Black Friday and Cyber Monday are notoriously bad for gardening deals, but I spotted my favorite five-star rated pruning saw at its best price ever

The Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales aren't well known for having many decent gardening deals. It's the wrong time of year, as few of us are gardening, and the knock-on effect is that most tool manufacturers have little stock, so there's no real reason to put any of their products on sale.

However, there are exceptions, and every so often you can find a gardening gem in amongst the avalanche of cheap headphones and air fryers. I've tested lots of the best essential gardening tools, including plenty of pruning saws. However, I think one stands head and shoulders above the rest.

I spotted my favorite pruning saw at a much lower price than it should be. For just $20 – half the usual price – you can grab a lightweight but tough pruning saw. Unfortunately, this deal has just ended, but there are some other options worth exploring.

What's the deal?

ARS PM 21 Pruning Saw | Was $22.38, now $20.85 at Amazon

This didn't look like a huge discount on Amazon, but it was a full $20 cheaper than anywhere else you can buy this saw. Unfortunately, the deal was so popular that it's just sold out - you'll have to put it on your wishlist.

Instead, consider the ARS SA-21ODX, available at Amazon. I haven't tested this, so I can't common on how comfortable it is, but all the ARS blades I've tried are tough and give a great cut, so it should be a good alternative.

View Deal

Is the saw any good?

This is my favorite pruning saw I've ever tested. It's packed with clever features that make it easier to use than any other pruning saw I've used.

Firstly – and most importantly – this pruning saw is very effective. It can saw through tough branches like they aren't even there. It gives one of the best cuts I've ever seen from a pruning saw, and certainly the best from any folding pruning saw I've tried. If you want the cleanest cut possible to prevent disease, you need this pruning saw.

All that strength is even more impressive when you consider the lightness of this pruning saw. When I first took it out of the box, I thought it was cheap, Amazon-quality junk – it felt flimsy. However, it's just a clever design. The blade is high-carbon steel, but the handle is aluminum, so it only weighs 6oz. It's one of the lightest pruning saws I've ever tried, yet one of the toughest.

It has the best out-of-the-box safety catch I've ever used. Without having to oil it, the catch is perfectly balanced. Unlike some folding pruning saws I've used, it isn't so loose that the catch falls open, which can be a big safety hazard. Nor is it too stiff – some folding pruning saws need oiling so that they aren't too stiff to open. This is perfectly balanced - you can open it with a flick of a wrist, but it isn't so loose that it will open dangerously in your pocket.

The handle is comfortable, too. Most pruning saws I've tried start to rub uncomfortably with repeated pruning, but this saw held up for hours. The grip is very effective, and your hands won't slip as you use it.

What are the drawbacks?

There are some tiny drawbacks to this saw. The big one is that the handle is solid black. That sounds like a small aesthetic issue, but black handles can be a real pain when gardening. If you drop this into shrubbery or onto a lawn it can be hard to spot it against dark green plants or soil.

Another is that its availability is a little limited in the States. Like all good gardening tools, it has spare parts available so that you can keep the tool maintained and in good working order. However, these parts are often only available in Europe, so it might be expensive to import a part that's usually only $5.

Other deals

Of course, this ARS saw isn't the only one worth considering. There's some other pruning saws on sale that I think you should consider:

Corona RazorTOOTH Folding Pruning Saw: was $39.99 now $29.98 at Amazon

This saw is also pretty good. The curved blade means that it can get a good grip on branches and cut through them faster than straight-blade saws. However, the handle is a little uncomfortable, it can be stiff to open, and it's more expensive than the ARS PM 21 saw.

View Deal

ARS CAM-24 PRO Pruning Saw: was $37.70 now $34.54 at Amazon

If you need to do some serious pruning, you need this heavy-duty pruning saw. One of my other favorites, it's tough and effective, and the trigger grip makes it easier to saw through thick hardwood.

However, unlike the PM 21, this saw doesn't fold. While it comes with handy leg holster, it's much less convenient than a pocket-sized saw.

View Deal

Good pruning needs good tools, and a pruning saw is only the start. It's also smart to buy the best pruners you can, and learn when to prune trees for the best results.