It's all well and good getting your garden into shape – cutting grass, pruning bushes, and maybe even reshaping some trees – but it inevitably leads to a lot of loose ends. There's only one real solution: finding the best garden shredder to make quick work of the assortment of greenery left behind.
To help you find the very best, we're comparing two excellent shredders: the Bosch AXT 25 TC and Einhell GH-KS 2440. You're likely already familiar with Bosch, the market leader for so many different things, but the Einhell is well worth a look.
Before we proceed, some words of caution. Not everyone needs a garden shredder; they are very powerful, quite scary machines that require extreme caution when operating, including wearing the right safety equipment. If you only plan on using it once a year or so, we recommend renting one instead.
But for anyone who needs a shredder, we've got you covered with these two fantastic options, both of which offer something slightly different that could better-fit your wants and needs. Let's dive in.
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Bosch AXT 25 TC vs Einhell GH-KS 2440: features
Before we go any further, we should note that the Bosch model is, on balance, the best on the market, especially if you plan on regularly shredding things. If you can spare the money, the AXT 25 TC is by far and away the best shredder going.
But that doesn't mean the Einhell is bad, especially if you're on something of a budget or only want to use the shredder once or twice per year.
In terms of features, the Bosch and Einhell are fairly evenly matched when it comes to the actual core task – shredding – but there are some key differences. For one thing, the Bosch, at 30.5kg, is a lot heavier than the Einhell, at 13.5kg, meaning that the latter is far more portable.
When in use, there is a big difference between the noise, too. Thanks to its drum-based crushing method, the AXT is by far and away the quieter of the two, to the point where it likely won't disturb your neighbours, while the GH-KS is really, really loud as the blades slice through everything in their path.
Both of them can handle decent loads, although we wouldn't recommend pushing either one beyond its limit, especially with tricky-to-cut-up items like tree branches. The Bosch has a cutting capacity of 45mm while the Einhell can cut up to 40mm, so pretty evenly matched.
Perhaps the biggest difference, besides the overall noise, is the lack of collection box on the Einhell. The Bosch comes with a 53 litre collection box, easily big enough for a wide variety of shredded items, while you'll need to provide your own for the Einhell.
Bosch AXT 25 TC vs Einhell GH-KS 2440: design and use
As we mentioned above, the Bosch and Einhell shredders use a different technique for the actual hard work. On the one hand, Bosch uses a quiet and effective drum method, powered by an electric 2,500-watt turbine, which effectively crushes everything inside.
On the other, Einhell's 2440 uses a more traditional – and much louder – spinning blade method, powered by a 2,000-watt motor, which basically rips apart anything in its path while making a lot of noise and feeling a bit more dangerous. Be very careful to keep hands well away and avoid holding onto anything that's being shredded.
On balance, we prefer the Bosch's method, both because it works just as well as a blade-based shredder and because it's really, really quiet. Your neighbours will likely never know you're shredding with the Bosch, and the same cannot be said for the Einhell.
In our testing, both the Bosch and Einhell performed really well with a huge variety of different things to shred, from big branches to an entire fig tree, fruit and all. As long as you stay within the guidelines, you're good to go with either model, even for pretty high-intensity tasks.
Bosch AXT 25 TC vs Einhell GH-KS 2440: verdict
While both the Bosch and Einhell are excellent shredders that get the job done, on balance we have to recommend the Bosch simply because it's more of a capable all-rounder, making little noise while getting the shredding done.
For the money, the Einhell is fantastic value and absolutely delivers in the core areas, but for us the lack of built-in collection box creates more of a faff than necessary and the sheer volume of noise coming out of it when in motion made us wish we had the Bosch around.
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