This is actually the second Heavy Duty Lopper from Qualcast that we have owned. It is not because it is such a great product rather the first one after six months and only a handful of uses, fell to pieces while in use and the securing bolt that holds the two arms in place literally fell apart and the nut and bolt disappeared into the depths of a bush. I took it back to B&Q however without a receipt they originally refused to take it however after a small confrontation they relented and replaced the item, since then the new one has worked fine however I'm still a little cautious over the quality of the build. My main reason for buying this was that it was the cheapest on the shelves so maybe it is cheap for a reason as it cost £20.00 to buy give or take a penny.

This lopper is ideal for dealing with thicker branches on bushes or trees that a conventional pruner cannot handle or that are too thick for hedge cutters. The longer handles also give you some extra reach and while this does add to the weight of the product it is still pretty easy to manipulate and use. The longer handles also means you have more leveridge and therefore do not have to use as much force making them suitable for those of us who do not have big arm muscles.

I like the fact that the handles are moulded and quite thick without being overly bulky, I have only ever really used this product in short bursts of gardening however I have never had any problems with aching arms or blisters. The blades are nice and sharp and provide a clean cut without the need to provide tons of force. Whilst there is a limit to the branches that it can handle due to the width that the blades open this is plenty big enough for all of the bushes in our garden and also some of the smaller branches on a couple of the trees. The extra reach that the long handles provide is also useful.

Overall I have been happy with this product second time around however I am still a little cautious when using it and check the retaining nut of a regular basis to ensure that it is still tight. Over time I'm coming to the conclusion that maybe it was a one off quality control issue rather than a problem with the design or material quality. Given the relatively cheap price compared with the others on sale it is worth a go if you are not looking for anything too heavy duty.