3 Top-Rated Chainsaws You Can Find At Menards
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Ask anywhere around the nation where they get their chainsaw, chances are they'll say Lowes or Home Depot. Talk to someone from the Midwest, though, and they'll wave off those nationwide big box retailers and point you to Menards. A trusted resource for home improvement hardware since 1958, Menards has a fairly healthy inventory of tools, including chainsaws ranging from 20-volt cordless to 50cc gas options.
Because Menards isn't a tiny store, you'll have to navigate more than 20 options when you're in the market for a new chainsaw. Brands like Black+Decker, Masterforce, and Worx round out budget-friendly and premium electric, gas, and corded saws available in store or exclusively on Menards.com.
Since you should spend more time using the saw than shopping for one, we've narrowed down three prospective options. These three saws represent the top-rated and most-trusted options in the sizable inventory. Building a list of the top-rated chainsaws from Menards was made a little more complicated by the lack of user reviews on the storefront. So, we focused on high reviews on Amazon and supporting words from professional outlets and other users. We'll discuss our methodology further after our three recommendations.
Worx® 14-Inch 8-Amp Corded Electric Chainsaw
A 14-inch, 8-amp chainsaw isn't going to be the go-to choice for a professional forester. At only $70, though, the short bar and chain aren't meant to take on big jobs. As Chainsaws Today states in their review of the small Worx saw, it's explicitly designed for "light and medium cutting duties," making it more suitable for at-home applications like trimming overgrown trees and pruning.
What it's designed for doesn't matter much if the chainsaw doesn't perform. However, the 14-inch Worx saw seems to have enamored many. Chainsaws Today lists the pros as quiet, easy to use, and lightweight at only 6.6 lbs, and it features an automated system for adjusting the chain tension. While many of the 2,150-plus reviews responsible for the chainsaw's 4.4-star rating on Amazon agree with many of those perks, there is some concern over the tension adjustment system, but it's not enough to knock this model down from being one of the top-rated models available at Menards.
As YouTubers Buckeye Ballistics, Just Az.com Productions, and JohnVH Life all state, the budget-friendly Worx 14-inch doesn't match the power of a gas chainsaw, but it's a worthy purchase for clean-up jobs and light applications.
Poulan Pro® 20-Inch 50cc 2-Cycle Gas Chainsaw
The Poulan Pro 20-inch gas chainsaw lands closer to a mid-range price at $240, but its performance is anything but middling. The 20-inch bar makes this a viable option for heavier projects, as does the higher-powered 50cc gas-powered motor. It's still not quite a commercial chainsaw, but Chainsaws Today was still surprised by what the chainsaw has to offer. One of the best parts of the model PR5020 saw is its two-year warranty. You can saw away knowing that Poulan Pro puts a lot of faith into its products. Chainsaws Today does note that the gas engine is on the louder side. However, it makes up for the extra noise with power, and the engine is capable of reaching 9,000 rpm.
Chainsaws Today's praise is backed by Amazon's customers, who keep the PR5020 model chainsaw above four stars. Its 1,000-plus reviews talk of a chainsaw that's both a good value and capable of delivering a surprisingly powerful performance. The Poulan Pro checks off all the boxes and then some with a fuel-efficient engine and reduced-effort pull-start system.
The 20-inch 50cc chainsaw also earned recognition from YouTuber Jack of All Trades. In his review of the saw, he notes it is a perfectly sized saw for more casual operations, though you will be able to do more around your yard than with a smaller and less powerful chainsaw. Jack of All Trades even returned a year later to tout that the saw is still working well.
WORX® 16-Inch 40-Volt Brushless Cordless Chainsaw
Sometimes, it's worth every penny to pay a bit more for a big-brother version of a brand's budget-friendly option. The Worx 16-inch 40V, model WG385, may not be that much larger than the 14-inch, but its cordless design and brushless motor amp up the power for a blade that cuts through wood like butter.
YouTuber Land to House had plenty to say about the 40V, calling it a "great saw" that he notes would be replacing his gas-powered saw. One of the bigger selling points for him was the Power Share battery that's interchangeable between other Worx tools. He also commented on how quiet the saw is and showed surprise that he didn't need hearing protection.
The Amazon reviews were a little light on the Worx 16-inch, but retaining 4.5 stars with just under 400 reviews is still nothing to scoff at. However, we verified the positive ratings against a review on My Fix It Up Life, which mentioned many of the same pros. According to the review, the Nitro 40V offers more power than expected from a "DIY-positioned brand" and stands up well against heavy-duty jobs.
Popular Mechanic even highlighted the battery-powered Nitro as a great value option that "looks, feels, and cuts like a solid little saw." While $300 on Menards may not seem like a great value price, consider that Ryobi has a similarly sized and powered chainsaw for $178 more at Home Depot.
Choosing the top-rated chainsaws
Landing on these three chainsaws required some thorough research, watching the odd YouTube video, and scouring the web for professional reviews. When we aimed to feature the "top-rated" chainsaws, we knew the criteria had to start with what third parties thought about the hardware. If the chainsaw was on Amazon, we used that as a launching point and focused only on those that had at least a rating of four stars.
To narrow the list down further, we then looked for professional reviews, landing on sites like Chainsaw Today and My Fix It Up Life. Then, as a final verification that we chose the three fantastic chainsaws, we looked at YouTube reviews from trusted sources with a decent following and cross-referenced whether they were positively reviewed on sites like Popular Mechanics.