Ohuhu Bypass Garden Pruning Shears

Oh, boy. You know when you have high hopes for a product, and that product not only doesn’t come close, but actually starts to make you angry and far from good it is when it didn’t have to be? That sums up my experience with these Ohuhu Bypass garden pruner. This could have and should have been a slam dunk product, but instead it misses by a country mile and I don’t know what can be done to fix them.

For starters, the all metal construction should have been a big plus. That means no cheap pot metal or zinc or plastic to fail when you’re deep into a project. Instead, because of the extremely poor ergonomics of the handles, it makes them become heavy and awkward after a short while. Next is this aforementioned handles. The plastic grips twist and slide right off. At first glance the look like molded rubber, but instead they’re just plastic sleeve which offer no palm cushioning and frustrate you no end trying to keep them on or in place.  Next, and most infamously, is the latch that locks the pruners closed. It is so incredibly poorly designed that what it end up doing is getting caught on the spring, or locks the closed at inopportune times, or pops up and keeps the pruners from being able to work properly. After 30 minutes of pruning I had to get my old Fiskars pruner because I wanted to hurl the Ohuhu ones across the yard. It’s just terrible, incredibly frustrating, and amazing that Ohuhu continues to make them this way. They don’t cut through anywhere near the 3/4″ branch size advertised, and it’s due to the poor design and all the flaws and defects. One thing that went from a plus to a minus was the spare blade/spring that came with the Ohuhu Garden Pruner. Unless the blade is broken, I don’t recommend replacing it. The retaining pin, once out, does not stay in for any reasonable amount of time, causing what could amount to a very dangerous situation. These pruners just failed on every point.

I feel terrible doing this, because Ohuhu makes some truly amazing products that I’ve thoroughly enjoyed and used over and over again. But for $12.99, you could do a whole lot better. There’s a plethora of pruners available from bigger companies at lower price points that don’t have the problems these have. I cannot recommend them and in fact recommend you avoid them entirely. It makes me sad that company like Ohuhu, who’s started to make a name for themselves in my home, put out such a poor product, but every once in a while, even the best companies put out a stinker. It’s a bad product from a good company, and they’d do well to stop offering this product lest it drag their good name down.

 

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I received the above product(s) free of charge from .  I am not obligated to provide a positive or favorable review, just my honest opinion.  My review is based on my experience with the product and/or brand, which may differ from yours.

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Ohuhu Solar Landscape Lights, 8-Pack

I’ve been trying to “finish” my landscaping for the last, oh, lets say decade or so, and while some areas are just the way I want them, others seem to be a continual “work in progress”. Like in the area of lighting. While the old standard of running a bunch of low-voltage line everywhere was fine in places, how many of us have electrical outlets 40 feet from the house?! And the longer you run low-voltage line, the dimmer the farthest lights get. Solar lights seemed to be my savior, but until recently they were very utilitarian, lacked any real flair, and didn’t stay lit long. And they were expensive. Then Ohuhu came in to save the day again with their 8-Pack of Solar Landscape Lighting, all for only $27.99? Sounds too good to be true!

This 8-Pack of Solar Lights is a simple and affordable way to provide accent lighting all around your yard, your pathways, your garden, and even your driveway, all without ever having to worry about whether the cord will reach an electrical outlet. They’re weather resistant, so your sprinklers should give them no issues. The units are made entirely of plastic, and the stakes aren’t the strongest, so don’t try putting them in any particularly hard ground. They have a single, bright white (almost blue) LED that shines bright enough to give a decent halo of light around them. Ohuhu says they’re good for up to 8 hours on a full charge. And while the looked nice and initially lit well and stayed lit throughout most of the night, I found as time went on that the lights dimmed quicker and quicker, and went out earlier and earlier. Hubby broke them down and might have come up with a reason why: The rechargeable battery used to power the units is a paltry 600 mAh nickel-metal hydride AA cell. That’s a really low powered battery, and despite Ohuhu’s claims of “dusk ’til dawn” capabilities, there’s very little chance of that being possible with so small a battery. But, placed in a full-sun area, you are looking at a good 4-6 hours of really attractive light, anywhere you want to place it!

So while I think there’s some room for improvement, this last generation of solar lighting has really changed my tune as to it’s viability and usefulness around the house and yard. Ohuhu continues to surprise me with the quality of product you get for the money, and the Ohuhu 8-Pack of Solar Landscape Lighting is no exception! And Ohuhu’s
30-day Money Back Guarantee & Full 12-month Replacement Warranty means there’s really nothing to lose!

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I received the above product(s) free of charge from Ohuhu.  I am not obligated to provide a positive or favorable review, just my honest opinion.  My review is based on my experience with the product and/or brand, which may differ from yours.

Davaon Premium 8-Pattern Garden Hose Nozzle

One of the things I love almost as much as cooking and baking is gardening. As much as the outdoors hates me, with my fair skin and allergies, I love it and all the beauty it provides. And while some see watering as a chore, I look at it as feeding all my little green and colorful lovelies so they can grow up big, beautiful and strong. What is essential to that is good tools, like a well made hose nozzle. So it was serendipitous that Davaon offered me their Premium 8-Pattern Garden Hose Nozzle to try out.

