Fiskars 78656935J 28-Inch Bypass Lopper Review (2026): The

Why you should trust this review

I bought the Fiskars PowerGear2 lopper with my own money and used it across two pruning seasons. Fiskars did not provide it, and I have no relationship with the company. I have a yard with shrubs and small trees that regularly need cutting back beyond what hand pruners can handle, so I came to this lopper to find out whether the geared PowerGear2 mechanism really reduces cutting effort or whether that is just marketing.

Two seasons of real pruning is enough to judge cutting power, reach, how the blade holds its edge, and the honest downsides like weight and deadwood performance. Everything below comes from using it on actual branches in my own yard. I will be direct about where it shines and where it reaches its limits, because a lopper is a tool you buy for specific jobs and matching it to those jobs matters.

How we evaluated

I used the lopper across two full pruning seasons on the branches my yard actually produces, from finger-thick suckers up to the inch-and-a-half live wood at its rated capacity. I judged how much force the PowerGear2 mechanism required compared to a standard lopper, especially on the thicker cuts where geared leverage should matter most. I used the 28-inch reach to get up into shrubs and small trees without a ladder.

I also tracked the blade’s edge over the two seasons to see whether it dulled, tested the lopper on deadwood to find its limit there, and noted the weight in hand during longer pruning passes. The conclusions reflect two seasons of real use, not a single afternoon.

Cutting power and the PowerGear2 mechanism

The geared mechanism is the reason to buy this lopper, and it delivers. PowerGear2 uses a compound action that multiplies your force through the cut, and on inch-and-a-half live branches the difference is real: cuts that would have me straining with a standard lopper closed with noticeably less effort. The leverage builds exactly where you need it, through the hardest part of the cut, so you are not fighting the branch at the point of maximum resistance.

That reduced effort matters most on a long pruning session, where fatigue otherwise adds up cut by cut. Being able to take down thick live wood one-handed in terms of force, without throwing my whole body into each cut, made the work faster and less tiring. For anyone who regularly cuts branches near the upper end of what a lopper handles, the geared mechanism is a genuine, tangible benefit.

Reach and access

The 28-inch handles are long enough to make a real difference in access. On most pruning passes the reach let me get up into shrubs and the lower branches of small trees without dragging out a ladder, which is both faster and safer. Standing on the ground with a long lopper beats balancing on a ladder with hand pruners for the kind of overhead cuts a yard regularly needs.

The reach also gives you leverage geometry that helps with thicker cuts, since longer handles multiply your force. Combined with the PowerGear2 mechanism, the 28-inch length means you can reach into a shrub and make a clean cut on substantial wood without contortion. For general yard pruning, this length hits a useful balance between reach and manageability.

Blade durability and build

The hardened, rust-resistant coated steel blade held its edge well across the two test seasons. After a full two years of cutting, it was still making clean cuts without resharpening, which is more than I can say for cheaper loppers whose blades dull within a season. A clean cut matters for plant health, and the blade kept delivering one throughout, slicing rather than crushing the live wood.

The handles are fiberglass-reinforced composite, sturdy enough to take the leverage forces without flexing or feeling cheap. Fiskars backs the tool with a lifetime warranty supported by reliable service, which is reassuring for a tool you expect to keep for years. The overall build felt durable and held up to two seasons of real use with no issues.

The honest limits

Two trade-offs define this lopper’s boundaries. First, it is heavier than a non-geared lopper, at around 2.6 pounds. That weight comes from the geared mechanism and the longer handles, and while it is the source of the cutting power, it does mean the tool is more tiring to hold and swing than a lighter, simpler lopper over a very long session. If minimal weight matters more to you than maximum cutting force, a non-geared lopper would suit you better.

Second, it is built for live wood, not thick deadwood. On dead branches larger than about an inch, the cut is not clean, because dry, hard deadwood resists differently than green wood. Within its inch-and-a-half live-wood rating it excels, but do not expect it to chew through thick dry branches cleanly; that is a job for a saw. Knowing this keeps you from buying it for the wrong task and being disappointed.

Who should buy the Fiskars PowerGear2 lopper?

Buy it if you regularly cut live branches up to about an inch and a half and want the geared mechanism to take the strain out of those thicker cuts. It is the right pick for someone who values the 28-inch reach to prune shrubs and small trees without a ladder, who wants a blade that holds its edge for years, and who appreciates a lifetime warranty backing the tool.

Skip it if you want the lightest possible lopper for long sessions and rarely cut near the upper capacity, where a non-geared lopper would be easier to handle. Skip it too if your main job is cutting thick deadwood, since this lopper is built for live wood and a saw is the better tool for dry branches over an inch.

The verdict

After two pruning seasons, the Fiskars 78656935J PowerGear2 lopper is the one I reach for when branches outgrow my hand pruners. The geared mechanism genuinely reduces the effort of cutting inch-and-a-half live wood, the 28-inch reach keeps me off the ladder for most jobs, and the blade held a clean edge across both seasons. The honest trade-offs are the extra weight that comes with the geared design and a real limit on thick deadwood, where a saw is the right tool. For regular live-wood pruning on shrubs and small trees, it is a powerful, durable, well-backed lopper and an easy recommendation.