Milwaukee Chainsaws

The bigger M18 sibling of the M12 Hatchet that climbing arborists made famous — an 8" one-hand-capable pruning saw that Milwaukee rates faster-cutting than 25cc gas while weighing under 5 lbs bare. It comes arborist-ready out of the box: lanyard loop, climbing scabbard, full-house low-vibration chain, metal bucking spikes, and onboard scrench storage. Owner threads treat it as the tool that ended the pole-saw-and-handsaw shuffle for limbing, storm cleanup, and trail work, and the review consensus at retail is near-perfect. The honest caveats: at $499 for the kit with the XC6.0 pack it costs as much as a full-size 16" saw kit; a one-handed 8" chainsaw invites the same kickback and PPE responsibilities as any top-handle saw; the tiny bar means it's a limbing specialist, not a bucking saw; and the auto-oiler shares the M18 family habit of seeping bar oil between uses. Pros on a budget note the tool-only at $279 makes more sense if you already own HO batteries.

The saw that proved an 18V platform could cut like gas — Milwaukee ships it with the giant HD12.0 pack (216 Wh) and claims 40cc-plus performance, and Pro Tool Reviews clocked it out-cutting a Husqvarna 460 Rancher in head-to-head bucking. For the legions already invested in M18 tools it's the obvious choice: 150 claimed cuts per charge, full throttle in under a second, and a proper 16" Oregon bar with metal bucking spikes. r/MilwaukeeTool threads are largely glowing about power but honest about the rest: it's 13.9 lbs with the battery (heavier than a 40cc gas powerhead), the automatic oiler is factory-set and owners report it runs wet — flinging and weeping bar oil in storage — and running any pack smaller than an HO 8.0 noticeably blunts performance. It's also a single-battery saw with no dual-charger in the kit, so sustained firewood days mean either a $250 spare HD12.0 or long charging breaks.