Best Lightweight Chainsaw for Cutting Firewood: Three 16-Inch Battery Saws That Buck a Cord

What firewood cutting needs

Bucking firewood is hundreds of cuts through 8 to 12-inch logs over an afternoon, and the tool for it is a 16-inch saw that makes each cut quickly without bogging, weighs little enough to lift for the three hundredth cut and starts with a button every time. Battery saws of 40V and 56V with brushless motors now do that, and they leave behind the pull cord, the mixing and the ear protection a gas saw demands. The three here are the 16-inch brushless saws on the three biggest yard platforms.

This guide is built from the published specifications and manuals of each saw and from recurring owner feedback. We have not run these saws ourselves.

How the three compare

EGO 16-inch: the most saw

EGO rates this saw as equal to a 40cc gas saw with a chain speed of 20 meters per second, and owners bucking oak describe it keeping pace with a gas saw of that size. The 4 Ah pack is rated for up to 130 cuts in a 4 by 4, the chain is a 3/8 pitch, 0.043 gauge low-kickback type with 56 drive links, and tensioning is a tool-free dial. It costs the most and cuts the fastest, and the pack runs EGO mowers and blowers.

Greenworks 40V 16-inch: the value

A 1.5 kW brushless motor, a chain brake, a low-kickback chain, an automatic oiler with a clear window and tool-free tensioning, at a price well under the EGO, is why this saw has sold for years. Greenworks rates it for timber to 28 inches with two cuts and says the 4 Ah pack holds charge for a year on the shelf, which suits a saw used two weekends a fall. It has less reserve than the EGO in big oak and bucks firewood without complaint.

Ryobi 40V 16-inch: for a Ryobi yard

Sold bare, the Ryobi 40V 16-inch brushless is the cheapest firewood saw for a household already on Ryobi 40V packs from a mower or trimmer. Ryobi calls it as powerful as gas and fits an automatic chain brake and an automatic oiler. It publishes fewer numbers than the others and it is the sensible buy on its platform.

Bucking firewood safely

Wear chaps, boots, glasses and gloves. Cut on a sawbuck or over a log so the bar never touches the ground, and cut the top two thirds then roll the log for the rest to avoid pinching. Keep the chain sharp; a dull chain makes dust instead of chips and is where kickback starts. Top up bar oil every pack change. Stack the rounds and split them green, when they split easiest.

Which one should you buy

Buy the EGO 16-inch for the most power and the most cuts per charge. Buy the Greenworks 40V 16-inch for the best value with every safety feature. Buy the Ryobi 40V 16-inch as a bare tool for a Ryobi household.