Bosch KEO Cordless Garden Saw May 2012

What does Bosch claim? 

Bosch's KEO Cordless Garden Saw is designed to cut branches up to 8cm in diameter easily and effortlessly. It has a detachable branch grip for comfortable, one-handed working and is powered by a 10.8 volt battery. 

Is this garden saw comfortable to use?

Weighing just over a kilo, this new saw from Bosch is slightly heavier than it looks, but it's comfortable to grip and hold with one hand. We used the KEO to cut through a selection of old branches, 4-8cm thick.

With the 'A-grip' on, we found it very easy to cut through branches of dead and live wood up to 6cm thick. It was quick, too, taking only a couple of seconds to do each cut. We found that the grip held the blade firmly in place and gave a good clean cut. We discovered that you need a slightly stronger hand to hold the KEO in place when cutting without the 'A-grip' – we struggled to hold it down at first. We got the knack after just a couple of cuts and found that we could cut through branches up to 8cm neatly and quickly.

How long does the battery last on this cordless saw?

The 10.8 volt lithium-ion battery is built into the handle, and is charged by plugging in the charger supplied (which is similar to a mobile phone charger). Ours took about 90 minutes to fully charge, and claims to give between 30 and 190 cuts depending on the thickness of wood you're cutting. It comes with a 15cm blade, which just slots and locks into place with a simple mechanism.

Our verdict

Overall, we found this useful for pruning large shrubs, dead wood and cutting through branches that are 4-8cm thick. It may be a worthwhile investment if you have lots of shrubs and trees in your garden.

Pros: comfortable, 'A-grip' allows for quick and easy cutting, gives a clean cut

Cons: more difficult to cut without the 'A-grip', heavier than it looks

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