The Felco 322 Snips Are Surprisingly Strong for Their Size – This Lightweight Tool Can Handle More Than You’d Expect

Having the right tool for the right task makes a big difference. Yes, you can use pruning shears for small-scale cutting, but trust me, using trimming snips is just a better, easier experience hands-down. That is what I found trying out the Felco 322 snips.

I am familiar with Felco pruning tools. I got a pair of F2 pruning shears handed to me on my first day as a gardener at Hidcote Manor Garden, and I still use them 12 years later. I know Felco makes quality shears, but I was intrigued by how their craftsmanship works on a smaller pruning tool.

Overall, I was not disappointed. The Felco 322 snips proved to be a strong, lightweight, and durable tool that excelled across a range of tasks I put them through. And I can see a long list of potential jobs for them (including precision trimming, harvesting, and deadheading) where they could become an essential gardening tool in many gardeners’ bags.

First Impressions

The Felco 322 snips are ready to use straight from the box. No assembly required, no sharpening needed, you can just pick up and go.

One of the first things I noticed was how comfortable they felt in my hand from the outset. The snips felt strong, but also lightweight, which is an ideal combo if you have a lot of trimming to go.

As a gardener who has used Felco pruning shears for many years, I know firsthand how strong the tools are, but almost straight away, I understood how beneficial the polyurethane shock absorbers would be in the long run.

I also appreciated the intuitive locking mechanism, but more on that later.

What I Tested The Snips On

I tested the Felco 322 snips on a range of different tasks. They are designed primarily for trimming greenhouse crops (such as tomatoes and chilies), viticulture (growing grapes), nurseries, florists, and home gardeners who need precise tools for precision pruning.

I have done lots of greenhouse growing, including maintaining grape vines, but it wasn’t the time of year for those tasks when I got my hands on the Felco 322.

However, I did find a range of tasks around my garden that were suitable for the tools. This includes snipping fresh growth on euonymus to shape the shrub, removing old pitchers on sarracenia carnivorous plants, pruning dead and damaged growth on a blueberry, and tidying up old stems on perennial plants.

As the Felco 322 snips are also designed for harvesting, I used them to harvest rosemary and mint from my plot.

The Cutting Performance

I found the snips consistently made clean cuts. Whether it was fresh, soft stems or woodier ones, it didn’t need much pressure to cut the material cleanly. That was even the case up towards the upper end of the snips’ stated maximum cutting diameter. The snips sat comfortably in my hands and could easily be used one-handed.

The 1.9-inch straight-edged blades with rounded edges, which are the longest blades in the Felco range, made it really simple to cut in tighter spaces. You can really get the blades right in exactly where you need to cut, even into small gaps between other stems and leaves.

They slotted accurately into tiny spaces between sarracenia pitchers, allowing me to snip away the older ones, and there was no problem getting the snips into the right position to remove damaged and weak growth from the interior of the blueberry shrub.

I am convinced that these snips would be hugely beneficial, gently pruning tomato plants or harvesting tomatoes during the summer, or cutting bunches of grapes from the vine. Their flexibility and reach are really useful.

As someone who has spent a lot of time carefully cutting out side shoots and removing lower tomato foliage with pruning shears over the years, I am sure the long, straight blades of the Felco F22 snips would be perfect for this task, and many other fiddly greenhouse trimming tasks.

A Comfortable Snipping Experience

I snipped away happily, shaping the euonymus and trimming back perennials in my garden, for 30-40 minutes without feeling any fatigue or discomfort in my hands. The lightweight nature of the tool, the ergonomic handles, and the shock absorbers that cushioned each snip closing came together to create a pleasant pruning experience.

I have larger hands and felt no fatigue using the tool. But I am also confident that the smooth motion of the snips and shock absorbers would ensure that any gardener does not struggle with pain or fatigue using these tools.

The snips are well-weighted, and the steel handles feel sturdy during use. The cutting mechanism itself is smooth and consistent, and the safety locking mechanism is simple yet effective.

There is a plastic attachment that resembles a ring pull. One loop is attached through a hole in one handle, and a larger loop, into which you connect the other handle, keeps the tool locked.

It is a really simple locking mechanism to use, and it does work well. There is no risk of the handles accidentally opening when carried or stored, and the compact tool can be confidently placed into a pocket or tool bag when not in use.

Is It an Essential Piece of Kit?

A pair of pruning snips is a more specialist tool than regular pruning shears. The 10 mm maximum cutting diameter makes it suitable for smaller-scale gardening tasks, but if you consider the range of precise, lightweight trimming tasks you can use it for, I see no reason it can’t become a key part of your kit.

The Felco 322 is not a tool for your more general tree or shrub pruning. If the bulk of your annual pruning includes cutting tree branches, cutting large shrubs, or trimming hedges, a pair of trimming snips is not going to be too useful.

However, if you grow greenhouse vegetables, it is a great tool. It does not stop there, though; there is more to its arsenal than just greenhouse crops and grape vines; it can be used for cutting flowers to display, trimming back alpines that require a precision touch, deadheading flowers, harvesting any fruits and vegetables, finessing houseplants, and more.

On paper, it may seem like a specialist tool or even a luxury tool. True, you can use a pair of pruning shears for any of those tasks above, but you don’t have the same level of precision, and there is a greater chance of damaging plants or crops. If you have a smaller urban garden and grow vegetables, fruit, herbs, and flowers, it could become a valuable asset.

Felco is known for quality, professional-grade tools, and the 322 pruning snips offer this, but at a more budget-friendly price. You can get the Felco 322 pruning snips for under $20 at Amazon, which, in my view, is a sound investment if you commonly find yourself doing many of the jobs outlined above.

H&G Verdict

The Felco 322 pruning snips are best for precise, lightweight trimming tasks. These include harvesting fruits and vegetables, trimming greenhouse crops, deadheading, cutting flowers and other floristry jobs, and smaller pruning jobs in tighter spaces where precision is a necessity.

It is a strong tool despite its lightweight nature and comfortably makes clean cuts, even if cutting at more awkward angles to get the long blade into narrow gaps.

Despite being a more specialist tool, it does not break the bank, and the snips can be a reliable trimming tool for professionals and home gardeners alike.

Any pruning shears and snips will need sharpening during their lifespan. After lots of trimming, deadheading, harvesting, and more, a blade will get duller over time.

Our guide to how to sharpen pruning shears is full of useful advice to help you confidently give your tools some TLC. Personally, I like to have a handheld tool sharpener in my bag, like this garden tool sharpener at Amazon.

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