Buying guides

The questions people research for weeks before buying a chainsaw, answered once: what size saw the wood needs, whether battery is ready to replace gas, the maintenance that matters, and the safety rules that are not optional.

What Size Chainsaw Do I Need? Bar Length and Engine Size, Explained

Chainsaw sizing has one honest rule: buy for the wood you cut most weekends, not the biggest log you can imagine. A bar about two inches longer than your typical cut diameter, driven by the smallest engine class that pulls it well, beats a bigger saw every time — because the saw you can hold comfortably for an hour is the one that's still safe at the end of it.

Gas vs Battery Chainsaws: The Honest Tradeoffs

The gas-versus-battery argument is mostly settled at the extremes — nobody fells big timber on batteries, and nobody who cuts twice a year enjoys carb maintenance — but the middle is where most buyers live. The honest answer turns on three things: how long you cut at a stretch, how often the saw sits unused, and whether you already own somebody's battery platform.

Chainsaw Safety: Chaps, Kickback, and the Rules That Keep Your Legs

Chainsaws injure about 36,000 Americans a year, and the wounds cluster with grim predictability: left thigh, left knee, left forearm — exactly where a running chain lands when a saw kicks or slips. The good news is that the protection is cheap, the technique rules are few, and almost every serious injury involves skipping one of them.

Chainsaw Maintenance and Sharpening: The 10-Minute Habits That Matter

Most 'broken' chainsaws aren't broken — they're dull, or they're full of stale fuel. Those two failures account for the overwhelming majority of frustrated owners, and both are prevented by habits that take minutes. Here's the honest maintenance list, what's actually optional, and what battery saws let you skip entirely.

The Best First Chainsaw: A Buying Walkthrough for Homeowners

First-chainsaw advice usually fails in one of two directions: the forum answer ('buy a pro saw, cry once') and the big-box answer (whatever's on the endcap). The better path is boring: describe your actual workload honestly, let that pick the class, then buy the best-supported saw in that class — which is as much about your local dealer as the badge on the cover.

Looking for what a spec means rather than what to buy? The sizing chart and spec glossary covers displacement, bar length, chain pitch, weight basis and warranty.