Size the bar to the biggest wood, not the typical limb

Bar length and battery voltage are the only decision figures all seven manufacturers publish, and bar length is the one that sets the single-pass ceiling. The field splits four ways: the DeWalt DCCS620B at 12 inches (DeWalt fits it with an 11-inch Oregon low-kickback bar and chain), the Ryobi RY40530 and Makita XCU07PT at 14 inches, the EGO CS1610, DeWalt DCCS670B and Milwaukee 2727-20 at 16 inches, and the Husqvarna Power Axe 350i at 18 inches.

Only one manufacturer connects bar length to log diameter in print. Milwaukee rates the 2727-20 on the HD12.0 battery at 120 cuts through 6-inch wood, 40 cuts through 10-inch wood and 20 cuts through 14-inch wood. The 14-inch figure is the one published statement in this comparison of a 16-inch saw working through wood close to its bar length. It also shows how steeply the count falls as diameter rises: from 6 inches to 14 inches, the cut count drops to one sixth.

That is why the average limb is the wrong thing to size for. Storm debris arrives as a mix, and the saw you buy for the branches is the one you will put against the trunk section. A 14-inch bar on a 14-inch trunk has no margin.

Voltage tells you which batteries you will own

Voltage reads like a power rating and mostly is not. Milwaukee’s 2727-20 runs on 18V M18 batteries and publishes “power and performance comparable to a gas engine up to 40CC”. EGO’s CS1610 runs on 56V and publishes “40CC gas equivalent power”. The same claim sits on two saws, one with roughly three times the voltage of the other. Husqvarna skips the gas comparison and publishes 1.9 hp at the output shaft for the 350i, along with a Boost Mode it describes as 25 percent more power when activated. None of the other six publishes a horsepower figure.

The headline voltage also drifts from the nominal one. DeWalt’s 60V MAX FLEXVOLT is nominally 54V. Husqvarna calls the 350i a 40V system and ships it with a BLi30 battery rated 36V/7.7Ah. Makita’s 36V is two 18V LXT batteries running the saw together, not a dedicated 36V pack.

What voltage does settle is the battery shelf. EGO publishes compatibility with all EGO POWER+ 56V batteries, Milwaukee with all M18 REDLITHIUM batteries, Ryobi with all Ryobi 40V batteries and chargers, and DeWalt’s DCCS620B with existing 20V MAX batteries. The Makita takes two 18V LXT packs. The DeWalt DCCS670B is the one to read carefully: DeWalt describes its FLEXVOLT battery as backward compatible with 20V MAX tools, which means the battery you buy for the saw will run other 20V MAX tools.

Amp-hours are the runtime number, but only within a platform

Milwaukee’s figures are the one clean illustration here of what capacity does, because it publishes the same saw on two batteries.

Across platforms the amp-hour figure does not compare directly. The published cut counts have to carry the comparison, and they carry it only as far as the test wood allows.

Bare tool or kit changes what arrives in the box

Five of the seven listings here are the saw alone. The EGO CS1610, DeWalt DCCS670B, DeWalt DCCS620B, Milwaukee 2727-20 and Ryobi RY40530 all ship without a battery or charger, and a first-time buyer who orders one of them has a saw that cannot cut until a second purchase arrives. Milwaukee’s published cut counts assume the HD12.0 battery, which is sold separately.

Weight is published for two saws and missing for five

Husqvarna publishes 7.72 lb for the 350i, excluding battery and cutting equipment, so the figure leaves out the BLi30 pack and the 18-inch bar and chain. Makita’s 11.1 lb for the XCU07PT is with two batteries installed, and it comes from a retailer specification rather than Makita’s own page. Those are the only two weights in this comparison, and they are measured on different bases, so the Husqvarna’s lower number does not tell you which saw is lighter in your hands.

If overhead work is the main job, this is the gap to know about: the saws with the most complete power and runtime documentation are not the ones that tell you what they weigh.

Chain speed in each brand’s own units

Three saws publish a chain speed. EGO states 20 m/s for the CS1610. Makita states 0 to 3,940 FPM variable speed for the XCU07PT. Husqvarna states 38.7 ft/s at max power for the 350i, measured under a stated condition the other two do not specify, so the comparison is directional at best. DeWalt, Milwaukee and Ryobi publish no chain speed for these models.

When the 12-inch or 14-inch saw is enough

The DeWalt DCCS620B has the shortest bar here. If you already own 20V MAX batteries and the job is limbs rather than trunks, that is the whole case for it. If any part of the job is a trunk section, it is the wrong saw regardless of what the unpublished figures would say.

The Makita XCU07PT at 14 inches is the better-documented small saw, with a published cut count, chain speed, weight with batteries and a complete kit. The 14-inch bar is still the limit: if the trunk is 16 inches, no battery count changes that.

The specifications nobody asks about until the first refill

Chain pitch and gauge are what you need when you buy a replacement chain. Husqvarna uses a 3/8-inch mini pitch at 0.050-inch gauge with its X-Cut S93G chain. Ryobi publishes neither for the RY40530.

Weather rating is published once. EGO’s CS1610 is IPX4-rated. Makita describes Extreme Protection Technology as engineered for increased dust and water resistance but gives no IP rating. Nothing else in the field publishes either in the material retrieved.

Warranties: EGO gives 5 years on the tool and 3 on the battery; Ryobi 5 years limited on the tool; DeWalt 3 years with a 1-year free service contract and a 90-day money-back guarantee on the DCCS670B; Milwaukee 3 years. Husqvarna, Makita and the DeWalt DCCS620B do not publish a term in the material retrieved.