Electric Hedge Trimmers

They cogs in my el cheapo Flymo electric hedge trimmer have stripped and it doesn't want to cut anymore. I think it cost about $50 a few years ago when Masters first opened. Now I need a new one. I want a corded one because I want it to be reasonably light.

The gardening aisle in Bunnings seem to be mostly battery powered with just a couple of cheaper corded models. The real tool shops also sell a Metabo for considerably more $. I'm wondering if anybody can reliably confirm a Metabo would be worth the money?

we gave my dad a Metabo electric hedge trimmer for Christmas around 1990.
it was still going strong when we cleaned his garage out in 2012.

YMMV

Unusually I had luck on Gumtree this morning - an as new Metabo for the same price as a new Ryobi at the green shed. :2tsup:

The Flymo wasn't as good as the original Ryobi I had, which seemed both stronger and ergonomically better than the Fly. I've done the hedges this morning with the Metabo and think it will be better than the original Ryobi. First up the Metabo appears to have a clutch so if you jam the cutters on something you don't strip the cogs as happened to the fly when the motor kept churning. The two hand trigger setup on the Metabo works well, the fly needed three things pressed simultaneously to operate, yuk.

The Metabo is a bit heavier which is a downside as a fair amount of my work is above shoulder height, but the easier triggers make it better to use with different grips to reach higher, but I did need to rest the arms a bit between long cuts.

The Metabo has a blade braking system which is instant off when you ease off on the triggers. This will probably take some getting used to when changing grip positions on the move.

The Metabo has a short cord which means you are unlikely to cut the plug off (pity the extension cord though). Why do I know about this?

I'm glad I've got the Metabo, but not sure I would have paid the RRP @ 3x the price. Time will tell...