Makita XCU03PT 18V X2 (36V) LXT Lithium-Ion Brushless Cordless (5.0Ah) 14" Chain Saw Kit, Teal

I am a relative newbie at chainsaw usage and not young anymore but not very old, and this tool helped me cut down a bunch of smaller trees and trim limbs off of trees. I opted for this saw instead of buying a gas powered saw just for lower maintenance. I already have gas powered lawnmowers to maintain, and do not want to add to that list. I also have the 10" single battery LXT version, which I do not like, it is very under powered. But that saw at least got me started. This saw uses two batteries and can do a lot. For very large trees and complex situations I do hire professionals but for small tree felling and simple situations this saw can do it. I also bought chaps, gloves and a helmet with faqce guard designed for this work, and I usually do it with a second set of eyes around.

It's been a long time since I've handled a chainsaw professionally, and nothing I'm doing on my 2/3 of an acre involves long run times. I've used this thing a few times now and at least for a household saw I'm never going back to gas. I was already invested in Makita battery powered tools, so once I decided I was going to buy an electric saw, there wasn't much decision making to do about which one. I've never once regretted my choice to go with Makita, and that continues to be true. My longest session was about a half an hour of bucking up a good sized brush pile. I didn't even use a half a tank of bar oil, I felt like I was moving through it quickly, the saw was easy to handle, I loved the lack of engine vibration, and I definitely didn't miss standing in a cloud of 2 stroke exhaust. At the end of that session, the saw was still going strong, so I can't directly speak to battery life, but I can charge a dead pair of 5 Ah Makita batteries to full in about 45 minutes and I get to 80% in about 30 minutes, so I'm pretty sure I can keep the saw moving constantly with one extra set of batteries cycling onto the charger and I'm positive I can do it with two extra sets.It was also easy to handle for felling a black walnut tree that decided to pop up a few years back in an inconvenient spot. Black walnut grows FAST around here and the wood is quite hard. This saw cut through it like butter.We'll see how it holds up over time, but if every other Makita tool I've ever owned is an indication, I expect it will be good. I've never done any repairs on any of my Makita LXT tools and they all still work perfectly. I did have one of their prosumer grade drills once upon a time. That lasted me a couple years of professional duty use before it gave up the ghost, but for $40 second hand with an LXT compatible charger and battery (both of which are still going) I still don't think I've ever gone wrong buying Makita.

Simple to put together and easy chain changes/adjustments just like a stihl. Cut great. Only used it about 20 cuts in a 1 hour trail clearing exercise. It was nice to walk the trail with no mower sound…cut well and I had 2 out of 3 bars left.

I found the Makita 14" battery powered chainsaw fun to use and much less hassle than any of the 3 gasoline powered saws I've owned over the years, and they were all well respected brands.I dropped a 12" maple with a lot of top growth. I easily took care of the top and cut up the trunk and large branches into stove-length logs, all in about an hour. The saw handles like a dream in the brush and I never encountered the problem with the saw turning off that was described by some of the other buyers.I do have a major gripe however. The directions for assembling the bar and chain to the saw are absolutely horrible. This assembly process is quite different from the process one would use to put a bar and chain on a typical gas powered saw, so clear instructions are important. First, the print in the manual is tiny. You need excellent light to read it, and then it's still a challenge. Second, the instructions for the assembly process are ungrammatical and unclear, bordering on incomprehensible. I would think a large company like Makita that sells a lot of products in the U.S. could afford to hire an English speaking technical writer to do a respectable job in creating a good user manual. This manual is a disgrace.The diagrams too are misleading and unclear. Numbers are used to link illustrations of parts to their names; then in the same paragraphs, the steps in the directions are numbered. The reader is immediately confused about the meaning of the numbers. It took me longer to put the bar and chain on the saw than it did to fell and cut up that maple.

I got this to do some small trees around my yard. Overall, I love that it can cut pretty well with good technique, but it requires an excessive amount of recharging, thus not having the performance time to do more than a few things at a time. One nice thing is the fact that it can take a different chains and bars and it's easy to swap out. Tightening rhe chain can still become a task that leads to sore thumbs.To summarize:Pros:-Strong chainsaw for its size. Can quite quite nicely.-reasonably easy to use, and as with any quality tool comes with good documentation.-Easy to change between bar sizes.-Good display to show remaining battery life.Cons:-pretty short battery life, most useful for very small jobs around the house, but may need more than one set of batteries to jump around for a single job. Might be worth forking over the $130 for another pair of batteries.-chain tightening done by a thumb mechanism can lead to sore thumbs quickly.