Milwaukee has come out with a new compact cordless chainsaw, the perfectly named M12 Fuel Hatchet (model 2527). The new Hatchet is a 6″ pruning saw, designed to be compact for unmatched control and access and with the power to cut up to 3″ hardwood branches.
The new Milwaukee Hatchet offers greater accessibility and maneuverability in tight spaces, and weighs less than 5 lbs. It’s said to be up to 5X faster than hand saws.
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The cordless Hatchet is shown off being used one-handed to cut up a downed tree branch, while the user’s braces the branch with their other hand. This is something you can’t easily or safely do with a full-sized chainsaw, or even reciprocating saws.
But it’s still powerful enough for cutting large branches.
The new Milwaukee cordless Hatchet features a brushless motor, variable speed trigger, automatic oiler, and a guarded auxiliary handle placement.
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- 6″ Oregon Bar & Chain
- Full House Chain
- Speed: 5 m/s
- Chain Gauge: .043″
- Chain Pitch: 3/8″ Low Profile
- Automatic Oiler
- Easy Access Chain Tensioner
- Metal Bucking Spikes
- Variable Speed Trigger
- Onboard Scrench Storage
- 18.49″ length
- 9.12″ height
- 3.76″ width
- Weighs 4.85 lbs w/battery
- 3-year warranty
The new Hatchet pruning saw will be available as a kit (2527-21) and as a bare tool (2527-20).
The kit comes with an XC 4.0Ah battery and M12 charger.
Runtime is said to be up to 120 cuts in 2″ oak.
Price: $179 for the bare tool, $249 for the kit
ETA: August 2020
Buy Now: Bare Tool via CPO Tools
Buy Now: Bare Tool via Tool Nut
Buy Now: Kit via Tool Nut
Buy Now: Kit via CPO Tools
Discussion
The new Milwaukee Hatchet definitely wasn’t expected, but a compact cordless chainsaw does make a lot of sense for lighter pruning tasks.
It looks to be a very comfortable size, and the 3″ cutting capacity seems sufficient for pruning and even some storm cleanup jobs.
The Hatchet makes Bosch’s EU NanoBlade chainsaw look downright puny in comparison, although the comparison is as unfair as pitting a two-handled lopper against a small one-handed pruner.
The M12 Fuel Hatchet looks to be a cross between their M12 and M18 Fuel Hackzall compact reciprocating saws, and their full-sized M18 Fuel chainsaw. The M12 battery helps to keep things compact, and fits in with Milwaukee’s philosophy of coming out with hand tool replacements.
Will this take the place of hand tools? Larger chainsaws? Reciprocating saws equipped with pruning blades? Perhaps not entirely, but it looks like it’ll take on a lot of the more tedious and fatiguing pruning tasks with relative ease.
Although my initial thoughts were that the Hatchet could be especially well-suited for landscapers or others who prune thick bushes and smaller trees more than I do, I am increasingly liking the idea that it can possibly be used one-handed at times, and it certainly does look like a time and effort saver.
Safety-wise, the primary and auxiliary handles are guarded.
I haven’t used cordless, electric, or gas engine chainsaws enough to consider how this will compare to larger full-size models, but to me it looks like a bump up in power, convenience, and ease compared to manual tools or reciprocating saws.
Other compact chainsaw cutting solutions exist, such as the Craftsman cordless lopper that evolved from the Black & Decker Alligator.
There’s also the Worx JawSaw.
But those tools are more aimed at homeowners and more casual users, while the Milwaukee is going to be designed for more rigorous and frequent use by landscaping professionals and other such users. A tree service company won’t trade in any of their traditional saws for this one, but this could perhaps be a strong complement.
The Hatchet looks to be a solid new brushless cordless addition to the M12 and M12 Fuel lineups. It’s compact, powerful for its size, runtime specs seem good, and I can’t think of any features it might be lacking. What are your thoughts?
Robert
Now AvE will have a new mini-chainsaw to open up boxes with. The Bosch is cuter though.
Skye A Cohen
Haha that’s what I was thinking too
Pablo
It’s skookum.
Lance
A 6” saw rated to cut 3” branches sounds pretty weak. That’s like if Ego rated their 18” chainsaw to cut 9” branches… what would be the point of the long bar?
This would have been better on the M18 platform IMO. Maybe then they could have rated it to cut 5” branches.
Stuart
A 7-1/4″ circular saw can’t cut a 7-1/4″ tall wood board in one pass. Why would/should this be any different?