To start, it’s metal construction with overmolded slip resistant plastic shell is a joy to hold. It’s heavy enough that you can feel t’s well made, but no so much that it becomes heavy in the hand after a long while. It has 8 patterns to spray, including all the favorites: Shower, center, cone, flat, vertical, stream, mist, and full. “Stream” and “full” were almost indistinguishable, and “center” was a much wider pattern than I’m used to. The bezel that rotates to select the pattern is unidirectional, which is a first for me, as all the hose nozzles I’ve used before turned both ways, so that took some getting used to. Also, the bezel stores a good little but of water, so it appears the nozzle leaks, but further inspection and testing told me it didn’t. The Davaon Premium Garden Hose Nozzle also has a flow control knob at the back, which lets you adjust the flow of water from minimal to maximum. Perfect for delicate plants and flowers that appreciate a good soaking, but that I don’t want to look like I turned a firehose on them. Davaon even backs their nozzle with a 100% Money Back Satisfaction guarantee, but the time from for this guarantee is unspecified. I’ve had some really crappy hose nozzles in past. From big companies, and in one form or another, they’ve almost all fallen way short. From construction to materials to performance. I’m happy to report that this Davaon Premium All-Metal 8-Pattern Hose Nozzle fell short in none of those categories. In fact, it excelled in all three.

Unfortunately, I must touch on something that seems to doom many of these truly wonderful products: Price. Look, I like to support the little guy as much as is feasible. I’ll spend a little more for a “mom-n-pop” shop than I would at Home Depot or some other big box store. But at $19.99 for this nozzle, even being “premium”, I can’t justify it. Hubby bought me an Orbit 5 piece watering set a couple years ago from Costco. Three all metal nozzles, two of which were multi-pattern and one was a wand, with solid brass “quick connect” collets. All for about $15. The same type of nozzle alone, also all metal and 8 patterns, can be had for around $5-$7 from Orbit, Gilmore, or really, anyone. That makes $19.99 for this one nozzle seem…untenable. Guys, you need to come close to the big boys if you want to compete! I want to support you, and I’d gladly pay A few bucks more to do so, but almost 4 times the amount? I’m sorry, I just can’t. I like this nozzle. It’s the equal in every way to my all metal Orbit one. But the price is just too high, premium or not.

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I received the above product(s) free of charge from Davaon.  I am not obligated to provide a positive or favorable review, just my honest opinion.  My review is based on my experience with the product and/or brand, which may differ from yours.

 

LifeWell Technologies Aluminum Garden Trowel

Going back to the garden, I like hand tools best. Not only are they easier for me to use and control but they are a little more intimate than Hubby’s larger, more rugged tools. And when LifeWell Technologies offered me their aluminum Garden Trowel, I was thrilled. I’ve had a few different garden trowels, of various materials and build qualities, and almost all were found to be lacking. They’d bend, break, rust, or just plain fall apart and fail me. Usually mid-job, and nothing will frustrate a gal more. LifeWell Technologies claims this is “The Best Trowel You’ll Ever Buy”. Bold words. Let’s see if they live up to them.

LifeWell Technologies Garden trowel looks to solve all of those previously mentioned issues. Rust? Pffft. It’s made of aircraft grade aluminum, polished to a flawless chrome-like finish. The edge is sharp enough to dig clean through rocky, uneven ground with no issue. Bending? A thing of the past, what with the thick, robust neck and full tang handle. Break? Did I mention that it’s made of aircraft-grade aluminum? This LifeWell Technologies trowel shouldn’t break even under heavy loads and stresses. So now that we’ve established that this trowel is better than all my past trowels, lets get into how it’s been so overbuilt that it became my favorite.

A lot of trowels I’ve owned have been just a straight wooden handle, with little thought given to ergonomics or comfort. This LifeWell Technologies Garden Trowel has a handle clearly made by someone who has used the before and knows exactly when one puts their fingers and thumb. It has a rubberized non-slip coating too, that not only reduces hand strain my being slightly padded, but means your damp or wet hand won’t go sliding down the handle and crash painfully into the spade. It even has a slightly elongated tip if you need to pound the trowel past a tough root or two. It’s even a bright and attractive neon green that means your not going to lose it in the grass or tall shrubs. It’s not so heavy that you get hand fatigue but not so light that you think it’ll break on the first rock it hit. “Built like a brick ‘out’house” Hubby would say, although not so politely. I think I’ve found the garden tool I won’t be sharing with Hubby. This green beauty is all mine. As for LifeWell Technologies boast of this being the best trowel I’ll ever buy, it might well be, as well as the last  trowel I’ll ever need to buy. Well done, LifeWell Technologies.

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I received the above product(s) free of charge from LifeWell Technologies.  I am not obligated to provide a positive or favorable review, just my honest opinion.  My review is based on my experience with the product and/or brand, which may differ from yours.