The Best Cordless Pole Saws — Buyers Guide, Review, and Comparison

Pole Length

Just like Olympic long-jumping, tape measuring, and getting down and dirty in the bedroom — length is crucial.

The advantage of pole saws over their standard chainsaw counterparts is that they can reach high-level areas without the need for scaffold or ladders. Naturally, the longer the pole, the more access you have to elevated branches.

However, bear in mind that the longer the shaft, the more unwieldy the battery powered pole saw will become. The further the motorhead from the pivoting point (i.e. your hands), the greater the weight — leading to the increased risk of arm and grip fatigue.

Personally, I wouldn’t opt for a cordless pole pruner that extends beyond ten feet. The DeWalt DCPS620B exemplifies this maximum length, whereas models such as the Milwaukee M18 Fuel 2825-21PS measure only seven feet.

Battery Voltage and Longevity

As mentioned earlier in this battery operated pole saw round-up, one of the few downsides of lithium-ion models over their corded siblings is that they deliver slightly less grunt.

In order to mitigate this downfall, especially if you’re tackling seriously thick or wet timber, go for the highest voltage machine possible. Typically, more volts equal greater brawn — although strictly speaking, this can be offset by the gearing. For example, the 40-volt Greenworks 20302 offers more hardcore output than the 18-volt Ryobi ONE+ P4360BTL battery tree pruner.

Additionally, check out the mAh (milliampere/hour) rating of the power cell — a metric that indicates the longevity of the battery life from a single charge. The higher the mAh, the longer you can crack on with your project without replacing the cell or recharging. Look for machines with an 8.0 mAh or higher.

Brushed or Brushless Motor

DC motors, i.e., those that run off a lithium-ion cell, as with cordless tree pruner units, arrive in two formats — brushed and brushless. The former, as the name suggests, has brushes that make contact with the commutator — delivering current and allowing the rotor to revolve. Brushless examples, conversely, use no brushes — and instead rely on electromagnetic coils and rotating permanent magnets.

Confused? Don’t worry, to make these mechanical theories easy to understand, I’ve put together an Idiot’s Guide to Brushed and Brushless Motors. However, if you don’t have time to read through my explanatory 101, here’s the key — brushless motors are more efficient.

As they’re lacking in brushes, they experience less energy wastage through heat and friction than their brushed counterparts. This is important when selecting your cordless tree saw — such as the DeWalt DCPS620B — as it impacts on the battery life.

Due to higher efficiency, brushed motors experience longer battery life from a single charge — allowing you to crack on with your project with fewer interruptions. That said, bear in mind that the more complicated engineering in brushless models does make them somewhat harder on your pocket than those without.

For corded non-battery limb saw machines, it’s less of a concern. Sure, there will be more draw on your mains supply, but the amount is negligible to impact the running cost of the tool.

Auto-Oiling System

Personally, I’d steer clear of any cordless pole trimmer that doesn’t feature an auto-oiling system — unless you enjoy increasing your workload for no real reason.

Just as in the bedroom, lubrication is crucial. In battery pole pruner machines, oiling up the chain increases its lifespan by preventing corrosion, guarding against blockages, and shielding from kickback. Additionally, it allows you to plow through dense materials more effortlessly, and, because loads on the power unit are reduced — increases the life of the brushed or brushless motor.

You could purchase a standard budget-priced manual oiler rechargeable pole saw, but this will hamper your projects — meaning you have to stop work every five minutes (literally) to lubricate the chain.

Preferably, opt for an auto-oiling cordless limb saw, like the Ryobi ONE+ P4360BTL. This intelligent system automatically adds oil from the in-built reservoir during operation — thus dramatically cutting back on downtime. That said, you still need to manually fill the oil tank at the start of the job, it’s not freakin’ magic.

Transparent/Translucent Oil Tank

Related to your battery powered tree pruner unit’s auto-oiling system is the above-mentioned reservoir. Although not crucial, if you like making your DIY or trade life as straightforward as possible — go for a cordless branch saw with a transparent or translucent oil tank, such as the Greenworks 20302.

This permits you to effortlessly check the reservoir lubrication levels without having to dip the tank or just make an educated guess. Some cordless pole chain saw units just feature a see-thru window, as opposed to an entirely transparent tank — if that’s the case, ensure it’s sufficiently large to gauge levels.

Tool Only

Malcolm S. Forbes, the founder of Forbes Magazine and a man with an incorrigibly extravagant lifestyle said, the difference between men and boys is the price of their toys.

To be fair, he was talking about his propensity to purchase yachts, airplanes, and Fabergé eggs. Although, the principle still holds true for us DIYers and trade contractors.

Our power tools are our toys. Instead of whipping out our Hornby train sets or He-Man action figures at the weekend, we dive into our garage toy box and pull out a drill or heat gun.

However, do you recall excitedly unboxing your Space 3000 Laser Gun on Christmas morning — only to discover that it required 4 x AAA batteries, and these were unsurprisingly, not included?

Sure you do. Well, if you’re not careful, you could suffer a similar trauma when opening your shiny new battery powered limb cutter. Many of these machines arrive as tool-only — that is without a lithium-ion cell or charger. Thus meaning that without an additional purchase — or a store of cells already in your workshop — you will be unable to immediately get on with serious lopping.

Furthermore, it’s not just the disappointment. As making your rechargeable tree saw operable means spending your hard-earned dollars on batteries and chargers, it can affect the overall cost of your machine. Hence, when comparing the best battery pruning saw machines — ensure you’re comparing like with like, either including cells and power packs or without.

If you want a complete all-in-one package that permits you to attack your trees straight-outta-the-box, go for a lithium pole saw such as the Milwaukee M18 Fuel 2825-21PS that includes everything you need.