Having grown up on a larger property, dealing with unruly hedges and landscaping became part of my job. I had sisters, and while they were certainly capable, oftentimes the cutting duties fell to me. Had I access to a Worx 56V cordless hedge trimmer back then, my life would have been much easier. What’s really surprising, is the price. The new Worx 56V hedge trimmer kit (with battery and charger) comes in at around $199. That’s far less than most gas-powered models, save the most economical.
That’s not the case with battery-powered lawn mowers, which almost always cost more than their gas counterparts (see our Worx 56V cordless mower review). At least, the entry level models I’ve used bear that out. A cordless hedge trimmer means you can skip the gas, winterization, and a bulk of the annual maintenance while saving money.
Grab a few of the Worx 56V PowerShare tools, and you can have some extra batteries to get you through tasks that might take more juice. For larger lawns, that could be an issue with mowers, blowers, and string trimmers in particular. Given the Worx 56V hedge trimmer comes with a 2.5 Ah battery pack, having an extra on-hand isn’t a bad idea. Pros may find the lack of a larger battery pack problematic, but when you get home this is a nice option for the consumer.
Worx 56V Cordless Hedge Trimmer Build Quality
To start off with, the 24″ Worx 56V cordless hedge trimmer is a beast. One of the stigmas I think still floating around electric yard tools is that they break easily. I’ve also heard people say they were out more easily because they’re electric. Here’s the thing though: Battery-powered tools have less moving parts. That’s less to maintain, and less things that can break.
Lack of build quality was certainly not the case with any of the Worx PowerShare tools I’ve used. It was especially not an obvious issue with the Worx 56V hedge trimmer. This cordless trimmer feels heavy duty and comes with only the clear shield and handle needing assembly (two Philips screws). The entire trimmer is also minimally sized. In fact, the back end feels like it mostly exists to house the 56V battery. Unfortunately, that means it also doesn’t rotate to help you keep a more ergonomic grip while doing vertical trimming.
The front handle has a safety switch that is easy to hold with the blades either horizontal or vertical. I initially thought it might disengage when turned 90º while running, but it didn’t. You also don’t have to have a death grip to keep it going because there’s very little vibration. Coming from a gas powered trimmer, the reduced vibration is a big and welcome change.
More Worx Hedge Trimmer Features
This trimmer utilizes a rather aggressive breaking system. There are only two modes: On or Off. As soon as you release either the trigger or the front handle safety switch, the blades stop moving. Immediately. There is zero deceleration, which not only good for not gnawing at your shrubs but also a great safety feature.
Using this trimmer felt natural and easy. The engine runs smoothly. Regardless of what I cut, I found myself going faster, trying to make it to choke on our dense hedges. The old adage “haste makes waste” is true. In my haste, I snipped right through the coaxial cable providing Internet/phone to our home. I almost didn’t realize what I had done, because the trimmer didn’t struggle at all. It just sliced right through the quad shield RG9 cable without slowing down.
Luckily, terminating cables is something I do frequently, so this wasn’t an issue.
Worx 56V Hedge Trimmer Specs
- Power: 56v Max
- No-load speed: 2200 spm
- Max cutting diameter: 3/4 in.
- Max cutting length: 24 in.
- Charging time: 90 mins
- Weight: 10.1 lbs
- Warranty: 3 years
- Includes: Worx 56v cordless hedge trimmer, 56V Max Li-ion 2.5 Ah battery, WA3859 charger, blade sheath, safety guard
Conclusion
If I had to sum it all up, this trimmer is powerful. It’s on the heavy side (10 lbs with the battery installed), but it feels well-balanced with the 24-inch blade. It certainly doesn’t choke on foliage, or coaxial cable, though we don’t recommend you use this tool to cut the latter material! At $199 for the kit, it’s actually competitively priced to edge out gas models even before you factor in fuel. If you require excessive run-time or operate a Pro landscaping business, the Worx WG291 hedge trimmer may not quite fit the bill.
