Craftsman 34118

Reviewers recommend the 13-amp, 4-horsepower Craftsman 34118 with an 18-inch bar as the best among budget-priced, corded electric chainsaws. The Craftsman chainsaw has bucking spikes for cutting up firewood, plus important safety features such as an inertia-activated chain brake, anti-kickback bar tip and wrap-around handle. As long as you can work within 100 feet of an outlet, this Craftsman chainsaw can perform most short tasks. Poulan manufactures this Craftsman chainsaw, and the Poulan Pro 400E (*Est. $85) is fundamentally identical, except that it lacks the Craftsman variant's tool-free chain tensioning. If you need to use a chainsaw for more than a few minutes at a time, consider getting a model with an anti-vibration handle, such as the quieter (but more expensive) Husqvarna 316E (*Est. $270).

Because the Craftsman 34118 is nearly identical to the Poulan Pro 400E chainsaw, we looked at reviews of both models. We found the most helpful review at ConsumerReports.org, where the Poulan version is compared with 24 other chainsaws based on thorough objective tests. Tools of the Trade also tests the Craftsman 34118, comparing it with only eight other models but providing much more detail. We also found more than 200 owner-written reviews of the Poulan Pro version at Amazon.com and of the Craftsman version at Sears.com. These reviews provide a first-person look at how this chainsaw has performed over time.