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.

Best for: Homeowners who want a quiet, near-gas-speed 18-inch saw for yard trees and storm cleanup without dealer-channel prices.

Specifications

Engine class: 50cc class (placed by shipped bar length)
Voltage: 40 V
Kit battery: 7.5 Ah
Bar length: 18 in
Bar range: 18 in
Single-pass cut: about 16 in (bar minus 2)
Chain: 3/8" low-profile pitch / .050" gauge (X-Cut S93G)
Weight: 13.6 lb, with 7.5Ah BLi30 battery (Lowe's listed weight)
Power type: Battery
Use case: Homeowner
Warranty: 3-year residential
Model: Power Axe 350i

Manufacturer figures except the engine class and single-pass cut, which are derived here. What each spec means

Boost mode adds 25% more cutting power
Big 7.5Ah battery and 18-in bar in the kit
One of the quietest saws tested at 82 dB

What owners like

Kit with 7.5Ah battery and charger for about $480 undercuts Stihl's equivalent by hundreds
Boost mode makes it one of the fastest consumer battery saws in independent testing
82 dB measured operation — dramatically quieter than gas, neighbor-friendly
X-Cut factory chain holds an edge longer than typical bundled chains
Under 14 lbs with battery installed and well balanced for limbing
3-year residential warranty backed by 4.4 stars over 304 Lowe's reviews

Common complaints

Tool-less chain tensioner is the top recurring complaint — it can lose tension mid-job
Multiple owner reports of water intrusion and battery failures, with slow warranty resolution
Boost mode drains the big pack noticeably faster
Battery recharge is slow with the included charger
40V Power Axe batteries don't work with Husqvarna's pro dealer-line tools

What owners say

Read from owner discussions, long-term write-ups and dated retail reviews; nothing here was measured on this site.

The Power Axe 350i is the battery saw that quietly won over the people who cut occasionally and the people who cut for free. Volunteer sawyer groups clearing trails have standardised on it — one sawyer owns four and says the pricier brands he previously owned didn't do the job any better — and owners who are older, smaller or simply tired of maintaining a little gas saw keep it precisely because it's quiet, light and ready. Owners put its grunt at roughly 40cc-equivalent and report cutting bigger wood than you'd expect if you're patient, with the full 18-inch bar.

Two honest limits show up. The first is chain speed: an owner who has looked at the numbers across the class puts the 350i under 40 ft/sec where a Stihl MSA 220 is nearly 80, which is why it has real torque but doesn't feel like a gas saw — it cuts more slowly than its pull suggests. The second is runtime in hard, big wood. The 7.5Ah pack is generous for the category and owners call its capacity comfortably above average, but one owner got four cuts through 20-inch Douglas fir before it died, and he wasn't using boost at all. Mechanically, the complaints cluster on the chain-tension hardware: one owner's pinched chain left a bent tensioner screw that wouldn't turn and needed the whole clutch-side assembly, and another stripped the threads on the faceplate knob. One owner's saw also arrived from the factory passing no bar oil at all.

Owners say it suits property owners, trail crews and storm-cleanup use — anyone making a few dozen cuts at a time and then putting the saw away for weeks, where a gas saw's carburetor goes stale and a battery saw just works. Plan the battery side carefully, because the packs are the expensive half and the saw only takes the consumer 40V line: owners have seen the big pack listed around $320 and also found them deeply discounted as stock was cleared, so buying a spare while they're available is the move most owners would make again. If you need gas-like cutting speed through hardwood all day, owners will point you at a 50cc gas saw or a higher-chain-speed battery saw instead.

What owners like

Volunteer sawyer crews have standardised on it. One sawyer who works with those groups says it's what they all carry when they use battery saws, owns four of them, and reports that the other brands he owned cost two to three times as much without performing better
It is the saw older and smaller owners keep because they can actually handle it — one describes his as good battery, quiet and light for an old body, and another who helps clear blowdowns off trails calls it fairly lightweight for its size with genuinely good pack capacity and a pleasant saw to use
The torque is there even if the speed isn't: owners put it at roughly 40cc-equivalent and say it will cut surprisingly large wood if you're patient and know what you're doing, running the full 18-inch bar without complaint
It takes the place of a gas saw for people who cut rarely. Owners sick of the maintenance-to-use ratio on an old small gas saw keep the 350i for property work and sell the others off, and one Florida owner bought his specifically to be ready for hurricane cleanup, reasoning he could always find a way to charge a battery

Common complaints

Chain speed is the honest limitation. An owner who has measured the class puts the 350i under 40 ft/sec against nearly 80 for a Stihl MSA 220 — so despite good torque it doesn't handle like a gas saw, and as he puts it, it feels more powerful than the speed at which it actually cuts
Runtime in hardwood brings people down to earth: one owner got four cuts through 20-inch Douglas fir on the included BLi30 pack before it died, and he wasn't even using boost
The tensioner and faceplate hardware is the weak point. One owner's chain was pinched for about thirty seconds, and afterwards the chain was slack and the tensioner screw wouldn't turn and looked bent — the repair meant ordering the whole clutch-side assembly. Another stripped the threads on the knob that holds the faceplate on
At least one saw arrived with a dead oiler: a new owner reports plenty of power but not one drop of oil reaching the chain, even after thinning the oil with kerosene, which is a warranty claim rather than a setup mistake
Spare batteries are the real cost and the real risk, since the saw only takes the consumer 40V packs. Owners report the big pack listed around $320, and one caught them at 75% off as his Lowe's cleared out remaining Husqvarna stock — great if you're there on the day, a worry if you need a replacement in three years

Questions owners ask

How does the 350i compare with a gas saw?

Owners put it at roughly 40cc-equivalent in torque, but warn the comparison is misleading because chain speed is low — one puts it under 40 ft/sec where a Stihl MSA 220 runs nearly 80. The practical effect is a saw that feels strong and pulls well but takes longer through a cut than a gas saw of similar grunt. Owners who accept that and work patiently say it handles far bigger wood than people expect.

How long does the included BLi30 pack really last?

Depends entirely on the wood. Owners call its capacity comfortably above average for the size, and trail crews get through a lot of blowdown on one pack. But in big dense wood it goes quickly — one owner managed four cuts through 20-inch Douglas fir with the full 18-inch bar buried, without using boost, and was disappointed. If you plan on hardwood rounds, budget for a second pack.

Can I fit a shorter bar and chain?

Yes, but match the numbers carefully — owners have been burned. The saw uses a mini-pitch chain, and one owner warns outright that he got into trouble buying smaller bars for his 350i while another found store-matched combos quoting different chain part numbers at wildly different prices. Match pitch, gauge and drive-link count to what your bar actually needs rather than going by length, and note the factory chain calls for a 5/32-inch round file.

What tends to break on it?

The chain-tension hardware. One owner pinched his chain for about thirty seconds and afterwards the chain was slack and the tensioner screw wouldn't turn and looked bent, which meant replacing the whole clutch-side assembly; another stripped the threads on the knob that holds the faceplate. One owner also took delivery of a saw whose oiler passed no oil at all, even after thinning it. All of those are warranty items, so register the saw and keep the receipt.

Drawn from 6 owner threads and long-term reviews, kept on file with this entry.