Craftsman 12A 16" Corded Chainsaw vs Worx WG303.1
Tinted cells mark the better figure on that row alone: more engine, longer bar, lighter, cheaper. A lighter weight is only a win on the same basis.
What owners like and complain about
Craftsman 12A 16" Corded Chainsaw
- 4.3-star average over 730 Lowe's reviews — the best-reviewed saw Craftsman currently sells
- No fuel system means nothing to gum up between seasons
- 3-year warranty, a year longer than the gas saws
- Tool-free chain tensioning and an oil-level window at $139
- Starts instantly in cold weather, where the gas models are at their worst
- Tethered to an outlet — useless at the back of a large property
- A long or undersized extension cord starves the 12A motor and it bogs
- 11.7 lb assembled is heavier than several battery saws with the same bar
- 16-inch bar flatters a 12-amp motor; patience is required in hardwood
Worx WG303.1
- 11 lb listed — the lightest of the big-box corded saws here, though Stihl's dealer-only MSE models are lighter still
- Common 3/8" / .050" 57-link chain, stocked everywhere
- 3-year warranty, a year longer than B+D or Oregon give on corded saws
- Oil reservoir has a level window, so you stop guessing
- Auto-tension removes the single most common beginner mistake
- Auto-tension knob over-tightens easily and that accelerates bar wear
- 14.5 amps on household current still bogs in anything much past 12-inch hardwood
- Worx lists it as periodically out of stock on its own store
- Cord-bound; a 100 ft run of 12-gauge is the practical ceiling
- The 18-inch WG304.1 it replaces is no longer sold, so there is no longer-bar option