Makita 40V Max XGT 16" Chainsaw Kit

Its 5,020 FPM chain speed is the fastest in the 16-inch battery class — well clear of EGO's roughly 3,940 FPM equivalent and the older Makita LXT saw — and owners say it shows in cut feel under load. Combined with a legitimate 42cc-equivalence claim, this is the saw that stopped Makita being embarrassed next to EGO and Milwaukee.

By Makita's own claim, only about 30 cuts in 12-inch wood — the thinnest runtime story in the class, and spare XGT packs run $200+. The kit's 45-minute rapid charger is what makes it workable: with two packs in rotation you can cut nearly continuously. Budget for that second battery if you're doing more than cleanup sessions.

No — XGT is a completely separate platform from 18V LXT, with no interchange in either direction. If you're deep in LXT, this saw restarts your battery investment from zero, which is the single biggest strike against it. It only makes financial sense if you're building (or already on) the XGT platform.

No — it runs standard 3/8 low-profile .050-gauge 91PX chain, 56 drive links, so replacement loops cost about $15 anywhere chains are sold. That's a genuine ownership-cost advantage over the .043 narrow-kerf saws from EGO, Milwaukee, and DeWalt, whose replacement options are thinner.

The build is the best in the class — XPT weather sealing, an inertia chain brake, metal spikes, tool-free tensioning, and a variable-speed trigger with excellent low-speed control for careful limbing. Whether it's worth it depends on platform math: $629 is the highest 16-inch kit price out there (an EGO 20-inch kit costs less), and the retail track record is still thin at 46 reviews. For XGT owners it's an easy yes; for everyone else, EGO delivers more saw per dollar.