Makita XCU04PT1 36V (18V X2) LXT® Brushless 16" Chain Saw Kit with 4 Batteries (5.0Ah)

Works good. Was cutting up some downed pine trees and the charge would last for about a half hour before needing to swap out the batteries. The saw has a nice weight to it, doesn’t feel like a toy. Has a nice battery life indicator. Has a bar lock just like a gas powered saw that won’t let the chain spin till you push the lever back. Chain adjustment was tedious to put together with the chain and bar but once together adjustments were simple to do. Has plenty of power and cuts nice.

This chainsaw rules. I mean chainsawing is already pretty exciting and dangerous. But this one is silent while running. And it has instant-on torque. It takes standard chains, and has toolless adjustment.PRO:+that delicious Makita color.+compatible with all the other LXT batteries and whathaveyou.+Standard chain, easy to replace when you need to.+No need for tools for basic assembly, maintenance, and adjustment.+Silent at idle, which is very welcome to me.+Standard chainsaw controls, nothing unfamiliar to folks who have done some tree removal before.CON:-makes you feel like you should be fighting hordes of demons rather than trimming a hearty bush or eliminating a small tree. Doomguy would be proud of how quickly you can deploy this thing, but bored with only sawing wood.-sawing is loud and you should wear personal protective equipment. You don't want woodchips in your eyes.-NO OIL IN THE BOX. seriously, you get a brand new saw, and you already have batteries, but, it needs oil and you didn't get any. Talk about making me grumpy in the first 30 seconds.

I'm a landscape contractor. When I need trees taken down I hire a tree professional. When I need to clean up fallen limbs and small trees I need a saw. I have found gas saws to be unreliable for occasional use- even with fresh fuel and yearly servicing. Plus they ALWAYS leak bar oil. This Makita saw is always ready to work when I need it, it's quiet and doesn't blow exhaust fumes on you, and it DOESN'T leak bar oil. I keep it in the cab of my work truck for easy access. And the easy chain tensioning adjuster- no tools required- is great. Why a homeowner would buy a gas saw is beyond me. I can work for 45-60 minutes before swapping out the batteries. Great tool !

This is a thin kerf, light duty chainsaw, it's not going to replace my Husky 16 inch gas but with that being said, it's actually a pretty capable lightweight little saw. The thin kerf I feel is Makita's way of getting the most out of the motor and it has a lot of torque for what it is. This isn't your aunt's plug in Black n Decker. It comes with an Oregon chain and you have to assemble it out of the box. Not maybe my only gripe is the novel bar tightener, it's a hub that uses the pull out handle to tighten down the bar, I do wonder how long the handle will last as you need to crank down fairly hard to hold the bar in place, but if that part can be replaced i am not to concerned. I popped the chain a couple of times before I found the sweet spot on how hard to crank it down and after that I had no issues. The tensioner is actually pretty cool, it;s a paddle wheel that is easy to use and better than the ones on gas saws. You loosen the hold down dial, turn the paddle wheel and re tighten the dial, easy. The drive sprocket could theoretically accommodate a thicker kerf chain and the bar looks like the same dimensions as an echo bar. Just a thought. The best part is that the system requires no tools at all.Now the saw feels kinda long compared to a 16 inch gas but it's also lighter so that allows me to hold it further out to do finer cuts. It has a good balance too. It;s trippy getting used to the fact that the chain stops so quick after you let go of the trigger not like my gas chains.The battery life is surprisingly long which i did not expect, I own 30 5 amp batteries so I personally don't care but having a second pair charged and ready is a good idea if you plant to use this all day.Oh and the oil system is awesome, not as goopy and messy as all of my gas saws.Probably the coolest part of this saw is how quiet it is compared to a gas saw, I mean, it's really quiet. I fired it up at 9 in the morning and couldn't imagine anyone complaining about it.In closing, I like this saw for what it is, a light duty little torque monster that can work it's way though wood around the size of your upper leg but I'm not trying to fell trees with it. Good for bucking and surprisingly nimble in the hands for finer pruning cuts.Edit: so I changed out the bar with an Echo 14inch bar and the thicker kerf chain and tackled a toppled 40 ft tree. Went through two pairs of batteries and the saw did fine. Still not quite as much torque as my echo cs 310 but still did fine. It's a lot quieter and no mixed gas