Dewalt Pole Saw Review [2023]

Dewalt 20v Pole Saw Review

This is the big-picture overview of the pole saw's features and design.

First Glance

Out the box, this pole saw is pretty cool. We only got it with the bare tool so no batteries included.

You will need a battery if you don't already have one. It is a cordless system.

The bare tool includes three parts roughly four to five feet each.

There's the length of pole saw with the chain. There's the length with the handle. And then there's the extension piece in the middle.

The motor sits on the chainsaw itself which is nice because it adds some weight to the top of the saw.

Electricity makes it to the chainsaw from the handle through electrical contacts that line up inside each piece.

Traditional pole saws tend to have a cable running down the side of the pole saw, so these electric are a welcome addition.

Pretty cool stuff. 

Chain Oil

Pole Saw Extension

So the way that Dewalt claims that the durable pole shaft extends 15 feet is if you are 6 feet tall and hold the pole saw with all three peices together at shoulder level, you'll be able to reach 15 feet.

Actually, you can probably reach closer to 20 feet but this is so arbitrary they went with 15.

Most of your cutting will probably be done with just the top and bottom pieces of the pole saw, and not the middle extension piece. 

Cutting anything at 15 feet or more is a little bit difficult - even with this pole saw.

If you aren't super strong, having the tool at max length can be a bit heavy and cumbersome. But you can always break it down to a smaller size.

Without the middle extension, it's about seven or eight feet long.

Still plenty of extra lengths to cut some of those higher branches. 

8-inch Bar & Chain

The pole saw comes with an 8-inch chain.

That means you can cut pretty much anything up to 7 inches with extreme confidence.

Now if you are stubborn and aggressive with the saw, you'll probably push this to 8, 9 or even 10-inches.

My recommendation is that you let the pole saw do the work.

It's not really designed to cut anything over 8-inches so need to push the envelope.

If the saw works, it works. If it doesn't, it doesn't.

Simple.

That being said, I'm impressed. It really can cut small to medium tree branches that high up. 

Cutting High Up

A 15 foot pole saw is great for crown reduction pruning.

Like we said before, using this pole saw to cut some of those higher up branches is easy. However, you'll want to make sure you start your cuts with an undercut.

The weight of the branch falling down almost always rips the branch off the tree. This is bad pruning technique that can injure the tree.

The shaft with its durable cutting grip combined with the metal bucking strips near the chain make cutting easy.

Now Dewalt says the saw features metal bucking strips but to me they feel a bit plasticky.

Safety Trigger

I saw some complaints about the trigger being hard to use. I can't technically disagree but once you get the hang of it, it's not that bad.

You have to lift up the sort of trigger kickstand to be able to release the safety. Once the safety is released, only then you can pull the trigger and start the saw.

The difference between this pole saw and other power tools is that it has three actions as opposed to just two.

Once you get used to it, I personally don't think it's a problem. 

Balanced Design

For having a bit of weight at the end of the 15 foot extension pole multi tool, the we saw does have a balanced design.

Now, this assumes you hold it at that 60 degree angle that Dewalt tells you to do.

If you hold the pole saw horizontally, yes it's going to feel unbalanced. As you are lifting the pole saw to the height of the branch, yes it will feel unbalanced.

But when you have the pole saw locked in on a branch, at the right angle, and you let the chain cut do all the work, it feels great.

It has a tree hook that makes using the extension pole that much easier. 

Tree Hook and Bucking Spikes

Now, I talked about this above but the cordless pole saw does come with a tree hook that itself has bucking spikes.

You have to use the tree hook to latch onto the branch you want to cut.

And just like any other chainsaw, you use the bucking spikes to create leverage which allows the chain to work.

This is a nifty design, especially at maximum pole length.

Pricing

At current, the cordless pole saw runs about $156 without a battery. The kit price is $215.

That's pretty standard pricing for other pole saws on the market.

We've seen some lower-end models run about $80 and some more aggressive pole saws get over $300.

Dewalt 20v Max XR Cordless Pole Saw: The Bottom Line

There really wasn't too much to dislike about the Dewalt 20V Max XR Cordless Pole saw.

This won't be your primary tool as an arborist but it can definitely come in handy as a supplementary tool.

The brushless motor will last forever if you don't abuse it by forcing the chain to cut through huge branches.

For being a small 20V pole saw, it had an effective cutting performance and you should for sure include it in as part of your lawn care equipment.

Conclusion

And that’s it!

Whether you want to do aggressive tree pruning tasks or the occasional tree trimming, this cordless pole saw is a pretty solid way to go.

That’s all we have to say about this Dewalt 20v Max XR Pole Saw.

Dewalt tools always come highly regarded, and this pole saw here is no exception.

Battery-powered pole saws are great tools for the average homeowner, and this one is too.

What were your thoughts about pole saws as power tools? Good? Bad?

Be sure to let us know with an email.

Before you go...

If you liked this review on the Dewalt 20v pole saw, be sure to check out our extensive guide on the best pole saws out.

• The BEST Pole Saws for 2023

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