5 Of The Most Popular Mini Chainsaws (Ranked By Price)
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Chainsaws are often associated with lumber yards and more extensive landscaping, but mini chainsaws can be a versatile tool for your home, whether for gardening or DIY carpentry projects. The advantage to using a motorized chainsaw over manually sawing wood is obvious, but mini chainsaws have additional perks — despite being smaller and typically less powerful than their larger counterparts.
Because they're lighter, mini chainsaws are simpler to use, able to access tighter spaces and more angles, and cause less fatigue because they both weigh less and have less vibration than full-sized chainsaws. Often they can be used one-handed, and many mini chainsaws these days come cordless thanks to advances in battery technology.
Not only is it convenient to work without getting tangled up in cords, but it also makes mini chainsaws more portable and better for bringing from jobsite to jobsite. It's easier than ever to find a good mini chainsaw, whether you're using it to prune trees and shrubs or cut delicate pieces of wood. Here are five of the most popular mini chainsaws available, ranked by price.
5. Kimo 6-Inch Mini Cordless Chainsaw ($79)
A very popular option is the Kimo 6-Inch Mini Cordless Chainsaw. It's a top seller and has over 1,800 ratings on Amazon, with over 80% of those ratings being four out of five stars or higher. Six inches is about as small as a standard mini chainsaw gets, making it very versatile around the yard and woodshop, especially since it's cordless. Weighing a little over three pounds, it's also easy to transport to a jobsite. It uses a 2 Ah battery to power a 20-volt brushless motor that can effortlessly cut through smaller pieces of wood with a chain that moves at 13 feet per second.
Kimo's mini chainsaw will only run continuously for 25 minutes, but its battery can be fully charged in 1.5 hours. Plus, it comes with two batteries, so you can have a charged backup on hand. The tool also comes with a charger, bar cover, screwdriver, and an oil bottle. Kimo's 6-Inch Mini Cordless Chainsaw currently has a list price of $79, but you can find it on Amazon for $10 less. The chainsaw only comes with one bar and chain, however, so you may want to pay more for a backup or be prepared to spend money when the time comes to replace them.
4. Seyvum 6-inch Mini Cordless Chainsaw ($99)
Seyvum's 6-inch Mini Cordless Chainsaw is a powerful tool despite its small size. It has a 750W pure copper motor that can run the chain at 26.2 feet per second. That allows the tool to efficiently slice through a 6-inch thick log in about eight seconds. Two 20-volt high-capacity batteries and a charger are included, so you can use it twice as long without stopping to recharge (charging time takes around two hours). That amounts to a run time of about an hour, which equates to around 40 cuts to 4-inch branches. The tool is easy to set up out of the box, especially since a chain comes installed. An extra chain is also included with the mini chainsaw, as well as a guide plate blade and cover, oil bottle, oil brush, protective gloves, and a portable storage bag.
One downside to using a Seyvum product is that the company isn't as large as some other major tool manufacturers, and thus offers fewer products than the competition. If you're trying to save money and space by buying all your cordless power tools from the same brand so they can share the same compatible batteries and chargers, you'll be at a disadvantage going with Seyvum. However, if you want a quality mini chainsaw and don't care if it needs its own batteries, the Seyvum 6-inch Mini Cordless Chainsaw is a solid choice, and is available from Amazon for $99.
3. Black+Decker 20V Max 10-Inch Cordless Chainsaw ($106)
The Black+Decker 20V Max 10-Inch Cordless Chainsaw has a good-sized cut capacity (8 inches) for a mini chainsaw and can deliver smooth and quick cuts with relatively little kickback. It conveniently uses tool-free chain tensioning, so you can adjust the chainsaw on the fly with little effort. It also utilizes an oiling system to keep the bar and chain lubricated for optimal performance.
The tool weighs 9.3 pounds and has a 10-inch bar and chain. Despite being a relatively larger mini chainsaw, it's still paired with a lower-capacity 20-volt battery, similar to the ones that power popular 6-inch chainsaws. This combination of a larger chain and smaller battery has the unfortunate effect of making this tool less ideal for thicker pieces of wood, so you should only go with this option if you're sticking to smaller projects and pruning work. Black+Decker's 20V Max 10-Inch Cordless Chainsaw has the product code LCS102 and is retailed at around $105, though you can currently find it for $89 from both Amazon and Home Depot.
2. Ryobi 18V ONE+ HP 6 Compact Brushless Pruning Chainsaw ($149)
Ryobi makes a variety of different-sized chainsaws, with most of them being part of the company's proprietary ONE+ system of interchangeable batteries and chargers. The smallest of its lineup is its 18V ONE+ HP 6" Compact Brushless Pruning Chainsaw, which may be less powerful than its bigger counterparts but is also easier to use — especially in smaller, tighter places, like when you're reaching into dense brush. The chainsaw uses a convenient trigger mechanism that makes it easy to use one-handed. Plus, the tool doesn't require oil lubrication and is built with tool-free chain tensioning. With a 2 Ah battery, it can make up to 21 cuts per charge.
Pruning is right there in the name of the product because the tool is too small to be used for larger cutting. If you're looking to work with pieces of wood thicker than 4 inches and don't want to clutter your garage with multiple chainsaws of various sizes, then a slightly larger model might be a better option. But if you're sticking to smaller tasks, the Ryobi 18V ONE+ HP 6" Compact Brushless Pruning Chainsaw is a good choice. It has product code P25013BTLVNM and is available from Home Depot for $149.
1. Milwaukee M12 Fuel Hatchet ($199)
The Milwaukee M12 FUEL Hatchet is a 6-inch mini chainsaw that excels when it comes to performance and handling. It weighs less than five pounds and is made with both a variable-speed trigger and a top handle, so you can use a two-handed grip for precise control of your cuts. Compatible with an extended-capacity 4 Ah battery that's part of Milwaukee's proprietary M12 cordless system, the tool can produce 120 cuts of 3-inch hardwood per charge. Other features include onboard scrench storage, an automatic oiler, and easy-access chain tensioning.
For a 6-inch mini chainsaw, Milwaukee's tool is pretty pricey, however. Milwaukee's M12 FUEL Hatchet, which has product code 2527-20, costs $219 at Home Depot, but you can currently find it for $199 on Amazon. That cost climbs higher when factoring in a battery and charger. Even at the lower price, it's more than double the cost of some other popular mini chainsaws that are similar in size. But if you already own other Milwaukee power tools that use M12 batteries, or are willing to pay extra for the ergonomic top handle design and extra cuts the tool can deliver, it's a quality product that's worth the money.