Husqvarna 540i XP

Husqvarna's Lowe's-exclusive consumer battery saw, and one of the fastest-cutting saws in its class thanks to a boost mode that pulls 25% more power on demand. The kit is honest value: an 18-inch bar, a big 7.5Ah BLi30 pack, and charger for about $480, and testers measured it among the quietest saws in the category at 82 dB. Lowe's reviewers (4.4 stars across 300+ reviews) repeatedly describe dropping 18-22 inch hardwoods on a single charge and praise how light and balanced it feels under 14 lbs with battery. The 1-star tail is worth reading, though: recurring complaints about the tool-less chain tensioner losing tension, water intrusion killing saws stored outdoors, occasional battery failures, and frustrating Husqvarna warranty support. It's also a closed ecosystem play — the 40V Power Axe batteries don't cross over to Husqvarna's dealer-line pro tools. For yard trees and storm cleanup it punches well above its price; heavy firewood cutters will find its limits.

Husqvarna's 70cc flagship and one half of the great modern felling-saw rivalry — every 572 XP thread eventually becomes a Stihl MS 462 thread, and the fact that neither side wins is the point: both are spectacular. The 572's case is 5.8 horsepower with AutoTune, cooling and filtration designed for all-day timber work, and vibration numbers that let pros run it for full shifts. Owners praise how it pulls long bars — 24 inches is its sweet spot and 28 is genuinely workable — and how the X-Torq engine keeps torque flat deep into the cut instead of falling on its face. The knocks are few and honest: at 14.5 pounds it gives up half a pound to the MS 462, early-production cylinder issues (since resolved) still echo around ArboristSite, and the $1,349 list price plus dealer-only service makes it a professional's purchase. For felling and bucking serious timber, this and the 462 are the two right answers.

The 550 XP Mark II is what happens when a manufacturer actually fixes a saw: the original 550 XP's air-leak and AutoTune teething drama is gone, and what's left is arguably the best 50cc saw money buys — four horsepower at 11.7 pounds, an X-Cut chain from the factory, and handling that arborists describe as telepathic in the limbs. Dealer pricing runs $660-760, and the pro crowd that was burned by the Mark I now recommends the Mark II without caveats, which is its own kind of endorsement. AutoTune means no carb screwdriver, ever — it compensates for altitude, fuel, and filter condition automatically. The honest asterisks: it wants to rev and rewards full-throttle technique (lug it and it feels flat), dealer-only distribution means no big-box convenience, and casual cutters are paying a $250 premium over a Rancher for refinement they may never use. For daily-use limbing and firewood at speed, nothing in the class touches it.