Gtech HT50 Cordless Hedge Trimmer review: easy to use for those hard to reach jobs

The Gtech HT50 Cordless Hedge Trimmer is a pole hedge trimmer designed to reach foliage higher up and lower down. It’s an upgrade of the HT30 model and features a longer blade (50 per cent longer to be precise), enabling more of your hedge to be cut in one sweep, as well as being able to slice through thicker branches.

We have lived in our house for just over a year and a half and have never trimmed our hedges. Our neighbors’ hedges were also starting to shadow some of the plants on our side of the fence, so with their permission, we decided to tackle all of the garden in one go. 

Now in autumn, we didn’t have the worry of nesting birds and with some of the foliage reaching over two meters, it was a perfect time to test out the Gtech HT50 Cordless Hedge Trimmer. I’ve never used a hedge trimmer before, so I was eager to see how easy it was to set up and use for beginners. I also wanted to put its claim of an impressive 60 minutes of battery life to the test. Find out how it ticked these boxes (and more) to make it worthy of a place on the list of the best hedge trimmers.

Gtech HT50 Cordless Hedge Trimmer product specifications:

• Power type: 18V Li-ion battery
• Battery life: 60 mins 
• Charging time: 4 hours (for full battery from low) 
• Cutting width: 2.5cm 
• Blade cutting length: 55cm 
• Pole length: 144cm
• Weight: 2.94kg 
• Product dimensions: H14cm x W200cm x D14cm 
• Warranty: 2 years 

First impressions

The box was streamline, light and upon opening it, everything was packaged neatly. It looks smart too, being black and white, with green accents. This color theme runs through the operating manual (and Gtech product line), which, I was pleased to see, was the only piece of paper to come with the hedge trimmer. 

Getting started

As I am no stranger to cordless power tools, as soon as I opened the box I found the battery to put on charge, so I could assemble and read the instructions while it was charging. The charger simply plugs straight into the battery, rather than having to slide the battery onto a docking station. 

The battery has four LEDs which progressively pulse while charging until all four are lit solidly, signalling the battery is fully charged. The battery takes four hours to charge fully from being flat. 

With the battery charging, I moved on to assembly. The hedge trimmer comes partly assembled. To finish assembly, I simply had to click the hedge trimmer body on to the head. The shapes on the handle match, so it’s easy to tell which way round it goes. Following this one quick step, the hedge trimmer was ready, although the instructions mention having to connect the blade to the head too, which after checking, had already been done. The fully charged battery simply slots into place. Setup took less than 30 seconds. 

What is the Gtech HT50 Cordless Hedge Trimmer like to use?

Included in the box is a safety harness which helps you work safely and ergonomically. This is worn like a sash and rests on your shoulder, with an adjustable height strap. The harness attaches to the hedge trimmer via clip on top of the handle. It also has a quick release clip, in case of emergencies. 

To switch the trimmer on, you have to push and hold the safety button from either side, then press the trigger to operate. The first four pages of the operation manual booklet offer safety advice, which I recommend reading – especially if you are a beginner user (like me). 

My partner is quite a keen gardener but both of us lack time to give the garden the TLC it needs, as we both work and have two small children. As he has used hedge trimmers before, he came out to 'supervise' and gave me some guidance on how far back I should be cutting. 

The operation manual gives tips on best practice which is really helpful if you don't know how to trim a hedge. Gtech recommends cutting with either a side-to-side motion or up and down, done easily with the double-sided blade. It also tells you to move slowly and steadily, so stems are fed directly into the blade and to cut the sides of hedges first, then the top. With this in mind, I started on the bushes that were overhanging our garden from the neighbors’ side. 

The head on the hedge trimmer is adjustable, so when standing to the side of the bushes, I kept the head at 180° and used an up and down motion to cut through the stems of the overhanging branches. The hedge cutter sliced through the smaller branches with ease. Some of the thicker branches, I had to force a little, but it cut cleanly through after a couple of seconds. 

