A few of my favorite new gardening gadgets that help ease Arthritis Pain

It has been years since I've even thought about buying MORE garden tools. We have quite the stash but most are bulky, heavy, and over the years new gadgets have come on the market. It has been 15 years since I was diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis and Sjogrens. I also have pretty severe Osteoarthritis in my thumbs and wrists. Many of my old standby's are just too hard to manage and leave me in pain after using. It was making gardening depressing. I had to do something to extend my garden life for years to come.

My first favorite find were Workpro USB plug in pruning shears. They are amazing and easily cut shrub branches, blackberry canes, and vines with one hit. There is a safety on this style of clippers where you have to hold down 2 buttons at once to cut, which is not great for arthritic hands. I do not have pain while using them or lingering pain once I stop like I do with my manual Felco pruning shears. All brands of this type of pruner are not lightweight but this was the lightest I could find. Most have the square battery pack stuck on the end of the handle which was a deal breaker for me because it added too much bulk and weight. If the Workpro shears were even lighter they would be even better. They should be used by experienced gardeners. I also stash them in a pouch on my waist when not in use as holding for any period fatigues my wrists. A carry holster or at minimum a carry clip would elevate this tool to the next level.

My second favorite find is our new rechargeable pole pruning saw. This is a tool that is too heavy for me on any level but my husband is also aging and manual sawing of limbs is getting tiring. The Skil pruner gets him out in the yard more (men love gadgets at any age) and saves a ton of time. He wanted a reputable brand and I looked for something with the most reach and power that was not so so heavy. I can hardly hold it but it's great for him. You also want self oiling and one that is easy to tighten the chain because with use it just naturally gets loose. 

I've not yet tried the Workpro cordless mini hedge trimmer but they look interesting. The weight is around 1 lbs and that's lighter than many as most other brands have the heavy battery packs on the end. Looking at the demos I'm not convinced that it will cut big enough branches for my needs. Seems that they mainly just top the ends. If you have a softer wood smaller shrub or vine, this would be a nice addition. I'm still searching for manual or cordless hedge trimmers that fit my needs.

I ordered industrial Corona brand limb cutters that I had to return but they were glorious and incredibly built but the listing said they were a lighter weight than in reality. They were 3 lbs and I can only manage 1.5 lbs tops, they were even heavy for my husband! Currently I have my aging Fiskars that I bought 15 years ago because at the time they were the lightest I could find. 

I'm also on the hunt for a weeding tool to easily dig out seriously deep rooted plants like pokeweed or other invasives like English Ivy or Oriental Bittersweet. I've not found anything revolutionary that would ease digging for me. 

It's a challenge when doing much leaves you on the sidelines. If you have a favorite tool that has changed your gardening for the better, I would love to know about it! Leave a comment.

~Rebecca