For me, by far the most annoying part of my yard maintenance is trimming the bushes. I’d rather be mowing the grass or even pulling weeds than trimming bushes. I don’t know why I don’t like it so much but I just don’t. However, the right tool can make any task more enjoyable and I got to take the STIHL HSA 60 Hedge Trimmer for a spin to see if it could change my outlook.
The HSA 60 is part of STIHL’s AK battery-powered system of tools, and it’s actually the most powerful hedge trimmer in the AK line. The AK series of tools are designed for homeowners which simply means they don’t have all the extra power – and the extra price – of their professional-grade tools.
It has some cool features, such as a rotating handle, to help with any tricky cutting but it is lacking some other features we’ve seen on competing hedge trimmers like variable speeds. The price is also higher than many of the best hedge trimmers we’ve tested, so you’ll have to decide if it’s worth the investment.
Jason has been doing yard work since he was big enough to pull weeds and has no problem getting his hands dirty with a good day of yard work. He’s been testing and reviewing gadgets, gizmos, and thingamajigs for over ten years. He cut both his hedges and several of his neighbor's hedges to test the HSA 60 as much as possible.
STIHL HSA 60 Hedge Trimmer: Price & availability
If you haven’t purchased many STIHL products in the US, then you might be unaware that they don’t sell products in the typical “big box” stores you might be familiar with like Lowe’s or Home Depot. They sell their products exclusively through local STIHL dealers.
You can check their website to find a local dealer near you or you can purchase them from certified online retailers like Acme Tools. The HSA 60 bare tool sells for $279 on Acme Tools and the AK 10 battery and AL 101 charger are $99 and $59 respectively.
Score: (4.5 out of 5)
STIHL HSA 60 Hedge Trimmer: First impressions
I had the chance to review the STIHL FSA 200 R String Trimmer and RM 655 VS Lawn Mower in addition to the HSA 60, and all of them were delivered to me by a local STIHL representative so I did not get the chance to unbox and set them up.
The STIHL representative informed me that with all of STIHL’s professional-grade tools, they’ll need to be setup at the local dealer when you pick them up. However, the HSA 60 is not specifically part of STIHL’s professional lineup so you should be able to get yours shipped to you like you would expect.
From other unboxing videos I found, it looks like the HSA 60 comes fully assembled and ready to go out of the box. All you should need to do is charge up the battery and start cutting.
It’s clear from the moment you pick it up that the HSA 60 is a quality product. Even though the body and handle are plastic, they are a high-grade polymer made directly by STIHL in their US-based factories (I got to tour their factory earlier this year and saw it first hand). Overall, it’s a solid product.
STIHL HSA 60 Hedge Trimmer: Design
The HSA 60 is quite easy to use. The whole thing weighs less than 10 pounds so it’s pretty easy to maneuver around. The handles are also big and easy to grab and the handle itself actually rotates to three different positions for harder to reach spots on your hedges.
There’s a palm-press safety release on top with a trigger to actually run the blades and under the trigger is a release latch that you pull out to rotate the handle. The loop hand just in front of the motor has a second safety button built all the way around the handle so you don’t have to worry about your hand sliding off of it.
And that’s really it. There are no other features or anything on the hedge trimmer itself, which is a tad disappointing. I do wish there was a variable speed trigger or at the very least an unjam feature like on the Husqvarna 360iHD60.
Even with the lack of extra features, the HSA 60 is still a really solid hedge trimmer. The teeth on the 24 inch blade are 1.3 inches apart to handle some thicker branches and it will run up to 70 minutes with an AK 10 battery. There’s even a built-in slot on the bottom for hanging it up in the garage or shed.
Score: 4 out of 5
STIHL HSA 60 Hedge Trimmer: Key specs
| Row 0 - Cell 0 | Row 0 - Cell 1 |
| Model no: | HSA 60 |
| Blade length: | 24 in. |
| Cutting size: | 1.3 in. |
| Cutting speed: | 3,000 cut/min. |
| Fuel: | Battery - AK 10, 36V / 2.0 Ah |
| Weight | 9.5 lbs. (with battery) |
STIHL HSA 60 Hedge Trimmer: Performance
I first tested the HSA 60 on some smaller bush-type trees outside our garage and it did just fine. I was able to trim them well without too many issues. One thing I noticed was that it didn’t always cut as cleanly the first time as other hedge trimmers I’ve used. There were a few times where I had to go back over a spot on the hedge a couple times in order to get it where I needed it. This wasn’t something I experienced with the Husqvarna 360iHD60 for example.