Big Richard
C’mon, that’s a little different. A circ saw blade only has about half its diameter available for cutting, where a chainsaw bar has its entire length (minus a little bit for the bar attachment). Physically speaking this could cut about 6″ if you wanted, it just might bog down the motor a bit, whereas physically a 7 1/4″ circ saw CANNOT cut about 7 1/4″.
But to Lance, any chainsaw is usually best (safest) for 2″ or 3″ inches under its bar length. It just so happens that a few inches under 6″ is 50%. it doesn’t mean that a larger saw would also be 50% capacity of length. To your example with an EGO 18″ saw, most manufacturers will tell you that an 18″ saw is good for trees up to around 16″ diameter. Sure you can go bigger, you can cut from both sides of a tree and cut up to a 36″ diameter tree if you really want to. But it’s not really recommended with a battery powered homeowner saw. Same story here. I’ve got a 12″ top handle, I use it for 8″-10″ branches max usually.
Stuart
My circular saw analogy is majorly flawed, but I couldn’t think of anything more accurate or appropriate.
I could be wrong, but it doesn’t look to me that you have 6″ of cutting bar length.
With some chainsaws, the max cutting capacity is just 1/2″ or so less than the bar length, but a lot of brands also don’t specify any such specs.
With a circular saw with say maximum cutting capacity of 2-1/2″, you’re not going to be able to rip-cut hardwood of that thickness at the same speed as you could a 3/4″ thick board.
The main limitation here is definitely going to be related to the 12V-class motor and battery size. The 3″ cutting capacity could very well be conservative, with larger cuts possible if you take things slowly and carefully.
Milwaukee could have alternatively omitted any cutting capacity spec or went with an inflated spec that ignored the speeds at which users would want to work. It’s also possible the spec is conservative due to how it’s shown being used one-handed. Perhaps attempting larger cuts one-handed could lead to significantly less controllable and unsafe levels of kickback.
If I had to guess, it would be that it *could* potentially cut thicker branches, but not at the performance users would be satisfied with.
Until production units ship out, we won’t know what that theoretical maximum would be. If the Hatchet is traditionally designed, the capacity should be within maybe half an inch of the 6″ bar length, but from the images so far it looks a little shorter to me.
Or maybe I’m extrapolating based on Hackzall geometries and dimensions?
Big Richard
Agreed, it probably has about 5″ of cutting length.
Dust
Longer bar, more teeth, more cuts before dulling. That would be my bet.
alex bedenis
Haha i was thinking the same thing
David
At this scale, I’d likely just use my cordless Sawzall. I use my Ryobi 10″ cordless chainsaw for larger branches where that just won’t cut it, and I’m pondering whether I want a larger chainsaw for big logs and future chainsaw milling.
A performance test for a range of these would be pretty handy!
Lewis
The problem with sawzall style pruning blades is the sawzall stroke length. Sure they’re sharp, work extremely great on 1-2” exposed branches. Besides that, not that great.
This will be smaller than any sawzall based solution, and not limited to which way you insert the blade. I’d say my Milwaukee sawzall with a 12” Diablo pruning blade is bigger, heavier, and less capable of cutting than this thing will be. I’ve already committed to buying it because:
•More powerful than competition-small branch class
•Larger cutting capacity than pruning shears
•More capable/agile than pruning shears
•Less strain on my bad back than the pruning shears
Definitely not a chainsaw replacement, but I’m going to use it for a pruning shear replacement.
Tim B.
You know, I was attracted to this post because of the M12 chainsaw, obviously (being heavily invested in the M12 ecosystem)…. but that first alternative you mentioned, the craftsman 20V “alligator lopper”, that to me is the show-stopper. I did not know such a thing existed!
I was an early user of the corded Black & Decker version of the alligator lopper, and it quickly became one of my absolute favorite yard tools… and still works fine to this day. A brother who is a professional gardener laughed at it when I first showed it to him… but after an afternoon of working at a relative’s house with it, he immediately went out and bought 2 for himself and his crew (because the performance was so good, and a whole lot safer to have one of those lashed to your belt when climbing a tree vs. a regular corded chainsaw). Honestly, seeing that alternative has got me thinking it might be time to upgrade to that 20V craftsman despite the Milwaukee offering!
Big Richard
Black & Decker also has a cordless 20v Alligator (LLP120), in addition to their corded models.
