Buy it for life - Loppers

My loppers broke a handle after a few years of hard use. I was clearing fallen branches after our strong winds last week and the handle failed by fatigue/stress near the cutting blades. They were an extending handle type like these (not that brand), but I rarely used the handle extensions.


source
I can't remember what brand they are....

Anyway - what should I look for when buying a replacement? Is the extending arms a good idea or not? I'm hoping to mend or replace the handle on the broken set, so I will have a spare pair with longer handles if required. Any recommendations?

Oh, dear.

I guess, looking at ones marketed to tree surgeons is another way to identify more durable design & manufacture?

For example, Leyat Professional Pro Pruning Loppers look like a similar product: they advertise spare parts for self-repair.

https://www.radmoretucker.co.uk/shop/forestry-landscaping-equipment/forestry-tools/shears-loppers/leyat-professional-pro-pruning-loppers-600mm/

I love my fiskars set. They seem to require much less force to trim branches than the other loppers i have when comparing them side by side. Keep them sharp and lubricated. Fiskars makes some really nice and ergonomic cutting tools if you haven't tried them out before.

Mine are Fiskars too - they are quite light and haven't let me down yet.  Probably at least 10 years old.

I have fiskars. I like them better than some cheap loppers i have used, but am not thrilled with them - they feel far less sturdy than the set i grew up with, and have dulled more quickly. I used them almost every day for several months last winter clearing brush from a fenceline. I find the handles are so light weight compared to the blade  that i don't love the balance of them when i have them overhead.

I do use my loppers a TON and have gotten them into some situations i feel like  risk breaking them, and have already broken the tip of the blade, no idea how. I've only owned them a year, and the ones i grew up with are about 60 years old and in perfect shape despite also being used for a lot of fenceline type cutting.  Pros to the fiskars - light weight, and i like the ratcheting  feature although it does occasionally mean i find it difficult to catch a branch overhead, particularly thinner branches.

I want to treat myself to a trip to Lee Valley tools this winter to try and find sturdier loppers for the winter "knock back the grapevines, lilacs, and buckthorn" season. I'd keep the fiskars, but probably mostly use them for larger branches rather than most of what i cut, which is <1".