Husqvarna 215iHD45 Review

Introduction

A simple, compact hedge trimmer, the Husqvarna 215iHD45 is ideal for smaller jobs, but it still packs in enough power to cut through thicker branches, making it a great tool for tough jobs in small spaces.

Brilliantly balanced, and ergonomically designed, this hedge trimmer is fast and easy to handle. Its relatively short cutting length does reduce its flexibility for use on larger hedges.

Design and Features

• Battery slots into middle of tool
• Large buttons can be operated with gloves
• 45cm cutting length

The Husqvarna 215iHD45 is a relatively compact hedge trimmer, with a 45cm cutting length. That makes it better suited to smaller hedges and areas, as you don’t get the same kind of reach as with a bigger product, such as the Stihl HSA 60 Battery Hedge Trimmer.

While the trimmer may be compact, it’s still powerful. While some of Husqvarna’s other products now use the multi-brand Power For All Alliance 18V batteries, such as with the Husqvarna Aspire LC34-P4A, the hedge trimmer is compatible with Husqvarna’s 36V Bli batteries.

You can buy the trimmer with or without a battery and charger; the former is helpful if you have existing tools. My sample came with the BLi10 battery, a 2Ah model that’s well suited to the types of job the hedge trimmer aims to tackle.

I found the Husqvarna 215iHD45 exceptionally easy to hold, as it’s so well balanced. I could easily hold it with one figure on the front handle. Without the battery, the Husqvarna 215iHD45 weighs a reasonable 3.2kg, with the Bli10 taking this up to just a shade over 4kg.

Rather than dropping into the end of the tool, the battery slots into the middle of the handle. This helps keep the balanced when the battery is inserted.

The only minor downside is that the battery’s onboard LED charge status indicator is to the side, rather than where I could see it easily. Similar to systems on other batteries, the green LEDs are a little tricky to see in daylight, although they light up well in shade.

Once the battery is inserted, the tool is ready to be powered up. For safety, there’s a power switch on the front, which can easily be operated with a thumb, even one in a glove.

To the side of the power switch is the SavE button, which reduces the cutting speed of the hedge trimmer to increase battery life, but not the cutting power. For lighter jobs and thinner branches, this power saving mode is a handy way to get more cutting time.

Using the hedge trimmer is easy. There are two triggers on the device that have to be held in: one at the rear and one on the front handle.

The trigger on the front loops around the entire handle, so it’s use to use the Husqvarna 215iHD45 when holding it at any angle. There’s no option to rotate the handle round to work at different angles, but the small body and lightweight design make it easy to use this hedge trimmer for extended periods.

For storage, there’s a rigid scabbard that slides over the blade, covering it completely. This scabbard locks into place and doesn’t slip off.

This helps for storage, as the Husqvarna 215iHD45 has an eyelet at the back to hang the tool up once I’d finished using it.

The blade has teeth spaced 33mm apart, although realistically, you want to aim for branches with a diameter of around half of this.

Performance

• Very powerful
• Easy to manoeuvre
• Good battery life for the size

I found the Husqvarna 215iHD45 very easy to use and very powerful. I started by tackling my hedge, which was easy to cut due to how light and nimble this hedge trimmer is.

I found that this trimmer sliced through the hedge’s growth with ease. Given the level of growth, I ran the hedge trimmer at maximum power, and could work at the speed that suited me, as nothing clogged up the blades, and I had a neat finish to the section I started on.

As the 45cm cutting length isn’t much, I did find it harder to tidy the tops of my deep hedges, as I simply couldn’t reach far enough. For taller or deeper hedges, a pole trimmer or a hedge trimmer with a longer cutting length is needed.

For a tougher challenge, I put the Husqvarna 215iHD45 to work cutting back the blackberry brambles that had extended into the garden. These proved no problem for the hedge trimmer and it cut neatly through them, leaving my garden nice and tidy.

Tackling the overgrowing conifer tree, the new growth with branches up to around 15mm in diameter was easily cut without the trimmer getting damaged.

That’s impressive and shows that even though the Husqvarna 215iHD45 is small, it’s powerful enough to tackle any job, making it a good choice if you don’t have much hedge to deal with but do have thicker branches.

At the back of the house, I have ivy and other thin plants growing overhead. Switching to SavE mode was enough to cut these back.

I measured the Husqvarna 215iHD45 at 87.2dB, which seems like a loud figure; outside in the open, it’s not bad, and you don’t need to wear ear defenders.

Battery life from the BLi10 battery is decent, with run times of up to an hour with lighter cuts, and down to 30-minutes for heavy-duty jobs. Based on my testing, I think I’d get about half of my front hedge trimmed on a charge (around 12.5m in length). Again, this is a tool designed to smaller jobs.

Should you buy it?

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