Last Friday I filled half a wheely bin with cuttings and my hand and back ached. I used a top flight manual secateurs.
On Saturday I filled a whole wheely bin with cuttings using my new Bosch Ciso. No effort, no aches. Quicker, too.
At first sight this is an expensive luxury but if you have a large garden, and particularly if your grip isn't what it once was, this tool is a little gem. It is comfortable to use and the maximum thickness of stem is easily determined by the fixed guides (black in the photo). After a full bin of cuttings - it must have been several hundred - the battery showed no sign of run down and only once or twice did the thing take a fraction longer to cut through thick branches. Recharging was quick.
On the basis of a couple of years experience with the similarly powered Bosch screwdriver, this should hold its charge for a long time and should always be ready for use. (That screwdriver is also a little gem, tiny and ideal for women - though I noticed that my central heating man carries one in his tool bag.)