Husqvarna Power Axe 350i vs Makita 40V Max XGT 18" Chainsaw Kit
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
Husqvarna Power Axe 350i
- 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
- 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
Makita 40V Max XGT 18" Chainsaw Kit
- Mechanical steel tensioner and two stout bar studs — reviewers report it holds tension where dial systems creep
- Full .050-gauge chain rather than narrow kerf, so it takes standard 3/8" LP loops
- 5,020 FPM with a 42cc equivalence claim, among the faster chains on a single-battery saw
- Oil delivery holds up through long rips with no bar discolouration reported after back-to-back rounds
- XPT weather sealing and captured bar nuts, built to Makita's jobsite standard
- 11.7 lb bare is reasonable for 18" of bar
- $679 for the kit, and XGT batteries are expensive and interchange with nothing outside the XGT line
- 14.6 lb ready to cut — no lighter than the 42cc gas saw it is pitched against
- Owners report the oil reservoir needs watching; it drinks more than its size suggests
- 3-year tool and battery warranty, shorter than EGO's and Milwaukee's tool terms
- Makita sells a second 18" XGT saw (GCU06) alongside it, which makes the lineup hard to shop