Best Chainsaw For The Elderly (Senior Citizens) – My Top 5 Picks

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Are you looking for the best chainsaw for the elderly?

Something that you can give to your grandparents or maybe you’re just shopping yourself?

Well you’ve come to the right place because I’ll be covering the best chainsaws for senior citizens. 

The chainsaws I’ve picked are lightweight, easy to start, handle, and are easy on your back. If you suffer from health problems, these are the best chainsaws for you.

Let’s get straight into it!

IMAGE PRODUCT DETAILS  
Best Overall Husqvarna 130
  • Cut up to 14 inches deep
  • Lightweight
  • Easy maintenance
Electric Greenworks PRO
  • Powerful
  • Can cut for long periods of time
  • Cut up to 16 inches deep
Pruning Dewalt
  • Lightweight and compact
  • 12 inch bar
  • Easy to handle
Budget Remington 41AY4214983 RM4214CS
  • Budget friendly
  • Powerful
  • cuts 12 inches deep with ease
Corded Oregon CS1500
  • Unlimited stamina
  • Easy to maintain
  • Lightweight

Husqvarna 130 (Best Overall)

Check Price of the Husqvarna 130
  • 16 inch bar
  • Gas powered
  • 5.7lbs

16 inch bar

This Husqvarna model packs in 38cc of power into this 16 inch bar chainsaw. For its size it’s quite powerful, which makes cutting through tough logs quick and easy, reducing your fatigue.

This bar is long enough for many chainsawing projects around the yard. It can fell and buck trees up to 14 inches in diameter. The only negative is that it’s a bit too large to do any pruning or trimming.

Lightweight

This is one of the lightest gas powered chainsaws out there. Gas powered chainsaws are usually heavy, but at only 5.7 lbs this model is lighter than most of the electric chainsaw models out there.

This would be a fantastic chainsaw for limbing, or for felling and bucking small to medium sized trees.

Its light weight makes it easy to reach awkward angles of branches without putting much strain on your back and body. Your back will be thanking you after hours of using this chainsaw for choosing something this lightweight.

Automatic oiler

Maintaining this chainsaw is easy with an automatic oiler. It’s one less thing you need to worry about, and helps keep your chainsaw well lubricated, extending its life.

Husqvarna is a high quality brand, so having easy maintenance features like an automatic oiler ensures it will be working in top shape for years to come.

Its other high quality features like a low emissions engine and easy chain tensioning system help keep you safe and your chainsaw running smoothly.

Related:

Best 16 inch chainsaw
Best chainsaw for cutting small trees
Best all around chainsaw

Greenworks PRO (Electric)

Check Price of the Greenworks PRO
  • 18 inch bar
  • Battery powered
  • 10.8lbs

Electric Endurance

Despite its relatively long bar size of 18 inches, this chainsaw is very efficient. On a 2Ah battery, it can make up to 150 cuts. This is a fantastic feature if you have quite a bit of work you need to do in one go.

Plus, the battery only takes 30 minutes to recharge, so you’ll be back to chainsawing in no time.

Its electric motor is comparable to a 45cc engine. While electric chainsaws aren’t known to be as powerful as their gas counterparts, this chainsaw is actually more powerful than some gas models.

With features like these, this chainsaw is very similar in power and performance to a gas powered chainsaw. One of the benefits of a gas powered chainsaw is that there’s no need to recharge any batteries.

Just fill up the tank and you’re good to go. With a long lasting and quick recharging battery, you get almost these same benefits.

Plus, you won’t have to deal with the hassle of mixing fuel to refill a gas tank, or experience the loud noise of a gas engine.

Price

This chainsaw is on the pricier side, especially if you need to purchase one of Greenworks standard 80V batteries. If you already have other Greenworks tools, this chainsaw is pretty reasonably priced.

Size

This chainsaw is definitely powerful, and could fell and buck hardwood trees. With its 18 inch bar, it’s big enough to fell anything under 16 inches in diameter, so it would be able to handle any small or medium sized tree.

It would be a bit large for limbing, but its light weight at only 10.8lbs means it would be easy to maneuver while limbing. The only things this chainsaw can’t do is fell large trees, or do any pruning or trimming work.

Dewalt (For pruning)

Check Price of the Dewalt
  • 12 inch bar
  • Battery powered
  • 8.8lbs

Lightweight and compact

A 12 inch bar means this chainsaw is one of the lightest on this list. At only 8.8 lbs, this chainsaw won’t cause fatigue quickly, which will allow you to use it easily and safely.

Its light weight can be attributed to its battery; electric chainsaws are often lighter than gas powered chainsaws. Not to mention much easier to maintain.

Luckily, you won’t be compromising much power with this chainsaw. Reviewers have commented on how quickly it can get through small trees.

Given that its bar is only 12 inches long, this is a great chainsaw to use if you need to be doing a bit of pruning.

Not only can you prune and trim with this, but you can also fell and buck small trees, and limb small and medium-sized branches. It can handle anything under 10 inches in diameter.

This makes it a fantastic overall chainsaw for doing light work around the yard.

Easy handling

The small 12 inch bar reduces the chance of kickback while operating this chainsaw, and its light weight makes it easy to control the bar.

Another advantage of its light frame is that you’ll be able to stay balanced even while using the chainsaw at awkward angles such as when you’re limbing.

If you have back problems, you’ll definitely want to prioritize a chainsaw’s weight. A lighter chainsaw will greatly reduce the strain you put on your back, so you’ll be able to operate it pain-free.

Affordable

This chainsaw is a great price for the performance you get. If you own other DEWALT products, chances are you already have compatible 20V MAX batteries for this chainsaw.

