Makita UC013G 40V Rear Handle Chainsaw Review: Petrol-Class Cutting Without the Petrol

Introduction

The Makita UC013G is the brand’s first 40V rear handle chainsaw, and it has been one of the most requested releases in the XGT lineup. It ships with a 450mm bar, positions itself as the equivalent of a 42cc petrol chainsaw, and aims squarely at users who want petrol-class cutting capacity without the fuel, fumes, and pull starts. Note that Makita sells slightly different versions of this saw in different regions, with bar lengths from 350mm to 450mm and different model numbers, so check what your local market carries.

After extended cutting sessions on large willow logs, including some genuinely punishing end-grain cuts, here is how it performs and where it asks compromises.

Who This Product Is For

This saw suits property owners and firewood cutters who regularly deal with big logs. Compared with the 18V twin (LXT) rear handle version, the UC013G cuts about 20 percent faster, handles greater cutting capacity, and needs roughly half as many batteries to get through the same pile of timber. If your work is mostly small branches and pruning, a lighter top-handle or smaller LXT saw will be easier to live with.

Build Quality and Design

Picking it up, the first thing you notice is weight. At 4.2kg with the 350mm bar, it is about a kilogram heavier than the 18V twin rear handle version, and it is noticeably wider through the body. The reason is the construction: a steel rear handle, magnesium cladding around the front, and steel bucking spikes, where the 18V twin is mostly plastic. The 40V version simply feels more like a petrol chainsaw in the hand.

The bar retention has gone back to basics too. Instead of the tool-free cover system on the 18V twin, the UC013G uses two captive nuts and a traditional tensioning screw, so you carry a spanner with you. Makita clearly decided the tool-free approach was too easy to damage. Safety kit is standard: a front hand brake that stops the tool from starting, a chain deflector at the front of the bar, and a variable speed trigger. The work light stays on for five seconds after activation, or stays on indefinitely while the button is held. The tool is IPX4 rated for water and dust resistance, and the battery bay drains through a hole in the bottom.

The 8Ah battery fits snugly in the rear, and there may be room for larger packs in future if Makita makes them.

Battery and Power Delivery

This is where the saw makes demands. Makita recommends the 5Ah and 8Ah XGT “F” batteries, which have 20 cells each. Running smaller 10-cell packs is a bad idea: a 2.0Ah battery tripped into a red-light overload state after barely any cutting, even though it was still showing fully charged afterwards, and a 4.0Ah pack got uncomfortably hot and dropped a charge bar after just two large cuts. Half the cells means half the current capacity, and this saw asks a lot.

Chain speed is 25.5 metres per second, slightly quicker than the 40V top handle at 24.8 m/s and well ahead of the 18V twin at around 20 m/s. That speed shows up directly in cutting pace.

Cutting Performance

In use, the saw cuts smooth, fast, and with real authority. End-grain cuts, effectively the rip cuts of chainsaw work, are the hardest test, and it handled them where the lighter 18V twin struggled on the same material. Cross cuts through a 400mm-wide block are quick and clean. Over a quarter of an hour of hard cutting, the motor settled around 64 degrees Celsius, warm but well within normal working range.

Stall behaviour is roughly the same as the 18V twin. The 40V top handle feels like it stalls less, but that is partly leverage: a rear handle saw uses your rear hand as a fulcrum so the saw does the work, while a top handle demands more downward push and is more tiring. One blunt-chain warning from long testing: a dull chain drinks battery power, so keep the chain sharp and your runtime will thank you. And a confession for anyone who has ever done the same, a four-inch nail hidden deep inside an old willow took a few teeth out of the chain, which affected cutting quality until it was re-filed.

Across a large pile of mixed cuts, including some deliberately abusive rip-style cuts and plenty of logs about a foot across, testing burned through a 4Ah, a 5Ah, and an 8Ah battery. That is the honest cost of this kind of performance: it is power hungry, and big batteries are effectively mandatory.

Things to Consider Before Buying

Weight is the obvious trade-off. The extra kilogram and wider body make this a two-handed, stance-based saw, not a quick pruning tool. Battery cost is the other: you will want 20-cell F-series batteries, and if you run smaller packs the saw will let you know by overheating them. Finally, the traditional nut-retained bar means keeping a spanner on hand, a small thing but worth knowing if you are coming from a tool-free saw.

Who Should Buy It

If you are replacing a small petrol chainsaw or stepping up from the 18V twin for bigger timber, the UC013G makes a strong case. You get faster cutting, greater capacity, and petrol-like build quality in a cordless package. If your cutting is light and occasional, the lighter 18V twin or a top handle XGT saw will cost less and weigh less.

The arithmetic that sells it: about 20 percent faster cutting, larger logs, and roughly half the battery count of the 18V twin for the same job.

Conclusion

The Makita UC013G delivers on its petrol-equivalent promise. It is the heaviest and most solidly built cordless rear handle saw in the range, cuts noticeably quicker than the 18V twin, and feels like a real work saw rather than a scaled-up DIY tool. Its appetite for large 20-cell batteries is the main caveat, but with the right packs it is a genuinely capable firewood and property saw.