James C
When I saw the email subject line from Tool Nut this morning, “new milwaukee m12 fuel hatchet” I thought it was some kind of joke. This really came out of nowhere and caught me off guard. Between this blog, others, and a few youtube channels, I feel like I’m usually ahead of the curve with new tool releases. Anyway, interesting tool. I’ve gotten my father-in-law hooked on m12 and he’s an orchardist so I wonder what he thinks about this.
Stuart
There were some leaks (e.g. Home Depot Canada) and I believe the patents were discovered and discussed, but today was the first official announcement. With NPS20 being cancelled, you’re going to see a lot more unexpected new tool announcements. Hmm, maybe we should have another predictions post?
Aaron
doresoom did a video on the patents March 2019. Of course lots of things that have patents don’t turn into products…
Ryan
You ought to be on Instagram, that’s where most of the tool leaks are hitting first these days, in my experience.
Doresoom
I predicted this one on YouTube over a year ago, after I found the patent for it! I missed the release date though, projecting it for NPS19.
Brian
It will be interesting to see it in use. The typical kickback zone of a chainsaw occupies about 1/3 of the usable length of the bar. I’m assuming this is a low kickback bar with a similar semi chisel style chain and the unit doesn’t generate too much torque. That said, you could easily complete a cut and end up in your leg, foot or whatever with this thing.
Its small size and single handed operation could see it get used in some less than ideal situations from a safety perspective. How many people do your see wearing proper PPE like chaps work this thing?
Most of my time with a saw is a 60cc gas unit so I maybe my perspective is ‘off’.
Just a thought
Stuart
I think it’s no mistake that the models in the demo photos are wearing jeans and a t-shirt.
Big Richard
Finally, I’ve been thinking about buying the Stihl GTA 26 since it was announced, but didn’t necessarily want another battery platform. I’ve been holding out hoping the patents for this tool would see the light of day.
James
I was going to mention the Stihl, which appears to be smaller. Personally I am not interested in Stihl battery lineup, M12 is much more appealing.
Big Richard
Same here, though I’d like to see how it performs compared to the Stihl.
Matt J.
Same…got a chance to play with one at my local dealer and it’s awesome, but reluctant to get into a one-off battery platform. I (unfortunately) invested in Bosch’s 12V way back, but this is another incentive to start the switch.
I can see this being a great one-handed pruning tool, especially if you need to work off a ladder. I’d love to see one of these be able to be mounted on an extension pole. I love my Silky Hayauchi and it’s 20′ of extension, but it would be nice to have something in between without having to add another tool (like the 20v pole saw) for the little bit of work that would fit between the two.
Greg
This is a much better choice over the Stihl. I bought it when it first came out. Stihl only has the 2.0ah 3 cell battery available. You buy the kit with only one. I have waited 4 months for my extras and as of today was told its likely to be Christmas time before I see the order. One battery is not enough. I get 10 minutes max out of mine. Stihl also according to my dealers insight has no plans of any extended batteries. Covid is the reason for the wait for the extras or so they say.
The Stihl is manual oil only as well. You use an oil can and put oil on the chain every once and while. It’s really intended to be a pruner at best but people reviewing it have pushed it.
I’ll likely sell my Stihl at a loss to pick up this one.
Big Richard
The Stihl also has only a 1/4″ picco standard chain on a 4″ bar vs M12’s 3/8″lp full house chain on a 6″ bar. Gives the M12 a bit more cutting ability. The stihl does move faster at 8 m/s vs the M12’s 5 m/s.
Honestly, I’ll probably buy them both because they really do have different purposes. Stihl at home for small branch pruning, M12 at the cabin for the kids to help limb out downed trees.
Greg
Agreed they are for different purposes but either way the battery life just sucks on the Stihl and there’s no options around it at least this year until supply catches up for the normal batteries and if they decide to make an extended battery. Meanwhile there’s no end of options for Milwaukee batteries.
I was going to 3D print an adapter to put a Milwaukee M12 in the Stihl but they have some odd data lines on the battery that won’t you do anything unless the right signal is coming across. If I spent enough time I could probably reverse engineer it but I decided to sell it instead for now.
If Stihl makes a better second gen unit or even extended battery options I’ll buy another because it was very handy for what I used it for. It was also safer than what this Milwaukee Hatchet looks to be. The Stihl has a safety cover over the top of the bar / chain while this Milwaukee has none. On the flip side the Milwaukee can easily do under cuts which means it’s more intended for bigger cutting. However I think you’d have to be very careful not to catch yourself one handed. Milwaukee M12 fuel brushless motors have a load of torque for what they are.