I then adjusted the head so it was at 135º to the handle. You do this by removing the battery first and ensuring the blade cover is on (for safety), then pressing down on the lever on the head whilst rotating the head at the same time. When the lever is released, it locks into place. This enabled me to face the hedges, with the blade parallel to them, and trim them using a side-to-side motion, which made it easy to cut evenly. 

Finally I rotated the head in the opposite direction, with the blade end pointing towards the hedges. Holding the handle upright, it enabled me to trim the tops of the hedges. I’m only 5ft4, but I could reach the tops of the hedges easily, as the reach is extensive and can cut hedges up to 10 feet tall. 

I made my way down the fence lines, following all of the steps above, until I had finished. This took about 40 minutes and the battery still had a bar of life in it. After putting the discarded branches in our compost and green bin, the garden was looking a lot tidier and I was pleased with my work.

Ease of use

Once the Gtech Cordless Hedge Trimmer HT50 is set up and the harness is adjusted, it is very easy to use. Unlike corded machines, the lack of cord makes moving around the garden simple and there’s no faffing around with extension cables or sockets either, which saves time. I was able to do all of the bushes and hedges in one go, without having to change batteries, or wait for a battery to charge. It also doesn't kick out the noise or stink of a petrol trimmer.

Weighing just 2.94kg, I also found that I didn’t struggle carrying the hedge trimmer, or keeping it aloft for the amount of time I was trimming. The shoulder strap helps to take some of the weight. I also found that the HT50 was very well balanced, with weight distributed evenly down the tool, making it easy to control and use for a long period of time.

The only thing I did struggle with, was cutting small hedges. As the handle is not telescopic, it’s difficult to do the sides of smaller hedges up close. As it is designed for long reach though, that was to be expected, though a telescopic model offers a bit more versatility.

• Thinking of adding to your shrubbery? See the best hedging plants in our guide.

Additional features

The Gtech Cordless Hedge Trimmer HT50 has a battery which is interchangeable with some of Gtech’s other garden tools, such as the grass trimmer. This means you can save money by purchasing just the tool, or you could keep one battery on charge whilst using the other one and then swap them over. 

The batteries themselves come with four LEDs to show how much charge they have left. All you need to do is press the button in the middle and a number of LEDs will light up to show you if there is enough battery to complete the task. When there is no power left, the final LED flashes for ten seconds, then goes out.  

For thicker branches, you have the option of purchasing a branch cutter attachment on the Gtech site. This cuts through branches up to 6cm in width. I would seriously consider purchasing this as it will add another level of versatility to the tool, enabling me to tackle more of the plants in my garden, with just one tool. 

The only thing I would like to see on this hedge trimmer is a telescopic handle, so you could do smaller hedges more easily, or maybe extend it higher. 

How does the Gtech HT50 Cordless Hedge Trimmer rate online?

I have rated the Gtech Cordless Hedge Trimmer HT50 five stars. As this was the first hedge trimmer I have used, I found it really easy to set up, simple to use and it did a really good job, in a short amount of time. I can’t fault it. It would be nice to have a telescopic handle, but for the bushes and hedges in our garden (and our neighbors'), it’s perfect.

Other reviewers rate the Gtech highly, with an average of 4.5 stars on Gtech's website. They agree that it’s easy to set up and use, with some commenting on how they no longer need to use ladders to cut their hedges. Some mention how excellent the battery life is and those with bigger gardens found it more than adequate. The only negative points are some found four hours too long to charge the battery when wanting to do a quick job and some echo my comments about the telescopic handle.

In terms of price, it is one of the more expensive hedge trimmers on the market, but for the ease of use, effectiveness and the fact you can interchange the batteries, I’d say it is worth the price. It has a good battery life – though not as long as the 75 to 105 minutes of the Husqvarna 115iHD45 cordless hedge trimmer we tested, but that model is more expensive.

About this review and our reviewer

Bethan Davis is a PR Officer from the West Midlands. She lives with her fiancé and two boys and with a busy family home, is always looking for tools to help keep their garden tidy in a fraction of the time. She tested the Gtech HT50 Cordless Hedge Trimmer in her garden this autumn. They have a mix of lower shrubs and higher hedges that can be hard to reach over the borders, giving her plenty of chances to use it.