EGO
EGO Power+ CS1613 16" Chainsaw Kit
EGO's volume-seller 16-incher and the saw r/egopowerplus keeps telling first-time battery buyers to get, because the 56V platform shares packs with the mowers and blowers half of them already own. EGO rates it as 40cc-gas-equivalent with a 20 m/s chain speed, and the included 4.0Ah pack is good for a claimed 220 cuts in 4x4 — realistic for storm cleanup and limbing, optimistic if you're bucking hardwood rounds all afternoon. Owners praise the instant torque and the tool-free dual-dial tensioner, but the recurring gripes are real: like most EGO saws it weeps bar oil in storage (store it on cardboard), the chain stretches and needs frequent re-tensioning when new, and the saw down-regulates power on smaller packs, so don't expect full grunt off a 2.5Ah. At $329 for the kit it undercuts the Milwaukee and Makita 16-inch kits by a wide margin, which is why the review counts at Ace and Lowe's run into the thousands.
Specifications
Highlights
Pros
- ✓Best kit value in the 16" battery class — saw, 4.0Ah pack, and charger for $329 when rivals charge $500+
- ✓56V ARC packs interchange with EGO mowers, trimmers, and blowers, so the battery investment compounds
- ✓Tool-free dual-dial chain tensioning that owners say actually holds, unlike lever-style tensioners
- ✓20 m/s chain speed with strong instant torque — cuts noticeably faster than the old CS1611 it replaced
- ✓5-year tool / 3-year battery warranty is the longest in the battery-saw class
- ✓Metal bucking spikes and a clearly indicated kickback brake — features skipped on most homeowner battery saws
Cons
- ✗Weeps bar oil when stored — the classic EGO gripe; owners keep it on a drip tray
- ✗Power is throttled on batteries smaller than the included 4.0Ah, so bare-tool buyers with 2.5Ah packs get less saw
- ✗New chains stretch fast and need re-tensioning every tank of oil at first
- ✗Sustained bucking of hardwood drains the 4.0Ah pack in well under half an hour — a second battery is near-mandatory for firewood duty
- ✗The .043" narrow-kerf chain dulls quickly in dirty wood and replacement options are thinner than 3/8"/.050 standards
Compare the EGO Power+ CS1613 16" Chainsaw Kit
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The biggest saw EGO makes and the closest thing to a battery farm saw the 56V line offers — a 20" bar, a real 3/8"/.050 full-chisel chain, 25 m/s chain speed, and a claimed 55cc-gas equivalence that testers largely back up; Pro Tool Reviews said it went through seasoned oak 'like a hot knife through butter.' It's a genuine firewood saw: 135 claimed cuts on 6x6 with the included 6.0Ah pack, a digital display, and an LED work light. The honest tradeoffs: at 19.4 lbs with battery it's one of the heaviest saws in its class, gas or battery; top chain speed only unlocks with a 6.0Ah-or-larger pack; and owners report the familiar EGO habits — bar-oil seepage in storage and chains that need frequent tensioning. If you're cutting cords of hardwood a 20-minute-per-pack reality means buying a second $300+ battery, which quietly turns a $549 kit into an $850 setup.
Greenworks
Greenworks 60V 18" Brushless Chainsaw
The Gen II 60V is Greenworks' volume seller — a 2.0 kW brushless saw the company claims out-torques a 42cc gas engine by 20%, sold as an 18-inch kit with a 4.0Ah battery and 40-minute charger for around $310-350 at Lowe's, Tractor Supply, and Greenworks direct. Its 383 Lowe's reviews average 4.6 stars, with owners consistently surprised that a box-store battery saw fells and bucks real trees — the no-prime, no-choke, instant-trigger start is the most-praised feature among gas converts. At 9.5 lbs bare it's manageable for limbing, and the 65.6 ft/s chain speed is respectable if not pro-fast. The complaint pattern in reviews: the chain can come off under hard use, it bogs in very large logs if you rush it, and the 4.0Ah pack is good for about 140 cuts — enough for an afternoon, not a full firewood day. The 60V battery line spans 75+ Greenworks tools, which is a more useful ecosystem than the 80V line for most homeowners.
Echo's 56V eFORCE rear-handle is the value shock of the battery-saw market: an 18-inch saw with a 252 Wh 5.0Ah battery and charger for a $349.99 MSRP — less than half of what an equivalent Stihl AP setup costs. Independent testing backs the value story; Echo placed near the front for cutting speed in Project Farm's battery-chainsaw head-to-head, and Lawn Care Forum and ToolBoxBuzz reviewers describe a year of near-weekly use with zero maintenance beyond chain sharpening. Echo rates it for up to 200 cuts per charge, and the 5-year consumer tool warranty is the longest in this class. The honest knocks: at 14.6 lbs with pack it's heavier than most rivals, the included standard charger is slow (75-150 minutes — budget for the rapid charger), and there are scattered owner reports of bar-oiler failures out of the box, including a documented warranty return on ArboristSite. Home Depot carries it everywhere, though its review aggregate couldn't be independently verified at research time.