Milwaukee or Stihl for battery powered chainsaw?

[MeUseDinoBone2Hammer]

I'm in need of a chainsaw of the sort that battery powered is both capable of handling and actually desirable.

I have some M18 tools and generally love Milwaukee stuff. I know many here are familiar with and love their M18 stuff also and probably wondering why the hell anyone would consider a Stihl battery powered chainsaw.

Well, as it turns out, I have a Stihl battery powered mower and a battery powered kombi with a few attachments already (edger, string trimmer, leaf blower, power sweeper, pole saw, and reciprocating scissors).

So, as you can see I'm somewhat invested in both teams, red and burnt orange. That said, somewhere in the back of my mind I feel like an oddball with the Stihl stuff, I certainly don't know anyone else with their battery tools and I always get a funny feeling at the Stihl dealer when I'm buying it. It has been great though, I never worry about anyone getting upset with the noise and I love not fooling around with all the gas cans and oil. Hell, I gave my lawn its final fall mow last year with a flashlight clenched in my teeth, wouldn't have considered that with a gas mower.

So what you think, go Stihl AP battery chainsaw or Milwaukee M18? Budget for the tool itself isn't a big deal really. The bigger deal is where things are at 10 years from now and I'm knee deep in Stihl OPE or Milwaukee M18 OPE.

 

[B_Bimmer]

If stihl makes it milwaukee would have to have something amazing to offer to even be in the running.

 

[dnschmidt]

Basically it's a question of batteries. Milwaukee batteries can be found anywhere. Stihl could be harder to come by. Also, I don't know the cost of Stihl batteries. Milwaukee's are expensive and I'm sure the German's are even worse.

 

[f121]

If you already have sthil batteries, buy the sthil. You can tell that they are a chainsaw company and milwauke/dewalt/makita are power tool companies when you compare their saws.

 

[WWheeler]

Two rounds of testing so far.

Round 1

Round 2

 

[WWheeler]

Basically it's a question of batteries. Milwaukee batteries can be found anywhere. Stihl could be harder to come by. Also, I don't know the cost of Stihl batteries. Milwaukee's are expensive and I'm sure the German's are even worse.

I guess it depends on where you live. I live in mostly rural mid-USA to where there are only a few places where tools like Milwaukee or
Dewalt can be bought, basically in town at the big box store only, but can't count how many Stihl and Husqvarna dealers there are. I have to pass no less than 4 Stihl dealers to get to any store that sells Dewalt or Milwaukee in the 40 miles it takes to get to the one. We have a Stihl dealer in my small town of 5000 ppl, as does every other small town around here. Every farm supply and implement sales outlet carries a good stock of Stihls or Huskys. Gotta drive to all the way the closest big city to buy Dewalt or Milwaukee or Hitachi or Makita ...

The good thing is, most Milwaukee and Dewalt and so on stuff for us rural and small-town types gets delivered to our doorsteps so we don't have to make that trip any more.

 

[Rinspeed]

After researching it for a couple weeks I went with the Makita 36V. We keep it in the Grizzly cargo bag a lot for clearing trails. With a sharp chain it's rips pretty well on the smaller stuff and has exceeded my expectations. I'm a big Stihl fan and have a Pro MS441 saw, for what they charge the Stihl electric is a dog compared to the Makita.

 

[Kscardsfan]

We’ve started incorporating Stihl battery powered tools in the park system here and have had pretty good reports coming back from our end users about them. We also have piles of gas powered tools still, so it’s a sort of limited trial right now, but our overall experience thus far has been pretty good. I’m probably going to get the M18 blower before too long just out of how god awful frustrating my current gas powered blower has been to deal with.

 

[humpty]

We have the full suite of Stihl OPE here at work. Overall the grounds folks love them.
If you have both platforms there really isn't a comparison between the two, the 36V will outperform the 18V, as it should.

As far as future proofing I would say that's fairly even. Both brands target market is the "professional" and as such they tend to be a little more deliberate with platform changes.

If it was me and I wanted as close to a gas chainsaw as I could I would go Stihl, if I was just going to use it for trimming trees and whatnot I'd go Milwaukee. If I was going to do actual tree work, felling, firewood, long days, etc...I would buy a good gas one, batteries are awesome but the IC saws are still better.

What I did in real life: I have the Milwaukee Hatchet and for my very limited tree trimming it is a fantastic tool. I can also borrow a real chainsaw, battery or gas from work if I need it.

