Stihl HSA 40 Review

Design and Features

• Uses the AS battery system
• 50cm blade length
• Light weight body

A hedge trimmer is, arguably, only any good if it’s easy enough to use. With most battery trimmers pushing the 4kg+ mark, they’re not always ideal for everyone. If you don’t need the most powerful hedge trimmer, then the Stihl HSA 40 could be for you.

Rather than using the company’s 36V AK system, the HSA 40 runs off the smaller 10.8V AS battery system, first introduced with the GTA 26 Cordless Garden Pruner. With a growing range of tools available, the AS system is a lightweight alternative.

If you have batteries already, the HSA 40 can be bought as a bare trimmer (£134), but there’s also a version that ships with two batteries and a charger (£184).

While the 10.8V system is less powerful than the 36V AK system, the batteries are tiny and light, which makes the overall system very light. As a direct comparison, the Stihl HSA 40 has a 50cm blade and weighs just 2.1kg; the 36V Stihl HSA 60 weighs closer to 4.5kg with a battery installed.

That difference makes the HSA 40 easier to wield, and it’s really easy to pick up and move around.

While light, the HSA 40 certainly doesn’t feel cheap. This is a full-on Stihl tool. Its polymer body is tough and rugged, and everything is built with precision.

Storage is easy, as the back has an eyelet, so the hedge trimmer can be hung up when not in use.

And, there’s a tough scabbard that locks firmly into place to protect the blade, and it won’t fall off.

With the scabbard removed, there’s the 50cm blade. This has teeth spaced at 24mm, with a maximum cutting thickness of 8mm.

This machine is operated via three switches for safety: two on the rear handle and one that loops around the forward handle.

The switch on the front runs all around the front handle, so you can hold this hedge trimmer at any angle with ease.

Note that there’s no secondary battery lock position or on/off switch. For those reasons, I recommend removing the battery when storing or transporting.

As the tool is light, I found it very easy to use, easy to line up in any direction to start cutting away at the hedge. For lighter jobs and smaller runs of hedge, this little tool is less fatiguing than its more powerful stablemates.

Battery life isn’t readable from the battery, but via the built-in indicator on the side of the trimmer: just tap the button to get a read. I slightly prefer a battery that contains power LEDs, as you can quickly see if a lose battery has charge without having to insert it into a device.

Performance

• Relatively quiet
• Cuts through lighter growth easily
• Struggles with thicker branches

Powered by a 10.8V battery, the Stihl HSA 40 is a bit slower than cutters with a bigger battery. However, for cutting through smaller branches, such as the hedge at the front of my house, the HSA 40 is simple to use.

It took me a bit longer to tidy up a section of hedge than with the HSA 60, but the overall result was similar, with neat cuts.

With the 50cm blade, I could easily lift the hedge trimmer to cut the tops of my hedges. However, as they’re quite deep, I couldn’t reach the back: this is where a pole trimmer or a hedge trimmer with a longer blade comes into use.

This hedge trimmer has a 24mm tooth spacing, which is enough to capture most branches for cutting. However, as the trimmer is rated to cut branches up to 8mm in diameter it struggled with thicker branches, such as those on my conifer tree.

With some branches, it could chew through them, although the final result was a little scruffy; for some thick branches, the HSA 40 would jam up. For tougher jobs and thicker branches, a more powerful hedge trimmer is required.

I did find theit relatively quiet, coming in at 80.7dB outside. With the open space around me, the trimmer isn’t annoying and I didn’t need ear defenders.

Battery life is rated at up to 40 minutes per battery. Provided you stick with thinner branches, a set of two batteries should get you through most garden jobs.

Should you buy it?