A few weeks ago we went thru some of the Aldi camping specials and found some good value.
1 Item I couldn't come to a conclusion on was there Garden Line 36V chainsaw at a price of $199.
We are pretty tough on products as there is a lot of fluff around these days and by the time I made up mind they were all sold out.
At the time I checked out a friends Oregon unit and it was quite a capable unit but very pricy at over $800 with 2 batteries.
Aldi where at it again last week with some good stuff, and while I was checking some out I noticed a few of the chainsaws unadvertized but at the ridiculus price of $99.
One immediately went into our shopping basket and 30 mins later I had cut up a 12 inch hardwood log with it but only just as the bar is only 12 inches long!
I didn't even put chain oil into the unit as I was prepared to take it straight back if it didn't perform.
Mostly I run a 14" bar Sthil MS170 in the car and it is definatley more powerful than the Garden line and I'd prefer it on a big trip but the Gardenline product is good and can get you out of trouble and definately has its place.
Also there are times when one needs to hack into things quietly and the 36v chainsaw really can get small jobs done without waking up the neighbours.
Had another hard track slog over the weekend and after several hours of pushing thru the scrub, frequently stopping to chainsaw up stuff I was getting pretty tired and the Sthil always takes 6 -7 fast pulls to fire up.
The 36v battery electric saw clearly wins here and saves quite some physical effort.
I thought about buying a second battery, but they cost exactly the same $99 as I paid for the entire unit.
What a joke, I went back to buy another complete chainsaw just to get a battery but I had already told my mates and no chainsaws where left.
They also had a $69 hedge trimmer which used the same lithium battery so I might get that instead, take the battery and throw the hedge trimmer away before my wife finds out and gets me to do some gardening.
While it would be nice, a second battery isn't really needed as the charger only takes 100 min for a full charge and I have already proven that it can be charged from my car via the 600w modified sinewave inverter I always carry.
The saw is rated for 90 cuts of 100mm softwood per charge and weighs about 6kg which is 1/2kg more than my MS170 its bar is only 12" which I think is a little short. My Ms170 is 14" which covers most average bush stuff.
In short , not as powerful as my small Sthil , but effective , practical and easy to live with.