What chainsaw and what training do you have?

[British Red]

Down in the wood however, the advantages of the cordless saws outweigh any cost consideration. The most obvious being that in these valleys a petrol chainsaw running is the worst noise pollution you could think of; you can hear it for miles. Then, working on steep slopes, I can put the saw down without it jogging down the hill on idle. I can pick it up, do a single cut, and put it back down again without getting tennis elbow starting it A number of the local arborists and foresters around here have switched to electric for a great deal of their work.

Hills are less of a problem in Lincolnshire . My Arborist friend uses both a top handle and larger unit in the Stihl battery range and really likes them. Round here 2 strokes are common (brush cutters, hedge cutters & saws). I would like to try a battery saw but the DeWalt unit only takes one 18V battery (I believe the Makita uses 2?) and the run time is fairly short

 

[66jj99]

The Stihl battery saws make better sense if you have other kit, and batteries already.

-The smaller saws don't necessarily need the recommend battery model (Ap200 batts work fine on these lower power saws.)

I wouldn't choose anything like a msa160, for regular tree work. its really is very light duty, great for when used as such, but as you say, really expensive if got with the batteries & charger. - It was the right choice for me as already had the batts etc for other gear. This thing is amazing for rough cutting wood stock inside the workshop or small garden jobs.

The msa300 is a complety different beast, and would probably be my choice if I was looking for a silent saw for the woods. -Lovely with the sling or backpack battery. Huge investment if you need everything though!

The Makita dual batt saws are really good. A few people and groups I know use these pretty hard for woodwork and timber processing with no worries at all.

 

[slowworm]

I wouldn't choose anything like a msa160, for regular tree work. its really is very light duty, great for when used as such, but as you say, really expensive if got with the batteries & charger. - It was the right choice for me as already had the batts etc for other gear. This thing is amazing for rough cutting wood stock inside the workshop or small garden jobs.

I've got the MSA120 domestic battery saw (now called the MSA60?) and it has been great for use around the home, thinning and coppicing and even taking off the tops of windfall trees. It's done a large amount of work without problems. But I'm aware of it's limitations, anything too big and it is slow and really runs down the battery.

Realistically I'm looking at something like the 261 to cope with the larger trees. The MSA300 is one of the only battery saws that are comparable and I note the battery would only last 20 mins when ringing up a tree. So I'd need a few batteries or the back pack. I can see the benefits for a pro user or if I win some money!

For me though, I'm likely to need it after a storm and the last one we had no power for 30 hrs and other people in our area were without power for over 3 days. So a petrol saw is the only option for me.

 

[MrEd]

The Stihl battery saws make better sense if you have other kit, and batteries already.

-The smaller saws don't necessarily need the recommend battery model (Ap200 batts work fine on these lower power saws.)

I wouldn't choose anything like a msa160, for regular tree work. its really is very light duty, great for when used as such, but as you say, really expensive if got with the batteries & charger. - It was the right choice for me as already had the batts etc for other gear. This thing is amazing for rough cutting wood stock inside the workshop or small garden jobs.

The msa300 is a complety different beast, and would probably be my choice if I was looking for a silent saw for the woods. -Lovely with the sling or backpack battery. Huge investment if you need everything though!

The Makita dual batt saws are really good. A few people and groups I know use these pretty hard for woodwork and timber processing with no worries at all.

I bought the battery one as I already had stihl hedge trimmer from the AP range, shopping around you can get the ap300 for better prices online.
I have since added a brush cutter and it superb on that with batteries. I have 2 ap300 and 1 ap200 battery and that’s more than enough for me and my father in law for some casual logging for the fireplace. For my needs it’s great