HSM shredstar X5 3/16 x 1 1/8 plus separate CD cutting unit - HSM1043w

The HSM shredstar X5 is the entry point to P-4 security in HSM's range: 3/16 x 1 1/8 inch particles, five sheets a pass, 9.26 lb, and a 125 W motor. It is deliberately small. Where the S10 alongside it trades security for speed, the X5 does the opposite — it gives up half the sheet capacity of the strip-cut model in the same chassis in exchange for a cut size of 135 square millimetres that satisfies most written shredding policies. Five sheets is a real limit and worth taking seriously before you buy.

Key Features

• P-4 particle cut at 4.5 x 30 mm. 135 square millimetres per particle, comfortably inside the DIN 66399 P-4 ceiling of 160. This is the security class most organisations specify as their minimum for documents containing personal data.
• Separate CD cutting unit. A second slot with its own cutter and its own collection tray handles CDs, DVDs and plastic cards. Disc fragments stay out of the paper bin, and the paper cutting head never sees polycarbonate.
• Handles staples and paper clips. HSM lists both among the shreddable materials, so you do not need to de-staple routine paperwork.
• Light-barrier automatic operation. The motor starts as paper enters and stops shortly after the throat clears; there is no switch to hold down.
• Automatic reverse. Overfeed the throat and the head reverses the stack out rather than stalling with paper trapped in the blades.
• 4.8 gallon bin, approximately 225 sheets. Particle waste compacts better than strip waste, so despite the small bin the X5 holds nearly twice as many sheets as the strip-cut S10 in the same 4.8 gallon container.

Specifications

Specifications taken from HSM's published technical data for article number 1043123. HSM does not publish warranty terms on the datasheet for this article, so no warranty figure is stated here.

What's in the Box

HSM publishes no itemised packing list for the X5. The datasheet confirms the shredder head with integrated separate CD cutting unit, the 4.8 gallon waste container and the inspection window in the housing. Bags and lubricant are not part of the stated scope of delivery.

Who Should Buy This — and Who Should Not

Buy the X5 if you are one person, you shred a handful of pages at a time, and P-4 is a requirement rather than a preference. It is the lightest and least expensive way to get a compliant cut size with a separate disc cutter, and the 225-sheet bin means it is not constantly asking to be emptied.

Do not buy it if you routinely shred more than a few pages in one go. Five sheets is genuinely five sheets, and a stapled four-page report with a cover sheet is already at the limit. If your batches are bigger, the shredstar X8 is the same chassis, same bin, same throat width and same P-4 cut at 8 sheets with a 250 W motor, and the shredstar X10 raises that to 10 sheets with a taller 5.3 gallon bin.

Do not buy it if your policy specifies P-5. The X5 is P-4 and no amount of slow feeding changes the particle size. The shredstar X6pro is the closest sibling that clears P-5, cutting 1/16 x 5/8 inch at six sheets on the same 8.66 inch throat.