Makita 18V X2 LXT 16" Chainsaw Kit

Your standard 18V LXT packs work — that's the whole pitch. The saw runs two of them in series for 36V, and the kit's two 5.0Ah batteries power hundreds of other Makita tools. The operational catch: it needs two charged packs every time, so one flat battery sidelines the whole saw. The kit's dual-port rapid charger refills both simultaneously to keep a rotation going.

Makita's own rating is 32cc-equivalent, the weakest 16-inch saw in the big-brand battery field, and its 3,940 FPM chain speed trails EGO and falls well behind the 40V XGT's 5,020 FPM under load. It's honest capability for limbing, storm cleanup, and small-log work — just don't buy it expecting the gas-class bucking that EGO and Milwaukee advertise.

It's the class benchmark — noticeably quieter than competitors, to the point that owners prune at dawn without neighbor complaints. Combined with the 11.5 lb ready-to-cut weight (more than 2 lbs under Milwaukee's 16-inch saw), it's arguably the most pleasant saw in the roundup to actually handle for light work.

Modest under real load — the saw burns through battery pairs fast when bucking, and owners report short work sessions per charge. For its intended limbing-and-cleanup role the runtime is workable, especially with a second pair rotating through the dual charger. Helpfully, auto power-off and per-pack battery gauges prevent the dead-battery surprises common on other saws.

It hinges on your battery fleet. If you're LXT-invested, the XCU04 is the light, quiet, cheap-to-run choice for cleanup work. If you're starting fresh or need real cutting speed, the XGT GCU05 is a different league (42cc-equivalent, 5,020 FPM) — and worth noting, Makita has shifted its OPE focus to XGT, leaving the LXT saw line in maintenance mode.