BLACK+DECKER 20V MAX Pole Saw, 8-Inch with Safety Eyewear, Lightweight, Clear lens (LPP120 & BD250-1C)

Lightweight. Be sure to stop after a couple of cuts and tighten the chain Loosen the two black cap screws on the side, then use the included tool to rotate the screw(on the front face of the case) clockwise until there is a tiny bit of chain slack. I got the chain stuck a couple of times, probably because of the new chain stretching and having 'slop' which allowed it to get caught in the slot being cut in the limb. Overall this seems like a very good addition to my tool bin. The battery power is plenty adequate. Not having a cord to drag around or a temperamental gasoline chain saw is just awesome. This should be perfect for Joe Homeowner. Just don't expect it to be a commercial duty tool. Note that the chain must be oiled manually by use of a squirt bottle or other method. There is no oil reservoir on the saw. Seems a bit odd, but works OK. Probably saves several dollars in original manufacturing cost and does simplify the saw quite a bit.

After 2nd season of usage, no longer usable. The 2 bolts which hold the plastic guard to the housing no longer tighten. The bolts themselves are in great shape and do not appear stripped/threaded. The Bar will no longer tighten in this state and the tool is now useless. I have contact Black and Decker for warranty repair and may update my rating if they resolve the product issue.The plastic guard and these bolts are very flimsy and will surely be a failure point for many others.*Update. Black and Decker warranty replaced the saw once I took it in person to an authorized repair shop. I have not put it to use since.

I purchased a Black + Decker saw over other brands because of the battery (the same reason I purchased most of my other B&D products). Not that I think their batteries are any better/worse than others, I just own several B&D products, and most of the batteries are interchangeable. I was able to purchase this without a battery and save a few bucks by simply using one of the three I already own.I bought this saw to help me trim tree branches in my front yard, and it works very well for that purpose. You simply oil the chain (manually - a real pain, but you don't have to do it that often), lay the saw on top of the branch, pull the trigger and let the saw do the work.Pros:It accomplishes the main purpose I bought it - to saw tree limbs down without having to climb a tree/ladder with a chain saw, and subsequently saw off my own head if I fall out of the tree.Lightweight and easy to handle.14' pole enables you to get to high tree branches.Breaks down into 3 pieces for easy storage.Keeps me from having to pay someone $300 to trim the trees in my front yard.Cons:I mentioned the manual oil problem above. I wish there was a button that would oil it without having to do it manually.The chain comes loose every now and then and you have to put it back on. Tightening the chain up before each use virtually eliminated this problem for me. If you use it a lot in one sitting, the bolts holding the chain tight can vibrate loose. You'll tighten them more often if that is the case.The pole is a bit rickety if you use the extender. It wasn't an issue for me trimming the trees though, since you don't apply pressure to the pole when sawing. I'd rather have it this way, and be able to break it down for easy storage, than have one large solid pole.Tip:If the saw starts to stick/stop while sawing a branch, your battery is getting low. Pop in a fresh one and you'll be good to go.

I've been using it almost daily for the past 2 weeks and it's really working out well. I get about an hour of use off of one charge and it takes 3 hours to recharge it.(Initial charging time is 9 hour before first use.) I've used it to clear away the low hanging branches that were over our roof and over the car parking area so far. Today i did 2 sessions of cutting. If you always do the undercut first you shoudn't run into problems. Otherwise the limb can pinch the unit and you're stuck.You have to add bar oil to the blade every so often and before putting away, and also check / adjust the chain tightness regularly.. The hardest part is if it comes off the track.. opening it up and getting it back on the groove etc. Only had to do it twice. I've been mostly cutting evergreen branches, many which were pretty decent sized.. I'm a 5'2" 59 year old woman and am getting a ton of work done with it- trimming up branches that have been bothering me for 23 years. It has more than paid for itself, The house and garden are finally getting more light. Having only 1 battery keeps me from wearing myself out. 2 weeks of this has been a pretty good upper body workout.

