Oregon Battery Powered Pole Saw

[Triple C]

I've got a lot of interior roads at the farm...a lot. Limb creep keeps closing them in. The Mrs. is not fond of taking rides and getting slapped by limbs so something needed to be done. To much for one of the hand held elbow grease pole saws. I got one of those for hanging stands. I figure at my age..it's time for something a little better. After purchasing a number of lithium battery powered hand tools the past few years and liking them...I decided on a lithium battery pole saw. There's lots of them available at all price points. I went with the Oregon based on reviews and cause I like their chains. It was quite a bit more pricey than others but went with what I knew.

1st impression after one day of use...This thing is a beast! Ran it pretty much non-stop for bout an hour and not just overhanging limbs but 4" saplings at ground level. I got plenty tired and sweaty before it ran out of juice. Still had 2 bars of battery left when I took my 1st break. Had a bunch of limbs and saplings down so I decided to charge the battery while I was taking care of the limbs. Took about an hour to get the battery back up to full charge.

Went for another 45 minutes or so until I ran out of steam knowing I had all those limbs to clear out of the way. Keep in mind...this thing has been thru only 1 day of use. It could fall apart in the next few months so take this for what it's worth after one day of use. Here's the skinny...

• Looks to be very well built. Cutting head is heavy duty with a 10" bar with chain oil reservoir.
• Fully collapsed it is about 8 ft long. Fully extended it goes out to 13 ft. Nice for getting those high branches.
• Locking mechanism for extending pole is self clamping device you tighten by hand. Very easy to extend and retract.
• Weighs 13 lbs. Motor is centered in shaft which makes it balance very well when fully retracted.
• Nice shoulder strap that I liked a lot! This thing would be too heavy for extended use without the shoulder strap. It connects just ahead of the motor for good balance. Only time I removed it from shoulder strap was to reach really high branches.
• Simple screw adjustment for tightening chain. Screw driver included.
• Power really surprised me. I cut several water oaks that were 4ish inches in diameter at ground level. It is a powerful piece of equipment.
• Unlike a gas powered saw...this thing ain't running till you depress the trigger. NO pulling a rope to start...just press the trigger and you're at full speed. I liked this feature a lot. No safety issue with it running between cuts.
• And then the obvious...no fuel to mix and no hauling fuel to the woods. Just charge and go.

If you were running one all day then you'd certainly need back up batteries. But I ain't doing that anymore. On my 1st day of using this I found I wore out before the battery. Again...I have no idea how this will hold up over the long haul...say 3 or more years. But after day one...I'm a huge fan. Here's a few pics:

 

[grady white]

Nice ...that has to beat the heck out the extendable manual pole saws ....those things will make a man have a heat stroke in warm weather .. and flat wear you out even in cool weather ...might have to get me one of these. Oregon knows a thing or two about cutting wood that's for sure
Good review

 

[FootLongDawg]

How much are the extra batteries?

 

[Triple C]

How much are the extra batteries?

4.0 Ah battery is $139 on Amazon.

 

[Triple C]

Nice ...that has to beat the heck out the extendable manual pole saws ....those things will make a man have a heat stroke in warm weather .. and flat wear you out even in cool weather ...might have to get me one of these. Oregon knows a thing or two about cutting wood that's for sure
Good review

Grady...I'm with you on the manual pole saws. We've got a couple of those for trimming limbs around stands and they serve their purpose just fine for that. But for extended use on bigger stuff I was ready for an alternative to the manual pole saw and hand saw. I'm impressed after one day of use.

 

[TedChef]

4.0 Ah battery is $139 on Amazon.

it's a bit expensive???

 

[Triple C]

it's a bit expensive???

Yes it is. There's plenty brands available for much lower price point that have great reviews. Could be that I paid a premium for the name brand but I knew Oregon stuff. I didn't the others. I felt better about the price after using it.

 

[Buford_Dawg]

Great report, my buddy Jim has a gas powered Stihl that we use and after a little while it wears me out. Pretty heavy, but boy do they work great. I may have to look into the battery powered saws. The trails and roads on the other side of the road from you are gonna take alot of attention to clear this year.

 

[Dub]

Nice review.

Looks like a mighty handy tool for exactly what you were wanting.

I'm guessing it's heaps more quiet, too.

 

[Miguel Cervantes]

More and more folks are going to discover the advantages of Lithium Battery power, now that the technology has caught up, and start converting. My front lawn is done 100% with battery powered mower, blower and weed eater.

Thanks for posting the info on the Oregon pole saw. That will eventually be one of the implements I add to my collection of LB powered tools.

 

[Triple C]

Nice review.

Looks like a mighty handy tool for exactly what you were wanting.

I'm guessing it's heaps more quiet, too.

Dub - It's quiet as a mouse till you squeeze the trigger. Then it's just the chain noise. No hearing protection needed for this thing. I'll be back at it this coming weekend and will continue to post updates as I use it more.

 

[rayjay]

Oregon has a pretty decent cordless chainsaw also.

 

[Triple C]

Spent bout 1:45 at it again this past weekend with this saw. Goal was to run the battery down before I did but didn't manage to do it. had one bar left of battery when I called it a morning. Cutting is the easy part. Dragging those durn limbs wrapped in saw briers n such not so easy. It's like they're cemented to the adjoining tree when the vines wrap all up in em.

2 weekends of work doesn't say much for the durability of this unit. Time will tell over the long-term. Short term...I love this thing. It will saw some big stuff.

 

[shdw633]

Spent bout 1:45 at it again this past weekend with this saw. Goal was to run the battery down before I did but didn't manage to do it. had one bar left of battery when I called it a morning. Cutting is the easy part. Dragging those durn limbs wrapped in saw briers n such not so easy. It's like they're cemented to the adjoining tree when the vines wrap all up in em.

2 weekends of work doesn't say much for the durability of this unit. Time will tell over the long-term. Short term...I love this thing. It will saw some big stuff.

Are you having any issues keeping the chain tight. That seems to be the only minor issue I have with my Kobalt. Seems I tighten that chain allot through the course of taking down many branches.

 

[Dirtroad Johnson]

Good review, I bought a 40 volt Kobalt from Lowe's about 3 years ago & it does exactly as your describing. I liked it so well that we purchased another one this past year, also purchased the 40 volt blower for the camphouse so we would have access to more batteries. I have used a Stihl in the past & these cut better & are easier to use. I agree the battery will out last the operator. My wood roads all need going thru, need a couple young backs. As you say cutting is the easiest part.

 

[Triple C]

Are you having any issues keeping the chain tight. That seems to be the only minor issue I have with my Kobalt. Seems I tighten that chain allot through the course of taking down many branches.

No issues so far on keeping the chain tension where it needs to be. The Oregon has the old school screw tightener. I tightened it a tad before I started Saturday morning and didn't have to tighten again. 1st time I used it a couple of weeks ago the chain popped off the bar when I got it pinched in a sapling. It was an easy fix just like a chainsaw.

 

[Triple C]

Good review, I bought a 40 volt Kobalt from Lowe's about 3 years ago & it does exactly as your describing. I liked it so well that we purchased another one this past year, also purchased the 40 volt blower for the camphouse so we would have access to more batteries. I have used a Stihl in the past & these cut better & are easier to use. I agree the battery will out last the operator. My wood roads all need going thru, need a couple young backs. As you say cutting is the easiest part.

Been using Dewalt brand saws, blowers and shop vacs with lithium batteries for the past 2 years. They don't make a pole saw so I decided on the Oregon. So far I'm liking it.