Maintaining the trees, shrubs and plants around our smallholding requires a lot of different cutting tools, so we were extremely pleased and excited when Darlac sent us three different loppers to review. Check us out putting them to the test.
The loppers we received all had different applications. The first lopper we put to the test was the DP1022 Expert Telescopic Bypass Lopper (part of the Expert Range) and it has handles that extend from 44cm to 78cm with six locking positions.
We then check out the DP940 Telescopic Bypass Lopper, which greatly reduces the effort that’s required when cutting through hard branches.
We left the DP474A Telescopic Ratchet Lopper for last. This lopper is a beast, and it’s our favourite because the ratchet action greatly reduces the effort required to cut through large, hard branches (up to 50mm).
We are wearing clothing provided by Snickers Workwear in this video.
Hi Mars, I enjoyed watching your trial & review of the 3 different Darlac Loppers. A Nice, easy going, no nonsense approach – good stuff. I’ve bee a professional plantsman/coppice worker/forester for about 20 years now and recently bought a pair of the geared DP940 loppers in an emergency. I notice on your Buddleia you had excellent reach but only cut material I would usually expect my trusty Felco 13s to get through without issue. May I ask 2 questions now that you have had them for some time since the review? Firstly have you found them ok on larger material and with sustained use (a couple of hours rather than a few dozen cuts)? Secondly have you had any concerns over the quality of the cutting blade? I ask because, while I can readily see that the design is sound and makes good sense, my pair either suffer from poor components or build quality and I’m not sure if that is representative of Darlac standards. Any ‘no-nonsense’ insights would be appreciated. Best wishes, John Sinclair
Thanks for the comments and questions John. The geared loppers were good, and the Felco 13 would adequately get the same job done (when reach is taken out of the equation). Of the Darlac loppers we reviewed, our regular go to for some denser branches is the DP1022 Expert Telescopic Bypass Lopper. We’ve had no issues with it, and the blades and components are still going strong.
Since you use Felco, we also rely on our Felco loppers quite regularly: https://myhomefarm.co.uk/we-try-out-the-felco-2-secateurs-and-felco-211-60-loppers
In my opinion, Felco do make a higher quality product, but they are also more expensive. We have, however, found the Darlac equipment to be generally well made.