Gardena 8918 Hand Rake Combi System

This tool saves me from back pain from picking up pears and apples by hand as I previously had to do. I don't have to get too close to the hornets and yellow Jackets loving on the fallen fruit either. For that in itself I love it! I gave this 4 stars for 2 reasons. 1st being the size of my fruit, and the compatibility of this tool with larger fruits [not a clue what kind/type of apples or pears they are, but they're girthy ;) ] It picks them up without too much effort unless you try to go for gold, and fill the cage up before emptying. The bigger fruit bends the plastic cage open enough where you stop picking fruit up and start letting the collected ones out. It takes 3 or 4 fruit (of my size which the premature apples are roughly 5 inches across unlike the smaller ones seen in the advertisements for this. The pears are slightly larger than the apples) before you have to dump it. Not too much of an issue, but I was hopeful for more collection before dumping. My 2nd gripe was the price. Even with the vendor I purchased this from (was not directly from Amazon warehouse, but a 3rd party vendor) spending $100 for this seems a tad on the high side for some silly reason. The vendor I went with included a handle with the purchase where as Gardena only seems to sell the rolling cage as is for ~$70 then you have to purchase a combi system handle which isnt too far off depending on the style of handle. Gardena seems to be the "Nike" of gardening products so you're paying more for the name than the utility of it... Even though I saved a few bucks with the cage & handle system, other brands have similar items for half the cost with everything you need included (other brands seemed to be targeted towards walnuts and small items). This unit has the single fruit scoop/emptying area where as similar items did not. That was another big reason why I spent more to get this rather than a different brand. All in all, it is a very useful tool and it's handiness mostly outweighs my gripes. The scoop/emptying area will save yourself from bending down to open the cage to release the fruit and hurt your back. Just lift it up and turn to it on its side over a bucket or preferably a wheel barrow.

The media could not be loaded.  I have an old apple tree in my yard that doesn't produce edible apples, and it makes such a mess on my lawn. For years it was such a pain to pick up the apples. Now with this fruit collector, my life is so much better. Check out how much better my life is in this video.

The wife didn't want me to get it because of the price. She used it once and said "Best purchase ever!"

This nut gatherer is amazing! It does a FANTASTIC job picking up our walnuts. We highly recommend also buying the handle (priced separately).....the handle is very sturdy and sharp looking....and you can start picking up nuts right away! It’s pricey up front, but it has paid for itself over and over again. A good tool is worth its weight in gold and this is one of those tools. For years we have picked up walnuts in our back yard by hand. We finally invested in this tool and we LOVE it. The discharge chute on the side is another GREAT feature that makes the process faster, saves on the back, and also prevents your hands from getting stained! (We have not found any other nut gatherer that has this discharge chute feature, and we would not want to give up this feature because of the three advantages previously stated.) My husband and I used to pick up walnuts together, and now we argue who gets to do the job! He LOVES having his morning coffee while listening to the birds and rolling the nut gatherer along to pick up our walnuts. Who would have ever thought that picking up walnuts could actually be relaxing!!!????

I am partial to Gardena! I've been using this brand since I can remember; I started with shears, later with battery operated trimmers, corded ones, and any kind of garden objects I could find living in Canada for several years. After the crisis of 2008 - I don't know why- Gardena seemed to disappear from the market. I've tried several other brands with awful results. I want to thank Amazon for having them again. In this particular case (hoe combi) the tool is very well balanced, it goes like shown in the photos, -short- or, eventually, in the long combi pole, allowing the user to work far from the soil -it's my case-. Also, it is light on the weight so I can manage for longer time without hurting my back or my arms. Possible it is a little more expensive, but for me at least, it is worth it. Yes, I would recommend it.

Ok...So we have been going to the family orchard for decades to pick up after the tenant farmer harvests. We have used a variety of other tools to spare our back. The POSITIVE for this model, The dumping mechanism works great. That was always the drawback for the nut weasel models. The NEGATIVE? It drops nuts almost as fast as picking them up. You can get 10-12 walnuts in there before they start falling out through the cage as you open it to pick up more. On Level ground it is pretty good. Rough ground, not so much. They need to fix that hampster wheel of theirs to make this a 5 star.OH dont forget to buy the handle too. Expensive.

This thing is great! We had a huge crop of black walnuts in our yard this year and this tool made quick work (it was actually kinda fun) of collecting them and depositing them into the wheelbarrow. Though made of mostly plastic its fairly sturdy. The discharge chute makes this tool easier to use than similar tools without one - not having to bend down and get your hands all full of whatnot when separating the tines of the basket to release its contents made this collector a great choice for us. The 4 stars are for having to buy a rather pricy, but flimsy proprietory handle separately. Nonetheless, I highly recommend this fruit collector.

Very light and easy to finesse in tight spaces. For an older person like me, the light weight is extremely important to stave of fatigue and be able to work longer. I've owned one of these since the late '80s when I bought it in Germany. It's beat up but still works fine. This one will ultimately go to the next generation of gardeners in my family.

Works well if the apples are ready to drop.However, if not then it is difficult to twist the picker when its telescopic handle is fully extended.It is also difficult to collect all of the apples in a tight clump as the group will not fit in the catcher.If you try to pick off one from the clump then you run the risk of the remaining apples falling.

Excellent product for retrieving hard to reach fruit and harvesting from fruit trees and bushes.

Excellent. Should have bought it years ago.

It a very handy invention and this is not bad quality.

No firm views yet, apple tree is only 1.5 m tall.