Stihl HLA 56

Design and features

• Runs on the AK battery system
• Optional harness, but you may not need it
• Simple controls

Most of the pole trimmers I’ve reviewed have shipped with a harness that slips over a shoulder and provides additional support. With the Stihl HLA 56, a harness is an optional accessory, but you may not need it, as this hedge trimmer is so well designed.

Made of Stihl’s lightweight polymer, the HLA 56 is light but very strong. Without the battery, it weighs 3.8kg, but a battery adds around another 1kg to this. However, for a 218cm hedge trimmer, that is still light.

The pole is not extendable, which is a shame, although Stihl does sell an additional extension shaft if you need more reach.

How easy a hedge trimmer is to use is not just about overall weight, but about balance. As poles get longer, weight can be felt more keenly if it’s unbalanced. Here, the battery slots into the back of the handle to counterbalance the blade and motor at the top.

This hedge trimmer uses a comfort grip handle, similar to the one on the Stihl FSA 57 Cordless Grass Trimmer. With your hand around the controls, the handle naturally presses against your forearm, making it easy to control and handle the hedge trimmer.

There’s a secondary loop handle further up, which you can fit in the most comfortable position for you using a couple of screws.

The hedge trimmer can be used with the 45cm blade straight out, but the head also pivots from -45° to 90°, so it can be used low-down to cut growth at the bottom of a hedge.

Or, it can be angled, so that it’s easy to trim the top of a hedge by holding the pole vertically.

A 45cm blade is a good compromise between reach and weight. As with Stihl’s other hedge trimmers, the blade here uses teardrop shaped teeth to guide branches into them, and can cut branches up to 16mm in diameter.

For safety, there’s a three-part switch on the handle. First, the top switch has to be pushed forward with a thumb, and then the two hand-grip switches can be gripped to start the hedge trimmer up.

There’s also a travel and storage position for the battery: press the button to part-release it and the battery stays locked in place, but doesn’t make contact, so the tool is not live. And, the battery has an LED power meter on it, so you can see how much charge is left when the battery is loose or inserted (you do need a bit of shade to see the LEDs).

This tool runs on Stihl’s 36V AK system, which provides a good compromise between power and weight. An AK 20 battery is recommended, but the Stihl HLA 56 will work with any AK battery, including the smaller AK 10 and the larger AK 30.

Storage has been thought of, and Stihl provides a mounting bracket in the box, which screws to the wall and holds the HLA 56 when split into its three components.

Taking the HLA 56 apart is easy, with simple thumbscrews used to undo each section, before pulling them apart. All in all, it takes no more than a minute or so to assemble or disassemble this hedge trimmer.

For protection, the blade has a solid scabbard that slides over it when the hedge trimmer is not in use.

Performance

• Brilliiant at cutting
• Easy to use

I have to start by saying how good the Stihl HLA 56’s ergonomics are. Using a pole trimmer can be a fatiguing experience, but the well-balanced hedge trimmer makes it easy to use.

The Stihl HLA 60 is slightly easier to use for regular cutting jobs, particularly as its handle rotates, but the Stihl HLA 56 isn’t far behind.

I was impressed by the power of the hedge trimmer, and it easily sliced through the regular hedge growth at the front of the property, making it easy to tidy up neatly.

At the bottom of one section, the hedge was intertwined with blackberry brambles, but the Stihl HLA 56 made short work of them. Its angled head made it easy to cut through the tangle.

With the blade tilted forward, getting to the top of the hedge was easy. Some sections of my hedge are quite deep, and the blade wouldn’t reach to the back. But standing on a ladder, the long reach of this hedge trimmer let me tackle everything.

Thicker branches on my conifer tree were also dealt with easily. Regardless of how tough the job is, the Stihl HLA 56 can handle it.

Rated to last up to 100 minutes with an AK 20 battery, the Stihl HLA 56 has enough power to get through a lot of hedge. My 25m-long, and very deep hedge, could easily be managed on a single charge, which is impressive.

I measured noise at 79.9dB at ear level when holding the hedge trimmer. That’s quite quiet, and as the noisy motor is a good distance away, the Stihl HLA 56 proves to be quieter than a regular hedge trimmer in use.

Should you buy it?