How to choose a cordless chainsaw

Chainsaws are the one tool in the yard where buying too much saw is a genuine hazard rather than a waste of money. The specs that decide the purchase are bar length, chain dimensions, weight and how much work the pack does — and only one of those four is usually on the front of the box.

Cuts per charge beats runtime in minutes

A runtime figure for a chainsaw is close to meaningless, because a chainsaw spends most of its trigger time not cutting anything. EGO does something better on the CS1804: it publishes up to 300 cuts through a 4x4 on a 5.0Ah pack. That is a work figure, and you can size a battery against it.

Two things fall out of that. First, a modest pack goes a long way on a chainsaw: the tool is only under load for the seconds it is in the wood. Second, the 300-cut figure is on a 4x4 of softwood dimension lumber — hardwood rounds will be a fraction of it, and EGO does not publish a figure for those.

#ad Check the EGO CS1804 18-inch chainsaw price on Amazon — how we're funded.

Bar length: more is not better

The pattern to notice: as the bar gets longer the tool gets heavier, and weight is what stops you working safely once your arms tire. An 18-inch saw at 14.5 lb with the battery is a two-handed, feet-planted tool. If the branch is above your head, the answer is reach rather than bar length — the pole saw roundup covers that case.

Chain dimensions decide what replacements cost

The CS1804 uses a 3/8 inch pitch, 0.050 inch gauge chain with 62 drive links. Those are common dimensions: chains in that specification are stocked by every hardware store and sold by a dozen brands. It is the least exciting spec on the page and one of the most valuable, because a chain is a consumable.

The pole saw attachment uses a 0.043 inch narrow-kerf chain instead. Narrow kerf removes less wood per pass, which is exactly right on a small motor at the end of a pole — and it is a less common size to buy. Check the pitch, gauge and drive-link count of any saw before you buy it, and check that a replacement chain is a shelf item rather than an order.

The platform argument is stronger here than anywhere

A chainsaw is an occasional tool. It comes out after a storm, in the firewood season, and when a branch comes down — which makes it the worst possible reason to buy into a battery platform on its own, and one of the best reasons to already be on one.

On the EGO 56V system the CS1804 runs the same packs as the mower, the blower and the trimmer. Bought as a bare tool onto packs you already own, it is a saw. Bought as a kit with a battery and charger for one storm, it is a much bigger purchase. The compatibility rules across brands are on the compatibility page.

#ad Check the EGO PSA1000 pole saw attachment price on Amazon — how we're funded.

The part where we stay in our lane

We compare published specifications. We are not a safety authority, we have not tested these tools, and chainsaw injury is serious enough that generic advice from a comparison site is worse than no advice. Three things we will say, because they follow from the specs above rather than from opinion:

• Weight is a safety spec. 14.5 lb held at arm's length gets heavier every minute, and a tired grip is where control goes.
• Reach is a safety spec. A 38-inch pole plus a power head is the published alternative to standing on a ladder with a saw, and it exists for a reason.
• The manual is the authority. Kickback behaviour, chain tension and personal protective equipment are all covered there, per model.

What we cannot tell you

• Cuts per charge in hardwood. The published 300-cut figure is on a 4x4. Nobody publishes a hardwood equivalent.
• Noise. Not published for any saw we have specs for.
• Chain speed under load. EGO publishes an 11,000 RPM motor speed, which is not the same thing as chain speed in the cut.
• How long a chain stays sharp. Entirely dependent on what you cut and whether it touches soil.