When it comes to choosing the right chainsaw, many of us wouldn't give it a second thought.
Our cave man tendencies begin to show and straight away we would pick out the meanest, baddest looking chainsaw we could find as if to begin the classic school yard banter "my chainsaw is bigger than yours".
Well it's one thing to have the biggest chainsaw in the forest and quite another to be able to lift and use it effectively.
Here are some things you should consider when choosing the right chainsaw for you.
Size of the chainsaw if probably one of the most important things to think about when choosing the right chainsaw.
It's all very well and good if you're wielding around a chainsaw equipped with a 20 inch bar.
Run to the sports store the other side of town to purchase a hockey mask and you'll get all the attention you crave come Halloween, but if the only time your going to put the chainsaw to use is when you go and trim your Grandmothers shrubs at the bottom of the garden then you'll probably be looking at a little over kill on both the shrubs and your arms.
After all, you wouldn't use a cannon to swat a fly would you? the same principle applies.
Here's a small recommendation list of the chainsaw bar size you'd need relevant to the tasks.
For doing simple chores around the home and garden on an occasional basis the you should look for a 12 to 14 inch chainsaw bar.
If you're looking to do a bit more heavy duty work around the home such as cutting branches off trees and looking to gather small off cuts for fire wood then you would be best off with a 16 inch bar.
Felling small trees and cutting up larger logs for fire wood and other heavy duties.
would most likely require an 18 inch bar.
For any other task requiring a bit more muscle than that, you should look for something with a 20 inch bar or higher.
The bar size ranges up to 36 inches so you should easily be able yo find what you're looking for depending on the diameter of what it is you'd like to cut.
Tied in with size usually comes weight.
How can you expect to fell the mightiest of trees if you can barely lift the chainsaw.
With a large chainsaws you can usually expect large weight.
If you're going to be using the chainsaw for most of the day it is important that you do not get fatigued when lifting it.
By lifting something of excessive weight is when you can lose focus on the task at hand and cause serious injury to yourself or others around you.
Bottom line, make sure you can lift what you're going to be using.