We use these in a commercial setting they last about a year or two, knock offs a few weeks and anything else about a year, strongly recommend you don't use them for cutting any diameter than the recommend size.I've used many hand trimmers and this is by far the best. Everything is quality from the way it fits in your hand to the super sharp blade. It's easy to disassemble and sharpen and reassemble. The action is smooth and consistent.Sharp, ergonomically good, wife says the best shears that she has ever owned. One of the times when you get what you paid the big bucks for. Highly recommend.Felco 2 is the best trimmer I have ever bought. Excellent quality, precise cuts, easy to handleI just purchased my second pair. The first lasted over a decade and then I lost them. If you like quality and want a reliable tool, buy these.These are great cutters/pruners. Cut very well. I have two complaints:1) the spring return mechanism is too strong which causes me to constantly lose grip and drop them2) wetness on the blade will cause the metal to discolor and corrode.They are just pruners, very sharp ones at that, but for the money I would not buy them again or recommend them to a friend. Cheaper ones offer the same.To start with, I'm a 6'1" guy with fairly good sized hands. The F-2 pruner is solidly built, fits well in my hand, and will easily cut through 1/2" limbs or branches. They are not the cheapest pruners on the market, but IMO, are one of the very best.The Best. ThanksThe "Felco" secateurs I received were not authentic. Beware.I bought a pair of these for my girlfriend about seven years ago and they're still as good as they ever were. I bought Felco's diamond sharpening stone too and along with common sense maintenance I can honestly see them lasting a lifetime.My mum needed a new pair of secateurs - she has a drawer full of cheap ones, I did my best to fix them up but they're just not good, they're semi-disposable really. So I bought another pair of Felcos and she's extremely pleased. I'll keep on top of the maintenance for her but putting them side by side with a knock off pair she has was laughable.I don't really garden myself (well I do, but I don't love it!) but I like my tools and appreciate a well made precision tool when I see it. There's tools you buy for an odd job that you probably won't use again, so a cheaper one might do. Then there's tools that will be a mainstay of your longterm hobby or work and it's always worth buying the best you can, both economically and for the best results.Secateurs definitely fall into that category as they'll potentially see decades of year-round usage. The fact that the Felcos can be easily maintained, stripped down, have their parts replaced and the business end is made from extremely high quality steel (they come with a precise cutting edge that will pass the "paper test") means that for less than £50 they're a sensible investment. I use a variety of cutting tools in my hobbies and the Felcos are as good as any of them.So, don't have a drawer full of rusty blunted tools! It's a shame that people replace their secateurs when they stop cutting or functioning as they should, whether that's through lack of maintenance or just buying the cheapest ones they can. It's wasteful and a false economy. Grab a pair of Felcos, maintain them, and you'll have years of gardening joy (whatever that is!).Once you've used a Felco secateurs you wonder why you put up with the cheaper alternatives. It is pricey but you find out why when you use it. The design gives your hand many times the leverage power than when using inferior quality secateurs. It slices effortlessly through live or dead wood and its spring is powerful,and responsive. Being a Swiss design all the components are replaceable and like a Swiss Army Knife the philosophy is this is a tool for life. Go right now and buy one. You won't regret it. Number 8 is better for bigger hands like mine. I bought no 2 as a present for a female cousin.I've bought this twice - on the first occasion, there was some tatty sellotape wrapped around it, several times. These are expensive secateurs, which I was giving as a birthday gift. I could not give them as a present in that state, so I returned them, ordering the same item as a replacement. When it arrived, the packaging was identical, wrapped several times around by the same grubby sellotape. I thought for a moment that I had been sent the same product again - unlikely I know, especially as I had only set the first ones back on the same day. At this point, it was the day before the aforesaid birthday, so had to take the sellotape off, in order to give the gift. I couldn't take it all off, as it would have ripped some of the writing on the back. It spoilt the birthday experience, to a degree. If the sellotape was there, to stop the cardboard base slipping out from beneath the plastic upper, why not use a couple of small bits of tape to hold it together?I've owned a pair of budget range Felco L83 for a couple of years and use them mainly for cutting outdoor giant Yucca plants. The plants have very tough, fibrous leaves and are difficult to cut with the L83, which are now starting to stick and become blunt.I saw the Model 2 on Amazon Warehouse for £30 and they were listed as 'Like New' but appear to have had a couple of weeks use!Having said that the difference in quality is significant and they cut through the Yucca like it's a blade of grass. They also handle much better too. The only reason I'm marking them down is for the adjustment tool, which is a total waste of time and would not loosen the locking mechanisms without risking injury. As this is around £5 to buy new perhaps they could be provided without one and this could be reflected in the price.