li batteries steadily improving that might worth further consideration.
Don't know anything about Husky pole saws, but for $225 you might want to chance a purchase off of CL. I agree that electric units w/ cord would seem to be a PIA.
I'm not saying to not buy a power pole saw, just don't discount non powered pole saws in your consideration.
Either way make sure you wear proper PPE - helmut, face shield, with eye protection. Understand limits and hazards of cutting with a pole saws.
