At 66 my husband was able to use this saw at full 27 feet. You may ask if there were some moments that we said OOOOHHHHH NOOOO. Yes, however all went well. You must put the extensions on as it is raised against the tree one at a time as well as breaking it down to make it easier to get started. The best advise we can give is to try to get to the top most frond (you may need to cut a path) and work your way down- many times he actually was cutting three at once which was nice. Once you get it cutting to prevent bounce which gives NO cutting simply very small up and down allowing the blade to do the work-you can feel it without looking. Once you get a cut going the cutter can stop looking up as the neck does get tired. The spotter can see perfectly and can notify as you get through the frond. If you start at the top the fronds above create a bumper for blade creating bounce and even preventing the blade from making contact. Be awarea pole that tall can begin to become hard to control if you get to much motion as you move- cars, wires, our tile roof and windows were our concerns. Only a couple of times did he let it slowly drop to the ground (which was a tense moment). The pole is flexible as it needs to be the blade has flexibility as well (it can bind or get stuck on other fronds). We agree this is the best 72.00 we have spent on a tool that we hope not to use many more times in our life. We did not get the one with the cutting tool we have one and knew for this application it would get in the way.