Big Richard
I have to think Stihl will offer a 3Ah 3 cell or 4Ah 6 cell sooner or later. But yes, it is disappointing that there is only one battery option at the time.
Chris
I see this squarely aimed at people using sawzalls with those jagged pruning blades.
I use the pole saw on the M18 platform and am thuroughly impressed with that, I could see this being a great complement for a tool like that.
I use an M18 fuel hackzall for that purpose now, but this will be slightly lighter and ideally faster, probably more useful too considering the limited fixed shoe and number of teeth used on a reciprocating saw.
I will still wait for reviews in case its a dud, but I have my expectations already set and I think this will be a convenient winner for DIYer’s.
Stuart, if you test this…can you see how it compares when cutting 2×4’s versus the m12 fuel circular saw and m12 fuel hackzall?
This might be really useful for making wood braces for framing small projects where precision is unimportant.
I hope this thing has a belt hook…I don’t see a picture of the left side.
jason
I can see this being used for camping/remote sites as well as comercial and home use. This would be great to toss in a bag and carry to your hunting lease or for clearing brush and debris around fence lines. When we visit our lease we typically carry a generator along so charging would not be too big of an issue.
Joe S
Maintaining trails was one of my first thoughts for this. Lighter, less to carry when keeping trails deep in the woods clear.
Plaingrain
I use a Dewalt 60volt sawzall, that thing can remove a ton of material. I also use a Stihl pole saw. I wouldn’t even consider this 6 inch saw.
Corey Moore
I use the 60v gen 1 recip, too. It was already mentioned above though, that the stroke length establishes a hard ceiling for max diameter cutting efficiently. The continuous travel of even this little guys chain is gonna make it way better for stuff of a diameter at or beyond the saws stroke limit.
fred
I can see one of these under the Tree for Christmas. My wife has both models of the B&D loppers. What appeals to me about their design is that its design avoids the inherent danger associated with the upper quadrant of the chainsaw tip. For that reason I bought her the corded version about 14 years ago when I first saw it and then followed up with the cordless some years later. The corded one, of course is severely limited by being tethered to the extension cord. But the runtime with the cordless B&D is not great – and that may be an issue with this M12 as well. The B&D’s chain is also prone to popping off the bar and I’ve had to do some rivet peening on the cored version to tighten the bar back into specs.
Meanwhile – when she cajoles me out to do some pruning – its usually the high work and a Silky Hayate pole saw that gets used.
Adabhael
Also, just the right size for cutting off the bottom of the tree!
Big Richard
I bought my wife the 20v B+D Alligator lopper because at the time she wasn’t comfortable using a chainsaw. They are still quite heavy and bulky, not to mention the bar/chain problems you mentioned. The cordless runtime is not helped by the fact that it is a brushed motor, and we have the 1.5Ah batteries for there size. I think she would much rather have something like this, but she also has been getting more comfortable using a small 12″ top handle chainsaw. I’ll still probably get one for the kids, teach them the basics on a scaled down level.
Leonard
I was just using the Dewalt MAX 20 12″ chainsaw yesterday. I like the cordless chainsaws. I have a McCullough 16 inch gas saw too. It works great but you can’t see me through the cloud of smoke.
For branches 3 inches or so I use a Japanese pruning saw.
Jp
Got the fuel hackzall, this will be lighter. But i prefer the black and decker style. I have pruning saw and full bar chainsaw from m18. I still want this thing
Jp
Just noticed the b&d has 4″ cutting capacity but this article mentioned 3″ for the milwaukee device. If true, that is a disappointment.
Stuart
I’m not sure I would come to the same conclusions.
A beginner telescope might be marketed as having 600X magnification. A more advanced telescope might specify a maximum magnification of 200X. There are general rules that make the 600X magnification meaningless, at least on a beginner scope that would advertise such.
Higher number on-paper might not translate to proportional real-world benefits. If it were Dewalt making the same claim, I might be more inclined to consider the specs on apples to apples terms.
Consider a consumer product that’s marketed as being able to support 10 pounds. A pro-oriented product is marketed as being able to lift 8 pounds. In real-life terms, there will likely be a higher safety factor for the product that’s conservatively marketed as being able to lift the lower weight, whereas the consumer product might be marketed in terms of failure strength.
There’s no way to know without directly comparing the two products.
It could be that the Craftsman or B&D Alligator could cut larger logs than the Milwaukee.
In my experience, a consumer pruner said to have 3/4″ cutting capacity broke on a 1/2″ branch, while Milwaukee’s hedge trimmer eats branches up to its max capacity like a toddler gobbles handfuls of spaghetti.
