Pros:

1) Exceptionally light. Six pounds, but feels like two.

2) Long cutting bar for the weight.

3) Outstanding balance. The battery's position is perfect. The great balance makes the unit feel lighter than it is.

4) It's cordless! Not worrying about nicking/cutting your power cords as you maneuver around makes a tremendous difference.

5) Good battery life of about forty minutes. If you own any other 14.4 volt B&D products, this is a great addition to the arsenal and you can always use the other tools' batteries in this one. Keep a few charged and you can go for a long while.

6) Maintains cutting power even as the battery drains. The unit will cut to the absolute bitter end.

7) The motor really torques. Plenty of power to tear through shrubbery, even for a battery-powered unit.

8) Very quiet, even for an electric model.

9) Good value for the money.

Cons:

1) Iffy "on" mechanism. You push a spring-loaded switch forward and squeeze a hand-sized trigger at the same time. But the switch catches if the handle is not squeezed fully. A bit awkward and cheap feeling.

2) Hand guard design has some minor issues. It's effective, but despite being translucent it blocks a portion of the view of the cutting bar, while also extending far over the bar. This makes the bar seem shorter than it is. There is a good six inches or more close to the unit's body that you tend to forget about. That's how accidents happen.

3) Feels so light it makes you wonder how durable it is. Only time can tell here.

4) Not always a "one pass" trimmer. Keep in mind that this is a light to medium duty trimmer. While it does work well, you will still have to do a few passes over particularly dense shrubbery.

In summary, I am very happy with the CHT500. It does everything I want and the lack of cord enables me to wander my acreage with impunity, striking fear in the heartwood of bushes therein.

Highly recommended.

False advertising: The American way? (Rating: 1.00)
Review : I'm looking for a hedge trimmer to replace my venerable Black & Decker 16" corded electric hedge trimmer. When I saw this B&D cordless hedge trimmer (CHT500) advertised "Removable 14.4v FireStorm battery interchanges with other 14.4v FireStorm products," I thought it would be perfect because I also own a B&D 14.4 volt FireStorm cordless drill. I already have two battery packs for my drill, so three packs would provide ample power to trim my back hedges and bushes in front. I researched the trimmer on B&D's Web site, but it had a number of contradictions. (22" blade and 24" blade advertised on the same page--it has a 22" blade. 14.4v and 18.0v advertised on the same page--it's 14.4v. Maybe that's why I didn't believe it when it listed the PS140 battery under Accessories.) I ordered it from Amazon.com and even with free Super Saver Shipping, it arrived in only three days!

Imagine my irritation (and vocabulary) when I saw the battery was, in fact, nothing like the batteries for my 14.4v FireStorm cordless drill! The trimmer uses a PS140 Type 3 (push-in) and the drill uses an FSB14 (slide-on). They're nothing alike (except for being 14.4v.

The instructions state that the battery is shipped in a run-down condition, not a fully-discharged condition, so it only requires a 3-hour charge. I charged it for three hours, and, Saturday morning, I went outside and fired it up. It cut great! Having no cord is great! Unfortunately, it died after a mere 15 minutes. (Their Web site says its charge lasts 40 minutes.) Well, at least I got one bush done. Too bad I have five more bushes and about ninety feet of honeysuckles to trim. Now you can see why I liked the idea of three battery packs.

I thought that maybe the instructions are wrong and it actually shipped fully-discharged (which requires an 8-hour charge), so I charged it for eight hours. Sunday morning, I went out to tackle the rest of the hedges. I was outside for 45 minutes before it died. If I'm generous, it ran for the advertised 40 minutes, and I was able to do four evergreen bushes and part of an I-don't-know-what-it-is bush, but I had to finish up with my electric trimmer. I still haven't gotten to the honeysuckles.

My wife drove to the local B&D location and returned it. They accepted it without a problem. We'll see how quickly B&D sends me a check.

I've since bought the corded electric 24" Hedge Hog trimmer (HS2400). Read my review of it to see if I can avoid cutting the extension cord...

CHT500 summary:
Cuts well, even 3/8" woody branches.
Sometimes you need multiple passes--as with any trimmer.
I like the design and the balance.
The handles are comfortable and easy to use horizontally and vertically.
Includes a vinyl blade sheath (which the HS2400 does not--why?).
Cuts about twenty feet of 3-foot tall evergreen bushes in a single charge.
If you want more than 40 minutes of runtime, buy an electric trimmer.

Good for the $$ (Rating: 5.00)
Review : First off I found it to be a great hedge trimmer for the $$ buck. Pretty well made and despite what "one" person wrote in another review it "does" seem to fit all the 14v firestorm tools I found at a leading hardware store.If you don't want to deal with a cord, or another gas powered tool I would BUY it!

Sufficient Hedge Trimmer (Rating: 4.00)
Review : This hedge trimmer does a sufficient job. It sometimes requires going back over spots several times to get it to cut the evergreens, depending on the type of evergreen. I have lots of shrubs and the charge lasts long enough for me to get all the trimming done. Doesn't work well on small stick-like bushes.

Exactly what I Expected (Rating: 5.00)
Review : Received my hedge trimmer yesterday and I am very pleased. Just cut the forsythia and shrubs in my yard. No problems. Nice long cutting blade for those tough to reach spots. Light weight. Trigger mech took some getting used to, but it improves safety. Very nice not having to get out the extension cord and worry about cutting it!

Convenience requires use of common sense when it comes to storing. Keep free hand on the handle since there is no extension cord to hold.

Exactly what I was looking for. Quick easy maintenance of the shrubs.

Fatal flaw of all Black and Decker 14.4V tools... (Rating: 3.00)
Review : Worked pretty good for a cordless hedge trimmer. Maybe not as well as a plug-in trimmer but it's worth it not to have to mess with the cord...
Unfortunately, like all 14.4V Black and Decker tools, once the battery charger goes, the tool is worthless!!!
You cannot get a replacement charger!
In fact the only reason I bought this tool was for the charger to replace the one for my FireStorm tools.

When will Black and Decker/Dwalt wake up and sell just replacement chargers, or even a replacement charger/battery combo??

Until it happens, I'm done with their tools, and their website ... for service too.....