Milwaukee Top Handle Vs. Rear Handle Chainsaw: How To Pick The Right One For Your Needs

The Milwaukee hardware brand offers a small handful of different battery-powered chainsaws in a few different sizes and power levels. Besides those elements, one of the major differentiating factors between these chainsaws is the placement of their handles. Some, like the M18 FUEL 16-inch chainsaw, have a handle on the back, while others, like the M18 FUEL 14-inch, have their handle on the top.

Both of these chainsaws are powered by the same battery packs and are roughly capable of the same level of output. Considering that, what difference does the placement of the handle make? The answer is that the handle placement makes the chainsaw more or less convenient to use in certain circumstances. If you're a professional arborist, it might be to your benefit to have a top-handle chainsaw, but if you're just pruning branches or chopping logs on the ground, a rear handle might be more convenient.

Users on Reddit generally agree that, rather than matters of convenience or preference, the primary factor that determines the best chainsaw you can buy between top-handle and rear-handle models is where you're doing the cutting. While both chainsaw types can technically do the same jobs, a top handle is a better choice for professional work, while rear handles are better for everything else.

Top-handle chainsaws are the tool of choice for professional-level arborists who are actively climbing up trees and hanging from the trunk, or standing high up in a truck-mounted bucket. The reason for this, whether for Milwaukee chainsaws or one of the other top chainsaw brands, is that top-handle chainsaws are generally smaller and lighter than their rear-handle counterparts. This makes them easier to carry when an arborist is climbing their way up a large tree by hand. Additionally, placing the handle on the top instead of the rear balances the tool, which allows it to be used one-handed if necessary, though only a trained professional should attempt this.

For all other individuals and situations, a rear-handle chainsaw would be the better choice. Rear-handle chainsaws are easier to use when standing on the ground for jobs like light limbing of low branches, hedge maintenance, or cutting logs. These chainsaws are meant to be used two-handed, and are technically safer to operate, as the rear handle keeps your hands further from the chain while it's spinning. You should still be careful when using a rear-handle chainsaw, of course, but they're more accessible to those who may not have professional-level training.