I do wonder if this would not be an issue if the HSA 60 had a higher cutting speed I could crank up but since it doesn’t, I’ll be left wondering forever I suppose.
Next, I tackled a much larger bush on the other side of our house and again it trimmed it just fine. As this hedge was much bigger, the rotating handle came in quite useful when trying to get to some of the much harder spots on it.
Lastly, I took the HSA 60 to a few thicker branches to see how it would do. We recently lost one of our smaller trees during a storm and I tried to use the HSA 60 to clean off the limbs on the tree so I could set them out for our collectors. Sadly, the HSA 60 struggled a bit with some of the thicker branches. Anything that was more than about a quarter to a half-inch thick would trip it up.
Again, the Husqvarna 360i was able to cut through these thicker branches with no problem, so it was a bit of a bummer to see the STIHL struggle.
The battery life was impressive on the HSA 60. Trimming both my hedges and my neighbors' hedge took me about a half hour and I only lost about half a charge, so STIHL’s claim of 70 minutes of run time sounds pretty accurate. For most homeowners, that should be all the juice you need to keep your bushes looking nice. Recharging takes about 90 minutes with the standard AL 101 charger and about 45 minutes with the AL 301 fast charger. There’s even a super charger (which I did not receive to test), the AL 500 that can supposedly charger the AK 10 battery in about 30 minutes.
You also get all the other great benefits of battery power like lower noise, lighter weight, less vibration, no fumes, etc. I clocked the HSA 60 with a noise level at about 77 dB which is roughly equivalent to a vacuum cleaner.
Luckily, with an electric motor, there is not much maintenance involved. Be sure to put the blade cover back on when storing it and clean out any leaves or debris that might be stuck in the blades but that’s about it. If you use it pretty regularly, or you notice it not cutting as well as it used to, you can sharpen the blades to help it out.
Score: 4 out of 5
STIHL HSA 60 Hedge Trimmer: User reviews
At the time of writing there were just two user reviews of the STIHL HSA 60 Hedge Trimmer which I could find on the STIHL and Acme Tools websites. These were the same reviews.
They're both 5-out-of-5 stars and sing the praises of the hedge trimmer. One reviewer says: "It gets the job done" and the other says: "I can go all over the yard and complete all my trimming, it's always ready to go!"
Should you buy the STIHL HSA 60 Hedge Trimmer?
| Attribute | Notes | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Priced competitively, even when adding in the battery and charger. Might take a bit of extra work to find one. | ★★★★½ |
| Design | Lightweight, easy-to-use design great for larger hedges. Missing a couple features though. | ★★★★ |
| Performance | Works great in most situations but might struggle a bit with thicker branches. Solid battery life. | ★★★★ |
Buy it if...
Don’t buy it if…
How does the STIHL HSA 60 Hedge Trimmer compare?
For those really pesky overgrown hedges, you might need the power and performance of a good gas trimmer. Luckily the Poulan Pro PR2322 is currently our best gas trimmer and is more than up to the task.
In my testing, I found the Husqvarna 360iHD60 to be a bit more powerful and it includes a variable speed adjustment to help manage battery life or give you more power when needed. It also includes a battery and charger for only a few bucks more than the HSA 60.
If you just need something small and inexpensive for just a few small to medium sized bushes, then the Greenworks 22101 is a great choice. It’s not cordless though, so you’ll need to be ok with tracking an extension cord around.
How I tested the STIHL HSA 60 Hedge Trimmer
I tested as many different types of hedges as I had access to for this review. I started with two small, ball-shaped shrubs that stand about head height outside my garage. Next, I attacked a rather large rounded hedge on the corner of our house that had not been trimmed in over two years. Lastly, I trimmed several rows of waist-high rectangular hedges at a few different locations.
Learn more about how we test.
- · First reviewed: June-July 2024
