Lithium powered saws?

[Brandon cox]

I have the 18v makita and I love it for small stuff. It has surprising power and the battery lasts a long time. I just keepn1 5ah on the charger and when I come down for a break I swap them out. But anythingnover about inches I have my ground guy send up my 355. But the thing is so light you don't even notice it hanging on your saddle. I call it my power silky. My next one will definitely be the 18x2 version with a 14 inch panther bar. And for only 299 without the batteries its less than half the cost of the husky. And batteries are way cheaper also.

hmm thanks for the thread...so should I buy the husvarna or Makita battery saw

 

[Brandon cox]

I agree that an HD12 battery in a (theoretical) top handled Milwaukee saw would probably not be to much or unbalanced weight...I was just thinking I wouldn't use the HD12 in most other tools (drill, impact driver, Sawzall, angle grinder. Possibly in a blower or weed wacker.... That doesn't make it a bad choice. If a couple of HD5 batteries would get me through a day (I could see that - I do a lot of handsaw pruning, and it is not uncommon that I don't need a gas refill for the saw during a climb), that would be great! Wonder if Milwaukee will see the market opportunity?

I've been eyeing the Husqvarna, but I'm trying to save my pennies to pay for a shop right now and I don't need a new top handled saw. If Milwaukee had a top handle tool only for $200-250, it would be hard to not buy! I see Home Depot has the Makita for $320 (with an angle grinder thrown in). Very tempting...but I'm saving pennies!

The makita is awesome. The 18v one is only 199 for just the tool. You can also buy the 1/4 pitch conversion for it through chainsawbars and arbsession. Worth every penny. Its built like a pro saw 100%