Professional Tool Reviews for Pros

It's been a lot of fun for us to see such big improvements in performance from Ryobi with this HP series of OPE. If you've used other Ryobi battery-powered chainsaws, prepare yourself for a cutting experience on a completely different level. With this major overhaul, the Ryobi 40V HP Brushless 18-Inch Chainsaw vaults itself into contention with the top cordless models available.

Ryobi has been unleashed in their development of the HP brushless line and we’ve been impressed with the improvement on the OPE side. With the Ryobi 40V HP Brushless 18-Inch Chainsaw, we want to know how well it stacks up against the other 18-inch models we’ve used.

It takes some serious muscle to cut effectively with an 18-inch bar. It’s a size that represents some of the best gas-powered models for homeowners and gets into the farm and ranch sector. Those are very different power levels, though, and we set out to see which end Ryobi fits in.

Our friend Eli Mosley invited us out to the ranch he works on to help him take down an oak tree that had split. With solid branches up to 14 inches in diameter, it was a great test for this saw. It’s amazing how often he needs work done when we have OPE to review…

When we first pulled the trigger, it didn’t sound like we were getting quite as much chain speed as other 18-inch saws we’ve reviewed. However, its power was evident as we cut through our oak. Getting into the center where the wood is most dense and at its thickest diameter, Ryobi’s HP brushless motor kept the 0.050-gauge chain moving better than our other models. As we continued, it became clear that this saw’s torque offers more muscle than we expected.

Ryobi doesn’t claim a gas engine size equivalency the way some brands do. To us, it feels like it’s in that 42cc+ category. It’s not quite reaching up to the 50cc+ level of farm and ranch models, but it’s very strong and clearly in the top tier of current battery-powered chainsaws.

With the bar, chain, and half a tank of oil, the saw weighs 9.9 pounds. The 5Ah battery that comes in the kit adds another 4.0 pounds, making your entire setup just under 14 pounds. That’s not out of line with comparable gas saws by the time you add the bar and chain, oil, and gas to their weights.

The design team made the call to go with a wide-entry battery port. We’ve seen some tools get out of balance with larger packs, but this model doesn’t seem to suffer. Whether we used a smaller 4.0Ah or larger 6.0Ah battery, we didn’t feel like we were fighting the saw’s balance.

Tool-free bar tensioners are convenient, but as we get into these larger saws, we really like the additional security of dual studs and bar nuts to secure them. That’s what Ryobi goes with on this model and they add the convenience of on board storage for your scrench.

There’s a pretty nice blow molded case that comes with this chainsaw. With the scabbard over the bar and chain, it sits down into the case where it has some additional protection during transport. It also keeps any oil from getting all over the place. Clean it out and let it dry from time to time so it doesn’t build up too much.

If you’re not going to use the saw for a while, go ahead and turn the automatic oiler all the way down on the bottom to minimize and leaking. Just remember to dial it back up some when you’re ready to cut the next time.

The only real downside is that the bucking spikes on this saw are plastic. We don’t mind that so much on smaller saws, but we like to see metal on these higher-performance models.

You can grab this Ryobi chainsaw kit at The Home Depot for $329. That includes the saw, 5.0Ah battery, rapid charger, and case. That’s about $20 less than Ryobi’s main competitors’ 18-inch saws. Considering the high performance we’re seeing, that definitely bumps the value rating up for this one.

Ryobi backs the tool for 5 years and the battery for 3 years under their warranty program.

It’s been a lot of fun for us to see such big improvements in performance from Ryobi with this HP series of OPE. If you’ve used other Ryobi battery-powered chainsaws, prepare yourself for a cutting experience on a completely different level. With this major overhaul, the Ryobi 40V HP Brushless 18-Inch Chainsaw vaults itself into contention with the top cordless models available.

On the clock, Kenny dives deep to discover the practical limits and comparative differences for all kinds of tools. Off the clock, his faith and love for his family are his top priorities, and you'll typically find him in the kitchen, on his bike (he's an Ironman), or taking folks out for a day of fishing on Tampa Bay.

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Professional Tool Reviews for Pros

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