JoeM
I would also point out, in addition to Stuart’s comment here, that the form factor difference more than overcompensates for the 1″ cut rating. The closed jaws of the Craftsman/B&D saw mean 4″ is 4″, no matter what. The open end of the Milwaukee means, you can take the branch in halves if you need to. 3″ down one side, 3″ down the other. Total of 6″ cutting Diameter AROUND a branch if needed. Probably not the intended purpose, but it would certainly work. No safety guard to stop you going further through the branch.
The Worx one is the one that is a different animal. It’s a pole saw, where the other two are handheld. Might be a SHORT pole, but it’s a Pole Saw, meaning that form factor is limited to overhead, and arm’s length, due to safety concerns using it any other way.
Several years ago, I helped my Dad clean up fallen branches in his back yard after a storm. I only had my Reciprocating Saw at the time. It gives you a really good perspective of the dangers posed by working over your own head, and making places work as saw horses in a pinch, for making long branches into short sticks in a hurry. Had I had something like one of these tools, that day would have been a 1 hour job, instead of a 4 hour one, chasing and dragging branches over to the cutting site all the time.
Robert
Way cheaper than a Makita chain mortiser for those timber frame builders.
Dave
A cordless sawzall w a pruning blade works just fine and there’s no kickback, etc. what happens when you ruin a chain or of you’re not proficient at sharpening a chain?
Pruning blades are cheap and better yet, EASY TO SOURCE. We do a lot of grading and when a root shows up, we just jab the pruning blade down in the soil and cut off the root below our work zone…
A few people with specific applications will possibly love this; for most, it will be a novelty item……
Dominic S
I would guess you aren’t using this little guy for roots. However if you’re dealing with off-cut limbs and brush, etc. I can see how this would be more useful than a sawzall or a hackzall. This may not be a necessity item but you could make that same argument for a lot of hand tool replacement items.
Kyle
This seems to be solution looking for a problem. Even if it is a tiny bit more efficient than a sawzall with a pruning blade it is a one trick pony.
Even if it can cut 3″ hardwood that is quickly approaching the territory of breaking out a bigger saw if cutting more than one or two.
hangovna
A chainsaw is much faster than a sawzall with a pruning blade, very little vibration, and nice and small/compact/light for one handed operation. Pros and people with many trees to maintain on their property will love this tool.
Greg
For me this will pay for itself for limbing up small tree removals and be safer in those awkward situations. I already bought the Makita 18v brushless top handle, 36v brushless top handle, and the Stihl GTA26 trying to accomplish this. This definitely looks like it’ll replace the GTA26 for what I intended and do a much better job.
Tree climbing is pretty dangerous work. One of the things that makes it dangerous is hefting up a relatively heavy gas chainsaw and then pull starting it. I never like leaving my Stihl top handle running while in the tree even if the brake is engaged as I’ve gotten burns from the hot exhaust. A sudden burn can set you off balance as well as a hard to start chainsaw can.
So for the smaller removals I set out to see if a battery platform could work and be much safer in limbing. Between the Makitas I picked up and now this Milwaukee I think I’ll be able to remove the small trees with ease. I may need a gas saw for chunking the bigger trees up after limbing but for the small ones this combo should do it no problem and be way safer. I can see some pro arborists thinking this same way.
Joatman
I have a variety of split logs that I use for smoking. I sold my my stick burner and bought a Kamado, so I need to cut up that wood into small chunks. How perfect would this be!!!!
JoeM
I mean no offense when I ask this question, because I genuinely have trouble recognizing these things at times…
“Hatchet” is meant as a kind of Word Play Joke, right? Like a code word for the tool, not meant to be used in any way as a comparisson to an actual Hatchet (Or a Hatchet’s role in comparisson to THAT big brother the common Axe) right?
I’m looking at the specs, the design, all the comparissons to other similar tools… My brain won’t move on without getting an answer about this “Hatchet” deal. The most I’m getting is “This would make things so much easier on Chainsaw Jugglers, so they can juggle more in the air at once…” but I should be able to see beyond that stupid idea if I can get my brain over the hurdle of going back to “Hatchet” over and over again.
OldDominionDIYer
It doesn’t seem to be a difficult concept to overcome, I mean the Toyota Tundra is a truck not a frozen piece of ground, The Ford Mustang is in fact a sports car not a horse. The Milwaukee Hatchet is in fact a small lightweight one handed chainsaw not an actual manual hatchet. But then again you could call it whatever you want!
fred
And the name fits in with other myths like George Washington telling his father: “I cut down the cherry tree with my little hatchet ”
I think other possible names were already taken – like Cutzall, Kutzall, Hackzall and Sawzall – and maybe Prunzall did not appeal to their marketing gurus – so hatchet – connoting a more diminutive hand axe was it.
