Let me paint you a picture. A hurricane with a ridiculous name rolls through, a tree blows over, and now it’s leaning right on top of my mom’s chicken coop. Poor chickens. And me? All my tools are sitting in storage. So I did what any reasonable, slightly reactive dad does (my wife’s word, and she’s probably right): I pulled up Amazon and ordered the cheapest little cordless chainsaw that looked halfway decent. Same-day delivery. Around fifty-four bucks. My thinking was simple: if it’s junk, at least I get some content out of it.
Spoiler: it wasn’t junk.
What It Is and What’s in the Box
This is the Supstable 20V cordless mini chainsaw, listed on Amazon as a 1000W brushless handheld saw that comes with both an 8-inch and a 6-inch bar. Amazon product titles are always a mile long, and this one’s no exception.
Here’s what came in the bag:
- The saw itself, with the 8-inch bar
- A 6-inch bar and chain, plus a separate guard/plate for it
- Two batteries (charge them before you head out, which I did)
- A chain tightener tool and a Phillips screwdriver
- A hand stabilizer “shaft,” which is the official-sounding name I’m going with
- Something to help with the bar oil
- Gloves and safety glasses, which I genuinely appreciated
Basically you’re getting two chainsaws for the price of one. And for the average person, that means when the 8-inch chain gets dull, you swap to the 6-inch and keep rocking.
Setup
Fill the oil reservoir first. There’s a little window on the side so you can see if you need more, and a little bubble button I’m pretty sure you push to prime it. About three pumps seemed right. If my dad had been there, he’d have told me to read the directions. He’d have been right. I did not.
The Real-World Test
First up were the limbs pinning down the coop. I eyeballed the first one at around 4 inches using the “set the saw on top and guesstimate” method, which is how I roll. Because the limb was under tension and would pinch, I cut from the bottom. And this little thing just went right through. Supstable for the win.
For comparison, the day before I’d been hacking at those branches with a heavy, quarter-inch-spine knife my dad sells at the flea market. Great knife, no nicks, but slow and tiresome. The saw made that look silly.
Once the coop was clear, I went looking for a boss fight. The biggest log I found was barely fitting across the 8-inch bar. I’d call it 7 to 8 and a half inches at the widest point. I cut a cookie off it and said, out loud, “Are you freaking kidding me?” It handled it. The saw did start getting warm, but the battery still showed three cells.
Then I swapped to the 6-inch bar and ran it through a 3-to-4-inch piece. No problem. It’s how you use it, right?
By the end of the day we’d cut down a pretty impressive pile of wood. Later I took it to another property and used it to take down a fence, and it made that job a whole lot faster. The batteries have held up amazingly.
Pros
- Cheap and fast to get. Same-day shipping saved me when I needed a saw now.
- Cuts way above its weight. It took care of limbs easily and made it through a log about as wide as the bar.
- Two bars in one box. The 6-inch is your backup when the 8-inch chain dulls.
- The batteries last. Two batteries carried a full day of cleanup.
- Comes with extras. You get gloves, glasses, and tools in the bag.
Cons
- The chain came off on me once. I had to re-seat it around the drive sprocket and cover. It’s easy once you figure it out.
- The 6-inch bar needs its own plate. The stock plastic piece doesn’t line up, and you have to use the other one that comes in the box.
- It gets hot on big cuts. Let it rest.
- Watch that bar nut. If you drop it in the leaves, good luck. Ask me how I know.
- The chain only cuts one way. I put it on backwards once and wondered why it wasn’t cutting. Read. The. Instructions. Stop being a hardhead like me.
Who It’s For
This is for homeowners, dads, and DIY folks who need to clean up storm limbs, trim branches, cut firewood-size pieces, or take down an old fence, and who don’t want to fight a gas saw. It’s not a tree-felling saw, and it isn’t trying to be one.
Verdict
Would I buy it again? Heck yeah. Would I recommend it? To anybody. My rating is six out of five stars. For around fifty bucks, the Supstable earned its spot in my tool lineup, and the chickens are grateful.
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.