We didn’t have to be topiary experts to appreciate the incredibly neat cuts made by these shears, and the generous battery life of 110 minutes meant we had more than enough juice to tend to our lawn edges and shrubs in a single shearing session. Missed payments may affect your ability to use Clearpay in the future and your details may be passed onto a debt collection agency working on Clearpay's behalf. Oliver Hill, founder of gardening site GardenList, suggests taking a moment to figure out what gardening tasks you’ll be undertaking. The excellent Flip-Lok extension system makes the handles easy to extend to the exact length you want, then simply retract them when you’re finished for easy storage!

In this case, the extra oomph doesn’t mean extra weight either – the shears are surprisingly lightweight, coming in at just 0. A growing number of gardening tool brands make claims about Japanese metals and artisan blade makers from Japan, but Niwaki’s fantastic Japanese garden shears, which combine both beauty and power, are a reminder that this brilliant heritage brand doesn’t rest on its laurels. These shears, which have a surprisingly long reach, are all about comfort, and we loved the large areas of gel-based cushioning, the smoothness with which the telescopic handles extended, the shock-absorbing bumpers and the presence of a dual compound lever, which ramped up the power without the need to open the handles extra-wide. Sophie Conran, of the legendary British design dynasty, has created a thing of beauty – elegant shears with tactile FSC-certified ash handles adorned with a brass plaque, paired with drop-forged carbon steel blades. We’d have loved to see a larger area of rubber on the handles, but this minor issue doesn’t detract from the brilliance of these shears.The ones we’ve included in this round-up are suited to a wide range of tasks, but thankfully our garden was the perfect environment. These might not be the prettiest shears but when we’re knee-deep in a privet bush, we don’t really care. The hardened steel blades are incredibly sharp, and the forged aluminium handles feel reassuringly tough but surprisingly light.

A super tough range the Razorsharp Steel collection has tubular steel handles for extra strength and durability designed to meet the most demanding needs. For those taller hedges, most gardeners resort to a step ladder but the telescopic feature on these hedge shears give you that little extra edge to. And trust us, as gardeners who have savaged more plants than you’d think possible, this proved to be a major bonus. In an era when there’s a type of gardening shears for every imaginable job, finding the right pair can be a minefield, so it’s important to think about exactly what you’ll be using your shears for.No, the appearance of shears doesn’t mean anything when it comes to their performance, but there was something refreshing about seeing these shears’ unusual colour scheme – the paleness of the beechwood paired with flashes of royal blue. The sculpted handle has clearly been designed with ergonomics in mind, and patches of tactile material in key areas reduced hand fatigue. Clearpay lends you a fixed amount of credit so you can pay for your purchase over 4 instalments, due every 2 weeks.