JoeM
Just… Wanted to confirm it… I have some weird mental blocks sometimes. I get stuck in a loop, and my brain won’t move on. Confirming with you guys that it’s not all in my head, seems to be a big relief to me.
Yes, I know this makes me sound dumb as a bag of hammers… But this is a kind of OCD issue I have. I have a very strange brain chemistry compared to normal people, so sometimes MY brain goes places that others just don’t.
Confirming this is its CODE NAME, and not some comparisson to their full-sized Chainsaw… I think my brain can move on, and see it as more than a juggling assist. Knowing that they don’t intend on this… obviously intended for pruning device… to be a companion to the work of the full-sized Saw, which can do a lot more than just pruning… I think my brain will kick in eventually.
I feel stupid having to ask it, obviously, but sometimes brains don’t always work the same way, and there are consequences. Now I think I can see past my stupid idea that it’s for easier juggling… I hope I can look into the specs and form factor again, and see less stupidity on my part.
I’m sorry guys. Sometimes my brain just… breaks on some tiny things… I don’t know why.
ca
Chainzall
Paul Ojanen
This looks to be a great companion saw to the M18. I often pull out an old chainsaw (gas or electric) when I have help taking down a tree or two.
I don’t need two full chainsaws. This Hatchet could be great for a two-man team. And when I’m working alone on a big job, my M18 batteries will last longer on the bucking, since I can leverage my M12 batteries for the de-limbing. They are otherwise sitting inside waiting for a different project.
I hope it’s safe enough for teenagers. May need to keep the M12 saw in the hands of adults. It does look potentially more dangerous than a regular chainsaw. Thanks for pointing that out, Brian.
blocky
Looks like this might not be the first Milwaukee “hatchet”:
https://www.amazon.com/milwaukee-6514-20-cordless-reciprocating-pivoting/dp/b00005qew7?tag=indifash06-20
Any
Ave on YouTube needs this!
B-Rad
Wow, Doresoom Reviews on YouTube nailed this prediction last year during his annual patent reviews!
At the time, it seemed too unlikely for them to actually produce, but they have again surprised me.
It makes some of his other patent review predictions seem even more possible than I previously thought…
bobad
Love the Hatchet, may buy one. I have many trees, and sometimes I have to climb up 8-15 feet and cut a limb that’s a little big for my Sawzall with pruning blade. One little wrong tweak in an awkward position, and a Sawzall can start vibrating and try to liquify your hand and arm. This should make life much easier up on a ladder. If I get it, and I probably will, I will use an adaptor and DeWalt compact battery.
Brock N
My first thought when looking at this was for notching 6×6 posts for framing decks, etc. Does that seem like a viable application? Maybe a bit of a niche demographic?
MartyK
This looks like a great tool for pruning. I have 5 wooded acres which has lots enormous amounts of branches in the 1-3 inch range. I need something light, quiet, and quick to use. A few things I like over the Stihl equivalent, the battery system is very common and more AH. The bar is 6 inches, in a pinch you probably could cut 5 inch diameter but I would just use it for 1-3 inch and save the bigger wood for my small gas saw which cuts faster. The most important for me is the chain size, its a somewhat common chain 3/8 pitch .043 gauge available at any shop dealing with chainsaws, the Stihl uses their special really small 1/4 pitch chain only available thru Stihl as is the Stihl overpriced battery.
L in KS
I bought one of these saws. I already own a sthil 391 and ms250. The metal bucking teeth were omitted in the commercial version. The saw is very light and easy to handle it cuts much faster than my m12 hackzall and my corded saws all. I have used it with 3ah and 2ah battery’s I can get about 20 minutes of steady cutting with the 3ah i dont recommend the 2ah. Performance of the tool itself. My first impression was disappointment at how slow the chain ran being used to gas saws with a spring clutch and 11k+ rpm the 5k rpm is underwhelming, that being said i was completely shocked by the available torque this saw can handle the 3 inch branches with no problems the chain size is actually quite small and like any chain saw if you hit the dirt get out the file!
Negatives. The tool is almost completely made of plastic the secondary handle works well but feels awkward at first. This tool would benefit from a belt hook like on the drill and 1/4 in drivers.