Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I've had this saw about a month and I'm happy with it so far. I live in the mountains of New Mexico among pinon, juniper, and oak. I thin the trees for fire safety and use the wood to heat my house. 75% of what I cut is under 6 inches in diameter, 25% is between 6 and 12 inches diameter, and only occasionally a branch or tree over 12 inches. I'm not cutting continuously because I stop to make decisions about what to cut, and to drag the logs and slash out of the way. In this intermittent, light-duty style of cutting I can work for about three hours on one charge. When I'm doing more continuous cutting, such as bucking a pile of logs into fireplace lengths, the battery lasts about an hour and fifteen minutes. It doesn't seem to make a difference whether I use full-speed mode or e-Save mode. This is small diameter bucking. If you were continuously cutting large diameter logs the battery probably wouldn't last as long. Keeping your chain sharp prolongs battery life. Charging a fully depleted battery usually takes me 2 to 2-1/2 hours. I don't mind that I can only fell for three hours, or buck for 1-1/4 hours, before having to recharge. The saw is lighter and quieter than a gas saw, has less vibration, starts and stops instantly, and it's really nice not having to mess with gas. The user needs to be aware that the saw has a few different automatic shutoff features. The owner's manual is long but it's worth reading once to make sure you're aware of those features. Otherwise you might think the saw is malfunctioning when it's not. If it's idle for more than 60 seconds the power button needs to be pressed to restart. If the chain brake is engaged it won't start. If you overload the motor by pushing too aggressively into the wood or by tangling the chain in foliage, the chain will stop. If you back off slightly and try again it will work. This is nice feedback that alerts you to binding, etc. The "felling direction mark" is handy. It's a raised ridge of plastic that runs all the way around the body of the saw. Whether you're making the top cut of your wedge cut or the felling cut from the back of the hinge, point the line to the place you want the tree to fall. It has improved my accuracy. So far my one complaint is that it's hard to push the power button. It often takes me two or three tries before it turns on. It seems to require a very firm push directly in the center of the button. I've also noticed that the automatic chain oiler does not oil the change nearly as heavily as my other saws. This is nice because the saw isn't as messy and I don't use as much oil, but I've wondered whether it's adequate. The manual says you can test this by pointing the bar 8 inches from a light colored surface and running the saw for 60 seconds. It says the oil will make a dark line on the surface. My saw does this, so I guess it's getting enough oil? If so, I like the more precise use of bar & chain oil with less waste. But I still feel a little nervous about whether it's enough. Overall I have found this saw to be effective and easy to use. I am happy with this purchase and would buy this saw again.