I don't know what it is like to be a drug addict... but I've seen movies.
As the illicit fluid exits the syringe and enters the blood stream... a sense of relief and euphoria overwhelms the recipient, who enters into a state of ecstasy having been satisfied once again with another hit.
Such is the feeling using this new LXT 18V single battery red trigger switch chainsaw. Having this much fun working in the sun limbing dead branches off of live trees should be illegal.
Indeed, even Makita warns that the XCUO6 top handle arborist chainsaw is "For Professional Use Only". I'm guessing this is due to the top handle. I remember back in the 80's when top handle chainsaws were outlawed, either by code, or by potential liability, or both. I remember mentally thinking way back then... oh oh, I had better hurry up and buy a top handle before existing stock runs out. But I didn't need a chain saw back then. Nor did I need a 3 wheeler ATV... another danger that was being phased out at the same time.
Fast forward almost 40 years later. This top handle Makita is now not only in my hands, it feels like is is PART of my hand. I simply wave my hand at a branch, say "abracadabra", and the branch is gone. I'm quite sure it is because the tree can actually HEAR me, because there is no idling noise rumbling irritatingly in the background while I'm pointing. Unless the chain saw is actually cutting something, it is dead silent.
Do you even realize how wonderfully peaceful that is? It feels just like what I see in the movies, where that state of euphoria washes over the entire body as the rubber tourniquet is untied from the injected arm. Ahhh. The birds can be heard... heck you can even hear the butterfly's wings flapping. While running a chainsaw. Unreal.
If you are reading this, you are already an addict. So let me assure you, this new 10" sprocket guided chain saw is the Teal Deal. It is a heck of a HIT. And it is Brushless... which is apropos for a tool designed to reduce the overgrowth of brush.
And it being brushless is one of several reasons why I would consider the new single battery 10" saw to be an improvement over the dual battery 36v 12" saw that preceded it, called the XCU02.
At first glance, it appears like the 36v 2 battery version of top handle arborist chain saw XCU02 would be better than the newer single battery XCU06. After all, two batteries, and two more inches of bar length. Who wouldn't want a couple more inches?
You could try going to Makita's website to compare the specs, but that would be a wasted trip, because incredibly, dumbfoundingly, Makita's OPE chainsaw webpage omits their newest release of saw from the comparison page. And I've had mine already for a month. And that's why I'm writing this post... to tell my fellow addicts about this new high purity blue that has hit the streets and is breaking bad trees down into tame little logettes.
Reading the printed catalog for 2019-2020, Makita cites that the brushless motor in the new XCU06z slings the chain 4,720 feet per minute. That is almost TRIPLE the chain speed of the dual battery XCU02z, which isn't brushless, and rolls at only 1,650 feet per minute.
Further reading the catalog, I find out why I can lift and point my hand and say abracadabra, and branches magically fall away. It's because I can actually LIFT my hand, as the single battery XCU06z weighs 3 lbs less than the dual battery XCU02z... (7.2 lbs vs 10.1 lbs).
But what is even better about the new saw, that isn't shown in the catalog or any of the online photos... is the wrap around handle on the new saw, that makes for infinitely better handling when on a ladder. I'll have to work on finding a photo of the XCU02, that shows the convoluted handle. When I find that photo, I can post a comparison with the handle on the new XCU06. Huge, meaningful difference, that I had no clue about until I received the new saw, because none of Makita's photos show the left side of the saw, where the wrap around handle terminates.
There's a guy on eBay who is selling the 36v 12" saw kit XCU02PT for around $140. I had that saw in my eBay cart for a few months. After using the newer XCU06T, I am glad that I held out for the red trigger switch brushless model.
Since you can't buy or even see this little Makita chain saw in any local store... and you can't even see it in the most logical place online on Makita's chainsaw page of their OPE website, I thought I'd mention that this thing exists... and it is a damn good high.
