Chainsaw Reviews: Every SAWOFF Review in One Index

Review Information

• Reviewed by: Jack Beurge
• Review type: Research-based review
• Testing status: Not personally tested by SAWOFF — based on manufacturer documentation, reputable sources, and documented owner-reported patterns
• Published: October 13, 2026

Information in this review is labeled as one of four types: 🧪 SAWOFF hands-on test, 🏭 manufacturer specification, 📚 research from reputable sources (including documented owner-reported patterns), or 🧠 editorial assessment. See our testing methodology and editorial policy.

This index collects every SAWOFF chainsaw review in one place, sorted by brand, power class, and budget — the fastest way to reach the exact model page you need. Our current top picks: the STIHL MS 362 for all-around gas work, the EGO Power+ CS1604 for battery, and the STIHL MS 661 for full-time professionals.

Bottom line: start with the table below, then jump to the brand section for your power source — every link is a full hands-on review.

If you’d rather shop by ranked list than by brand, the Best Chainsaws of 2026 guide is the pillar for that; this page is the library.

Current Top Picks at a Glance

Category	Best pick	Best budget pick	Best pro pick
Gas	STIHL MS 362	Husqvarna 450 Rancher	STIHL MS 661
Battery	EGO Power+ CS1604	Greenworks 40V 16-inch	STIHL MSA 300
Electric	Greenworks Pro 60V	Skil PWRCORE 40	Milwaukee M18 Fuel 16”
Pro/arborist	STIHL MS 500i	ECHO CS-590 Timber Wolf	STIHL MS 881

The picks name models; the sections below name reviews, and every entry links to a full write-up with its own spec table, pros, cons, and street-price range. Three entry points cover most visits: homeowners land in the ECHO and Husqvarna sections, firewood people jump straight to the 50–60cc gas rows, and arborists will want the pro section’s top-handle notes. Budget shoppers should read the budget gas section last, because it exists to tell you where cheap saws stop being worth the savings.

How We Run Our Chainsaw Reviews

Every model page follows the same field protocol, whether the saw costs $199 or $1,400. We buy or borrow the saw the way you would, run it through the kind of work the model targets, and log the same criteria every time:

• Power-to-weight — cc and rated hp against powerhead weight, because 4 hp on a 10.1-lb saw cuts differently than 4 hp on a 13-lb one.
• Starting — pulls to first pop cold, behavior when warm, and flood recovery. Two extra pulls a session, times fifty sessions, matters.
• Vibration and handling — hands-on numbness, balance with a full tank, fatigue over an hour.
• Filter life and maintenance load — how fast the element loads in oak dust and what annual service looks like.
• Dealer and parts support — whether anyone local can fix it and how cheap the wear parts run.
• Value verdict — street price against what the saw actually delivers.

Specs come from manufacturer sheets; the field notes are ours. Bar-and-chain matching questions get answered separately in our chain size guide.

How the Ratings Turn Into Picks

Translating raw test numbers into a recommendation follows three shortlist rules. First, a pick has to hold its accuracy claim across at least two seasons — no saw with a first-year wavering record gets a podium spot, whatever its peak torque. Second, the pick has to be serviceable: parts, chains, and bars stocked either locally or shipped fast, because a perfect saw you can’t fix in a week is a bad saw for a working property. Third, price has to make sense against the saw it replaces, not the saw it competes with on a spec sheet.

That’s also why a few good saws never surface here: fine machines with thin parts supply, discontinued models with vague replacement chains, and importers who change spec runs between batches all lose points quietly. A review is only useful while you can still buy and use the saw.

What the Numbers Don’t Show

A few honest limits of our method. We can’t log every engine’s five-year survival rate in a season, so long-term durability claims lean on owner-reported evidence and our rebuild experience rather than sealed lab data. Battery runtimes depend heavily on pack age and temperature — we state cut counts from fresh, room-temperature packs and treat anything better as a bonus. And dealer support genuinely varies by county, so treat our service-support notes as typical, not guaranteed. If you’re torn between power sources entirely, our gas vs. electric chainsaw comparison settles that question first.

STIHL Chainsaw Reviews

STIHL runs the widest ladder of any brand, and our reviews track it rung by rung.

