Loppers cover the gap between hand pruners (anything you can squeeze with one hand) and a pruning saw (anything you'd actually be sweating to cut). For most home gardens that means cutting back ornamental branches up to 50 mm thick — fruit tree side branches, hydrangea hard-prune, lilly pilly suckers, the lot. The wrong loppers will fight you on every cut. The right ones turn it into a quiet afternoon.
Our team’s top picks
Fiskars PowerGear2 Bypass Loppers
- Patented PowerGear2 mechanism cuts 50 mm wood with surprising ease
- Hardened steel blade, low-friction coating
- Light fibreglass handles
- Replaceable blade for the long haul
Tabor Tools GG12 Compound Loppers
- Compound mechanism punches above its price
- Solid through 38 mm green wood
- Generous comfort grips
- Lifetime replacement programme
Spear & Jackson Razorsharp Telescopic Loppers
- Extends from 70 cm to 96 cm
- Reach into dense shrubs without climbing
- Geared head adds bite
- Replaceable blade
ARS LPB-30 Long-Handle Bypass Loppers
- Japanese chrome-steel blade, surgical edge
- Aluminium handles balance the head perfectly
- A favourite of orchard pruning crews
- Will outlast cheap loppers four times over
Corona AL 8483 Forged Bypass Loppers
- Forged aluminium head, 50 mm cut
- Hot-forged steel blade replaceable
- US-made — strong build quality
- Self-cleaning sap groove
What to look for in a loppers for thick branches
- Bypass action for live wood, anvil action for dead wood. Most gardeners want bypass.
- Compound or geared action multiplies your grip three to five times — vital for harder timber.
- Telescoping handles help you reach without a ladder, but every joint is a wear point.
- Cutting capacity is rated optimistically. Buy one rated at least 10 mm above your real-life jobs.
- Counterweighted heads feel lighter than they are because the balance sits at the grip.
Frequently asked questions
How thick a branch can a lopper cut?
For most quality bypass loppers, comfortably up to 35–40 mm in green wood. Compound (geared) loppers will do 50 mm with effort. Anything thicker, switch to a pruning saw — you'll save time and the lopper's blade.
Bypass or anvil for thick branches?
Bypass for live (green) wood — it cuts cleanly so the wound heals. Anvil for dead wood, where a clean cut doesn't matter and the anvil action gives more leverage.
How do I keep loppers from sticking?
Wipe the blade clean of sap after each session, run a diamond card down the bevel once a month during the growing season, and dab a drop of light machine oil on the pivot. Most "stuck" loppers just need this one minute of care.
Telescoping or fixed-length loppers?
If you have a small garden with mature trees, telescoping is the right call. If you're mostly working at chest height, fixed-length is lighter and faster, with one less joint to fail.
Bottom line
If you only take one thing from this guide, it is that quality matters more than spec on paper. The picks above have been chosen because our team uses them or trusts them — not because they are the most expensive or have the flashiest marketing. Buy once, garden often.
