Quality Garden Tools Blog

Garden Tool Awards 2010

Posted on 14/12/10 | Posted by The Fat Gardener

After all the excitement of the 'industry awards' still reverberating around the horticultural trade, it is time for the latest (and most important!) prizes to be announced. These Fat Gardener Garden Tools Awards aim to reward those tool manufacturers who invest in the highest standards of manufacture, making tools that are up to the job they are designed for and most importantly, liked by me! I test 100s of tools every year and these are the select few that have really impressed me over the last 12 months.

• The best ‘new’ garden tool award goes to Roughneck for their great 27" Micro Shovels – perfect for fitting in the car boot or by the front door, just in case you get snowed in!
• The ‘value for money’ tool award is awarded to Okatsune for their Japanese made Thinning Shears (priced at just £7.21) which I carry in my pocket all the time.
• The pruning tool award goes to Silky Saws for their range of Hayauchi Long Reach Pole Saws – so much longer (up to 6.3m) and stronger than all other brands of saw.
• The best digging tool award is again won by Bulldog Tools (the undisputed kings of all things digging!) for their Premier Tree Planting Spade – a very useful thin bladed spade which I use for planting hedge whips and bulbs as well as trees!
• The best cultivating tool award is awarded to Fiskars for their ever popular Swoe – it is strong yet light for hoeing in difficult to reach areas.
• The best gardening power tool award goes to ECHO for the HCA265ES 25.4cc Long Reach Petrol Hedgetrimmer which features an easy start system and is incredibly reliable – I use mine a lot and wouldn't be without it.
• The best children’s garden tool award is won by Bulldog Tools for their beautifully Forged Children's Spade – definitely not a toy and just like grandad's!
• The most innovative tool award is awarded to Bosch for their Ciso Cordless Secateurs – integrated lithium-ion 3.6v battery powering 500 cuts per charge on branches up to 14mm in diameter. Much copied but not equalled for ease of use and consistent performance.
• The best garden accessory award goes to Nutscene for their Garden Twine – made in Scotland since 1922, the twine is biodegradable, natural and comes from sustainable sources, you should never be in the garden without it.

Finally, (as always) are the 'blue ribbon' awards:

• Best garden tool for 2010 is awarded to Tina for the 605 General Pruning Knife, quite simply one of the best tools a gardener can own, they last for years and are manufactured to the very highest quality standards.
• Best garden tool manufacturer for 2010 is once again awarded to Silky Saws who continue to make great quality saws and give excellent levels of availability and top customer service.

The champagne has been drunk, the post-ceremony cigars smoked and all that is left for me to do is congratulate the winners and hope that runners-up will continue to improve the quality and value of their garden tools and accessories in 2011.

All these ‘award winning’ garden tools (plus many more) can be purchased at: www.qualitygardentools.com

Any comments? Please email us at info@qualitygardentools.com

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