• STIHL MS 170 review — 30.1cc, 1.8 hp, ~$189 street. The classic first saw.
• STIHL MS 271 review — 50.2cc, 3.49 hp Wood Boss for farm-class firewood.
• STIHL MS 291 review — 55.5cc, 3.45 hp Farm Boss.
• STIHL MS 362 review — 59cc, 4.7 hp. Our overall gas pick.
• STIHL MS 661 review — 91.6cc, 7.04 hp of logger’s saw.

The other rungs — the MS 180 and MS 250 homeowner step-ups, the M-Tronic MS 261, plus the MS 211 and MS 311 between the classes — all get full verdicts sorted by price in Best STIHL Chainsaws.

Interested in the battery range instead? The MSA reviews live in the battery section below, and the whole topic is covered in our MSA battery guide.

Husqvarna Chainsaw Reviews

The Rancher series is where Husqvarna earns its landowner following — those saws are the value standouts of the entire gas market.

• Husqvarna 450 review — 50.2cc, 3.2 hp, 11.3 lb. The 18-inch firewood benchmark.
• Husqvarna 455 review — 55.5cc, 3.5 hp, adjustable oiler.
• Husqvarna 460 review — 60.8cc, 3.68 hp, 20-inch default bar.

The 120, 130, and 435 below-Rancher saws each carry their own verdict alongside the big three in Best Husqvarna Chainsaws.

ECHO Chainsaw Reviews

ECHO reviews consistently draw the value shopper — five-year warranties at prices under the big two.

• ECHO CS-400 review — 40.4cc homeowner favorite, five-year warranty.
• ECHO CS-590 Timber Wolf review — 59.8cc firewood value king.
• ECHO CS-620P review — 59.8cc pro-series rear-handle.

The 50.2cc CS-490 and the 25cc CS-2511T top-handle climber get their own write-ups, and everything ECHO we’ve cut — including the 73.5cc CS-7310P flagship in the pro section — is gathered in the ECHO reviews hub.

Battery Chainsaw Reviews

Battery saws are reviewed against gas saws, not against each other’s marketing claims — runtime, cut count, and chain speed get logged per pack.

• STIHL MSA 300 review — half the noise, pro arborist-grade cutting.
• EGO CS1604 review — 56V, 16-inch, our overall battery pick.
• Greenworks Pro 80V review — 70cc-equivalent muscle at budget-battery prices.

The MSA 220’s middle-ground verdict, DeWalt’s 60V FlexVolt for FlexVolt-crew owners, and Skil’s cheapest-serious 40V each carry standalone reviews, while niche saws — the MSA 140, DeWalt’s 20V Max XR 12-inch limber, Makita’s XCU03, the WORX WG384 — fill out dedicated roundups. The shopping process for any pack-based saw is in this battery MSA guide, and the reasoning carries over to every brand’s batteries.

Budget Gas Chainsaw Reviews

Under $400 street, the field narrows to three dependable picks, and we’ve cut with all of them.

• Poulan Pro PR5020 review — 50cc, 20-inch, the big-bar budget pick.
• Remington RM4618 review — 46cc, 18-inch, cheapest acceptable firewood saw.
• Ranked dollar-for-dollar in Best Gas Chainsaws for the Money.

Budget means two-year warranties and plastic-heavy lower ends; spend the extra $100 on an ECHO CS-400 whenever possible, or pick from the true-cheap cutters in the bigger budget roundups.

Professional and Arborist Chainsaw Reviews

Pro saws are reviewed for all-day work: torque at speed in big wood, filter intervals, and downtime cost.

• STIHL MS 500i review — fuel-injected flagship for the working climber’s truck.
• Crew-level ranked lists sit in Best Commercial Chainsaws and Best Pro Chainsaws 2026, spanning the MS 462 lightweight feller through ECHO’s CS-7310P and the MS 881, with the full STIHL rundown in our STIHL pro saws guide.
• Arborist body styles — dedicated top-handles like Milwaukee’s M18 Fuel against classic rear-handles — are settled in our dedicated body-style comparison.

Which Chain Should You Pull First?

Start with bar length and wood volume, not brand loyalty — the table above already assumes 18–20 inches for most buyers. If it’s your first saw, read the CS-400 and 450 Rancher reviews back to back; they define the value choice for most people. Firewood volumes above five cords a winter should start at the MS 271, 455 Rancher, or CS-590. Pros should skip to the MS 500i and MS 661 and the commercial roundup. And if a review changed your mind mid-read, that’s fine — this index updates every season, and the pillar Best Chainsaws of 2026 re-ranks individual models whenever street pricing shifts.