DeWalt 20V Max XR 12" Chainsaw Kit vs Stihl MSA 161 T
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
DeWalt 20V Max XR 12" Chainsaw Kit
- Cheapest way into a name-brand battery saw if you already own 20V Max packs — bare tool often dips under $150
- 9 lbs with battery and compact enough for one-hand-assisted limbing (with care)
- Tool-free tensioning knob makes chain adjustments genuinely painless
- Quiet enough for neighborhood use and campground-legal where gas saws draw glares
- Low-kickback 12" Oregon bar/chain suits nervous first-time chainsaw owners
- 3-year warranty with DeWalt's huge service network behind it
- Chronic bar-oil leakage — the oil cap seal is the single most repeated gripe in years of retailer reviews
- 20V motor bogs in hardwood much past 8" — this is a limbing saw, not a bucking saw
- Sustained cutting flattens the 5.0Ah pack in 15-20 minutes of trigger time
- No chain brake lever — it relies on a low-kickback chain instead, which serious users consider a real omission
- Newer DCCS621/DCCS623 models are lighter, leaving the 620 feeling dated at full price
Stihl MSA 161 T
- 4.6 lb powerhead — the lightest top-handle Stihl sells, and the balance in-tree is what climbers praise
- 40% more chain speed and about 15% more output than the model it replaced
- 42 minutes on an AP 200, about 50 on an AP 300 — climbers report finishing removals with charge to spare
- No exhaust in the canopy and quiet enough for noise-restricted residential work
- 1/4" PM3 chain leaves a clean cut face on small limbs
- Underpowered next to the gas MS 201 T — experienced users call it too small and slow for heavy work
- $330 is tool only; an AP pack and AL 301 charger push a working setup toward $700
- No consumer warranty at all: 3 years professional use only on MSA-T saws
- 12-inch bar and 1/4" chain mean pruning and light removals, not storm work
- Top-handle saws are for trained climbers only