Husqvarna battery chainsaws – a revolution for arborists

Arborist and chainsaw instructor Michael Austad is passionate about the environment. His company Västsvenska Trädspecialisten specialises in sustainable arboriculture and he has a holistic view of tree care, carefully considering the trees' surroundings before working on it.

“An old oak tree, for example, can have up to 2 000 different species that are dependent of it. In those cases I recommend a pruning instead of taking it down”, Michael Austad says and adds that most of his clients are happy to be informed and often forgo their felling plans even though it means less sun on their patios.

Surprisingly powerful

Though avid about treating timber gently, Michael Austad does not want to compromise on power. When he first encountered Husqvarna’s top handle battery chainsaw T536 Li XP® he was sceptical. Could this machine really do the job just as good as the petrol-driven arborist chainsaws? His initial hesitation was put to shame as soon as he tried it.

“I’m impressed by how powerful it is and how fast it accelerates. And the battery capacity is fantastic”, he says.

Made for climbing

As a daily tree climber, Michael Austad needs his equipment to be lightweight and easy to manoeuvre. With the battery top handle chainsaw from Husqvarna, he feels like he’s hit the mark on both points. The low weight and vibration levels in combination with the easy start/stop function have significantly improved his working conditions when pruning trees.

“My elbows used to ache after a day’s work, but now that I don’t have to keep pulling the starter cord when I’m up in the trees the ache is gone. And since the saw hardly vibrates at all, my arms almost never go numb anymore.”

Perfect for pollarding

Another field of use where the battery chainsaw is outstanding, according to Austad, is when pollarding trees. He previously struggled with finding the right tool for the job, since the secateurs were too small, the hand saw too bulky, and the regular chainsaw shredded the bark.

“The thinness of the chain and the low vibration levels is a crazy good combination for pollarding. You just get the most amazingly fine cutting surfaces.”

No noise, new routines

The quiet operation of the battery saw enables Michael Austad to work without disturbing the surroundings in noise-sensitive areas such as around hospitals, churches and in residential areas. And when you are two people working a tree, it’s much easier for the person on the ground to hear the climber when there’s no loud idling of a petrol chainsaw. This, however, also calls for some extra caution.

“With the battery chainsaw the absence of sound might make you run under the tree to collect a branch when someone is working up there,” Michael Austad comments and recommends going over the working routines when switching to battery.

Not going back

Michael Austad sees a bright future for battery chainsaws. He calls the top handle battery saw a “revolution for arborists” and the rear handle battery saw for professionals, the 536 Li XP®, almost shocked him when he first used it for timbering houses – a side business to his job as an arborist.

“You can do basically anything with that saw. The more I use it, the more it baffles me. There are no vibrations, the acceleration is amazing and the precision is unbelievable. There’s really no comparison – you have to try it to understand.”