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Makita hedge trimmer buying guide

Updated: October 2026

A privet along a UK terrace has put on a summer of soft growth. You have opened amazon.co.uk, and the shelf has mixed a genuine Makita with housings that only claim to take a Makita battery. This Makita hedge trimmer buying guide keeps the questions in order: which battery you already own, how thick a stem the teeth should take, how long the bar needs to be, and only then the price. The ten listings are in the [Makita hedge trimmer comparison](/hub/lawn-and-garden-equipment/makita-hedge-trimmer). Peter F. compiled this in October 2026. No hedge was cut. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

A privet along a UK terrace has put on a summer of soft growth. You have opened amazon.co.uk, and the shelf has mixed a genuine Makita with housings that only claim to take a Makita battery.

Our top picks

Makita Makita DUH523RF LXT hedge trimmer with 3.0Ah battery

Best overall

Makita Makita DUH523RF LXT hedge trimmer with 3.0Ah battery
9.4/10about £199.41
View offer
KIESBOHR KIESBOHR CSL502 51 cm hedge trimmer for Makita 18V

Best value

KIESBOHR KIESBOHR CSL502 51 cm hedge trimmer for Makita 18V
9.2/10about £74.99
View offer
OHAISFELA OHAISFELA 52 cm cordless hedge trimmer for Makita 18V

Alternative

OHAISFELA OHAISFELA 52 cm cordless hedge trimmer for Makita 18V
9.2/10about £59.99
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.Start with the battery you already own
  2. 2.Match the bar to the hedge
  3. 3.Read the listing without mixing the numbers
  4. 4.A short shear is not a small DUH523

Start with the battery you already own

The first split is the pack, not the star rating. Makita's LXT hedge trimmers use 18 V slide batteries. XGT packs are a 40 V max system and do not fit that slide. G-series 18 V packs use a different connector, and the KIESBOHR bullets in this set say they do not fit. Only one row is branded Makita: the DUH523RF, at about £199.41, with a 3.0 Ah battery named in the title, a 520 mm blade and 4.7 from 1,254 ratings. If you already own an 18 V LXT pack, a bare bar can be the next tool. It is not a Makita because the title says for Makita. A UK reviewer of the OHAISFELA 52 cm listing, at about £59.99 with no battery, said they had thought the tool itself was Makita. If you own no pack and no charger, that price is the trimmer only. Finish that sum on the bare tool or kit page.

Match the bar to the hedge

Length and opening do different jobs. Makita UK's DUH523 sheet specifies a 520 mm blade and a 15 mm maximum opening, with 26 mm tooth spacing and 2,700 strokes per minute. The listing prints 520 mm and repeats 52 cm. It does not print the 15 mm opening. A 15 mm opening is the thickest stem that sheet says the teeth should take. The DUH601, at 600 mm and 23.5 mm, is not one of the ten rows. The CSL502, at about £74.99, prints a 51 cm cut and 16 mm tooth spacing. That spacing is the gap between teeth, not a 16 mm branch. If the top is above your shoulder, a longer handheld does not fix the reach. That is the tall hedges page.
Makita Makita DUH523RF LXT hedge trimmer with 3.0Ah battery

Testsieger

Makita Makita DUH523RF LXT hedge trimmer with 3.0Ah battery
9.4/10about £199.41
View offer

Read the listing without mixing the numbers

Blade length is how much hedge you take in one pass. Tooth spacing is the distance between teeth. Cutting capacity is how thick a stem the maker says will pass. On the DUH523RF listing, 52 cm beside 520 mm is the same length in different units. Marketplace rpm is not Makita's strokes per minute. The sheet states 2,700 strokes. One OHAISFELA bullet claims up to 22,000 rpm, and the 58 cm listing claims up to 3,000 rpm. Those two rows, at about £59.99 and about £68.99, print the same 4.6 from 155 ratings and the same review text. Count that sample once. The STEEIRO row, at about £49.99, has 4.3 from 12 ratings, no review text, and a bullet that calls it a brushless chainsaw.

A short shear is not a small DUH523

The set also holds short two-in-one tools. KIESBOHR's CSL303 is about £49.99, with a 220 mm hedge blade and an 8 mm branch claim, at 4.5 from 229 ratings. ConBlom's 0137-MT is about £49.99, with a 24 cm blade, at 4.0 from 13 ratings, and a reviewer says it fell apart on the third use. Bekasa's ZXK0222 is about £33.24, at 3.6 from 26 ratings, with bullets that say both Makita 18 V and 24 V Max, plus reports of a broken attachment and of smoke. None of those is a 50 cm hedge bar. BS EN 62841-4-2 covers hand-held hedge trimmers, including extended-reach tools, and its scope is not scissor-type grass shears. Use a short shear for shrubs if you already own a suitable pack. Once the tool is in the shed, the cut is on the how to use page.

Common questions

What blade length do I need for a normal garden hedge?
For a chest-high hedge of this year's growth, the genuine tool in this set is the 520 mm DUH523 class. A 600 mm bar with a 23.5 mm opening is the DUH601, and that model is not in this comparison. If the wood is thicker than the stated opening, a longer tooth gap on a third-party title does not close the gap.
What does a 15 mm opening actually limit?
On the Makita UK DUH523 sheet, 15 mm is the thickest stem the blades are specified to take. It is not the length of the bar. Soft new privet usually sits inside it. Forcing a harder stem from an earlier year is how the blades jam. The listing does not print 15 mm.
Is tooth spacing the same as cutting capacity?
No. Tooth spacing is the distance between teeth. Cutting capacity is how thick a stem the maker says will pass. The CSL502's 16 mm beside a 51 cm cut is the pitch of the teeth, not approval for a 16 mm branch. On the DUH523 sheet the two figures already differ: 26 mm tooth spacing and a 15 mm opening.
I already own Makita batteries. Does any 18 V pack fit?
No. LXT 18 V slide packs are the system on the DUH and DUN sheets. XGT 40 V max packs do not fit, and KIESBOHR's bullets exclude G-series. Check the code on the pack in your hand, such as BL1830 or the B-series codes on the 58 cm OHAISFELA. A pack that charges on your Makita charger is not automatically the pack a bare tool names.
Why is a £60 Makita listing not a Makita?
The about £59.99 OHAISFELA is titled for a Makita 18 V battery, and the brand on the tool is OHAISFELA. A UK review says the buyer had thought it was Makita. A third-party housing does not inherit Makita's warranty. The shared 155-rating line with the 58 cm OHAISFELA is one sample, not two.

Related pages

Makita hedge trimmer comparison

Bare tool or kit

Pole hedge trimmer for tall hedges

How to use a Makita hedge trimmer

Best Makita hedge trimmer: top pick and best value

Sources

Makita UK product sheets, the British Standard for hedge trimmers, HSE guidance, the Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005, GOV.UK hedgerow rules and the RSPB. Prices, stars and review counts are from the amazon.co.uk listings. Checked on 23 October 2026.

  1. Makita UK DUH523 sheet (retrieved 23 October 2026)
  2. Makita UK DUH523Z sheet (retrieved 23 October 2026)
  3. Makita UK DUN500W pole hedge trimmer (retrieved 23 October 2026)
  4. BS EN 62841-4-2:2019+A1:2022 (retrieved 23 October 2026)
  5. HSE INDG480, vibration in horticulture (retrieved 23 October 2026)
  6. Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005, regulation 4 (retrieved 23 October 2026)
  7. GOV.UK, hedgerow management rules: cutting and trimming (retrieved 23 October 2026)
  8. RSPB, birds' nests and nestboxes (retrieved 23 October 2026)