That means you can save additional costs by just buying the chainsaw without a battery. Or, you’ll have spare batteries lying around so you won’t need to wait for one battery to recharge.

These are long-lasting batteries too. DEWALT’s 20V MAX 5Ah battery can power 90 cuts of 4×4 pressure treated wood per charge using this chainsaw.

Plus, charging up one of these batteries is a fraction of the cost it would take to fill up a gas fuel tank on a gas powered chainsaw. They also only take about an hour to recharge.

Remington 41AY4214983 RM4214CS (Budget)

Check Price of the Remington 41AY4214983 RM4214CS
  • 14 inch bar
  • Gas powered
  • 13.9lbs

Budget-friendly

This is one of the best budget-friendly chainsaws out there, especially if you’re mostly doing work around the yard. Luckily, this chainsaw doesn’t compromise on power or quality for a cheaper price tag.

Another bonus is that being a gas powered chainsaw, there’s no additional cost for purchasing batteries. This makes this Remington model a great deal regardless of what tools or brands you already own.

It has a few other nice features often not seen in budget chainsaws like an automatic oiler and an ergonomically designed handle. The ergonomic handle helps keep you on balance, and reduces fatigue.

Power

It has a 42cc engine, which is one of the more powerful engines for its size. It will make quick work out of whatever yardwork you may have so you won’t get fatigued.

This chainsaw has great reviews for its performance and for how quickly it can get through tough wood.

Size

With a 14 inch bar, its small size makes it easier to maneuver. Even though it’s slightly heavier than some of the other models listed here, the small bar size and low vibration system help make it a bit easier to handle.

Anything under 12 inches in diameter is fair game for this chainsaw. It can fell and buck small trees, and limb all but the largest branches. It’s a bit too big to use for any pruning or trimming though.

If most of the work you’re doing is with small or medium sized jobs, this chainsaw would be a great option.

Oregon CS1500 (Corded)

Oregon CS1500
Check Price of the Oregon CS1500
  • 18 inch bar
  • Corded electric
  • 12.6lbs

Affordable

This is the cheapest chainsaw model on this list. Corded chainsaws are often the cheapest because there’s no need to purchase batteries. You just plug it in and it’s ready to go. You also don’t need to worry about buying gas.

The downside of corded chainsaws is that you are limited to within an extension cord’s range of a power outlet.

However, if you’re cutting firewood in a small woodshop, or have a small backyard, then this wouldn’t be much of an issue.

Easy maintenance

This chainsaw has a couple features that make taking care of it a breeze. It has a Powersharp chain, which is a feature that can sharpen your chain in a few seconds.

This not only saves you the time and hassle of sharpening a chain yourself, but it could save you money too if you normally get your chain professionally sharpened.

According to Oregon, this is the only corded chainsaw on the market that has the ability to self-sharpen.

It features an automatic oiler, so you won’t have to worry about lubricating your bar and chain manually. The chain tensioning system makes it easy to keep yourself safe by ensuring your chain is tight.

This chainsaw also comes fully assembled; all you need to do is plug it in.

Size

This chainsaw has fantastic reviews for its size and power. One reviewer cut down 6 hardwood maple trees that were 16 inches thick, and found this chainsaw easily did the job.

It is large enough for almost any task you’d be doing around your yard, unless you’re felling large trees.

It’s great for any medium-size chainsaw jobs, and would make a great choice for felling, bucking, and limbing. However like most of the chainsaws on this list, it’s too big for pruning or trimming.

What makes a chainsaw ideal for older people?

Chainsaw weight

Chainsaw weight is one of the most important aspects to consider. While you may be in pretty good physical shape, a heavy chainsaw can take a toll on your back, shoulders, and arms.

A smaller and lighter chainsaw will be easier to handle, and it will also be easier to balance.

Unless you plan on needing your chainsaw for large trees, go with the smallest size that still covers what work you plan on doing with it.

Lighter chainsaws are going to be safer, and your back will be thanking you after a long day of using a chainsaw.

Power

The more powerful a chainsaw, the greater the power of its kickback.

If you aren’t in the same physical shape you used to be in and think you might struggle to control a powerful kickback, then look for a lower powered chainsaw.

Anything over 50cc would probably be challenging to control. Depending on your fitness, you might want to look in the 30cc-40cc range for something a bit easier to handle.

While it’s nice to have lots of power to get through thick, tough wood, if you won’t be doing any heavy-duty work with your chainsaw, you might not need the extra power.

Easy to start

Some gas powered chainsaws need you to pull the cord at least a few times to get the chainsaw started.

Depending on your physical condition, you may not have the strength to pull the cord with enough power to start the engine.

I suggest either going with a gas chainsaw that has an easy start system, or going with an electric chainsaw. The electric ones start with the press of a button, which makes them by far the easiest to start. 

Low emission

The fumes emitted from some of the gas chainsaws may be difficult on your lungs. Especially if you have other health conditions, you may want to look into a low emissions gas chainsaw or opt for an electric one.

If you’re working in small spaces, the fumes of a chainsaw would be even greater, so this is definitely an important aspect to consider. You could even consider a cordless model if you work mostly in a small space or small yard.

Conclusion

The best chainsaw for the elderly is the Husqvarna 130. It has a 16 inch bar, has a 38cc gas powered engine, and weighs 5.7lbs/2.5kg. It’s great for cutting into wood up to 14 inches thick. So you’ll be able to fell and split a variety of wood.

Hope you found what you were looking for in this guide.

Happy sawing!

– Adam