 

[uratool]

Purchased an M18 chainsaw/blower combo recently and have about a dozen charges on it...I'm impressed. The kerf is narrow and the bar is thin to reduce resistance and maximize battery life but you get used to it pretty quick. I'm finding that I don't reach for my gas saw much anymore....

Live on 50ac of pine/hardwoods (not many oaks/maple) and I'm felling/cutting firewood with the M18. Recently turned 50 so the pace is good for me to cut for an hour or so then move the wood while the battery charges back up.

I've never experienced the Stihl battery operated stuff so I can't recommend one over the other but used Stihl gas-powered chainsaws professionally and my personal saw is an old MS-260pro. I'm not a Milwaukee fanboi.....just passing along my experience.

 

[MeUseDinoBone2Hammer]

After reading all your responses and doing some more thinking I've landed on going with the Stihl. Honestly the cost of equivalently useful batteries is a wash. My 300S Stihl battery cost me less than the largest M18 goes for (HD12) and I already own two of them. Now I just need to decide which saw, MSA-200 or MSA-220. I tell ya, unless a tool or OPE absolutely requires gasoline with no electric equivalent, and as long I use these things as a homeowner, not to earn a living with all day, I will never go back to IC/gas equipment.

 

[Rabid Badger]

If you already have sthil batteries, buy the sthil. You can tell that they are a chainsaw company and milwauke/dewalt/makita are power tool companies when you compare their saws.

Makita has been in the chainsaw business since 1991, when they bought a German company that had been making them since 1927.

They have a bit of a leg up on DeWalt and Milwaukee.

 

[quickfarms]

I have two makita 36v saws now and they are great but I have a stack of batteries

between the Milwaukee, Stihl, and makita it is based on local support and what you already have

 

[Rickkyyr8]

After reading all your responses and doing some more thinking I've landed on going with the Stihl. Honestly the cost of equivalently useful batteries is a wash. My 300S Stihl battery cost me less than the largest M18 goes for (HD12) and I already own two of them. Now I just need to decide which saw, MSA-200 or MSA-220. I tell ya, unless a tool or OPE absolutely requires gasoline with no electric equivalent, and as long I use these things as a homeowner, not to earn a living with all day, I will never go back to IC/gas equipment.

I agree with that last statement!

 

[f121]

Makita has been in the chainsaw business since 1991, when they bought a German company that had been making them since 1927.

They have a bit of a leg up on DeWalt and Milwaukee.

Makita saws work really well, I’ve had their 36v non-brushless top handle for about 5 years and recently used their 36v brushless back handle for an ash felling job. Great saws with plenty of power.

What I mean is the finishing, solidness, plastics and ergonomics of the sthil late just like a regular sthil chainsaw, whereas the makitas feel like another makita power tool. If I had sthil batteries already I would defo buy the sthil.

Local support is much less relevant for a battery saw, they typically just work, and if there is an issue it’d probably get posted back for service. Maybe an oiler replacement would be done locally, but the average small engine guy isn’t going to know a thing about brushless motors.

 

[redmondjp]

Regardless of the brand, as with any chainsaw but especially with battery-powered ones, a sharp chain is an absolute must! Touch one rock or a nail or fencing embedded in the wood and you are done with that chain. Best to have a spare sharp chain on hand with the wrench. Also, another issue I have noticed with my Stihl is that it is super easy to forget to check the bar oil. On a gas-powered saw, you run out of fuel and at that time also check the oil. I don't use mine that often - I have the AK series and my dad and brother have the Stihl AP series cordless saws.

 

[shawhite]

We use the msa-200 at work and they do whatever we ask of them but an extra 2in on the bar would be nice some times so my vote would be go with the msa-220.

 

[ATC]

I dropped 2 oak trees last weekend with my MS311. One of them had the 20" bar buried, and I had to take a cut from both sides.

I did ALL the limbing with my M18 chainsaw. I am very impressed with it...very comparable to my MS180C

 

[Dakotadadv8]

Nice saw may look at battery power saws in the near future. I used the electric Stihls MSE 210 C 16" bar with sharp chains and cuts 24 inch tree like butter, but the electric cord is PIA sometimes. Need a Stihls gas saw for larger trees.

 

[joe_pinehill1]

If it is going to be your only saw, I would get a gas powered saw. The M18 is a great second saw, but it goes through batteries. MHO