I bought this saw in order to trim relatively small branches on my trees. It arrived rapidly but I was hugely disappointed when I used it. I have several 20v B&D tools and they are ok for small jobs so I expect the same from this one. First of all, there is 2 options to choose from when you buy (2 tones and Black). Well this is not about color at all! The 2 tones is coming WITHOUT a battery so you have to already have a battery. Once you have found a battery you are asking: Where do I put the oil for the chain? Then you realize there is no oil included in the box and that there is no oil reservoir (You basically have to add oil on the chain every 2-3 branches - Huge lost of time). When you start using it you will find it clumsy to operate at full height because the weight is not balanced in the pole (Hard to apply weight on the chain for cutting). This tool is not powerful enough to do the job correctly in my opinion (I was not expecting a powerful saw but enough to easily cut 2-3 inches branches and it is laborious). It may be enough for your needs but was not sufficient for my use so I returned it. B&D 20V. series is a good line of inexpensive amateur tools but I suggest you invest in a corded saw if you need more power.

This pole saw works well at certain tasks, particularly sawing through branches close to a stable trunk. However, it does not do so well with branches that may move around when trying to cut, as the cutting head can bounce around a lot when trying to get a purchase. It has a difficult time with anything a half inch or thinner. I think the chain speed isn't fast enough to slash through some material as well as it could. With the full extension, it is fairly hard on the arms & shoulders doing any overhead work for more than a few minutes; unsurprisingly perhaps, it is head-heavy, with the weight of the motor at the end. For some smaller jobs I still use my pole pruner, the kind where you pull a rope to close a blade. So, is this B+D pole saw worth it? Absolutely, if you don't view it as a tool for all tasks. It does a very good job on larger branches and hands down beats trying to work a saw blade back and forth at the end of a pole.

The very minute this arrived my husband had it put together and was pacing around waiting for the battery to charge. This went on for about 4 hours. As soon as the green light was solid, he had a bit of a crazy look in his eye and was off to attack some wiry branches. Next thing I see is a whole tree come down. I'm out there defending what's left ... negotiations went on for some time...we were able to compromise with minimal casualties. I have since hid this amazing piece of kit from hubby. Highly addictive....

Excellent tool for pruning and general tree and shrubbery maintenance. Far faster and easier then using loppers, saws, or other manual devices. I've become a B&D fanboy for their 20V Max line and have plenty of batteries now (check out their grass trimmer for an inexpensive way to get two batteries), though rarely need to switch more than once. I've cut through both small branches and hardwood 4-5" thick with no problem.The middle pole is 'optional', in that you can insert it or leave it out -- depending on what you're looking to tackle. Before buying I read a few reviews that mentioned the weight of the head but in my experience it's well balanced and what you would expect when placing a saw at the long end of a pole. The benefit of the weight is you can place the saw above the branch, start, let the saw touch the branch to cut and let gravity do the rest.Do be sure to check the tightness of the chain and the guard at regular intervals. There is no automatic oiler -- you need to apply it manually -- so you'll have plenty of opportunities to bring the saw back down and check everything.On the oil front, I've been using grapeseed oil as opposed to petro-based bar oil. So far the environmentally-minded choice has been working fine and I've been noticing no excessive wear or heat build-up -- though I'll admit I do apply it liberally and often. Whether my trees appreciate it or not I can't say, but at least now if I spill some on the ground I don't feel bad.

I had already the leaf blower and weed-eater in the 20V version so buying without battery was no problem as I had already 3 batteries and 2 chargers. This saw is really amazing…it runs very smooth, why did I not buy this years ago instead of hand pruning at my age (67).Battery life is good, I cut a 5-6” tree completely down, including all side branches with only 1 battery. Just check the chain tension on a regular base and don’t forget to oil the chain before to start. One thing was a bit of a bummer, the pole which is attached to the saw is rather long so it is not really a short hand version for small work at low height in the shortest version, still I don’t regret one moment buying this saw.Beware…..you will get over-exited using this saw, you keep on cutting and pruning trees but only afterwards you realize you have to get rid of that pile that you cut off!!!!