Remington RM1035P Ranger II 8-Amp Electric 2-in-1 Pole Saw & Chainsaw with with Telescoping Shaft and 10-Inch Bar for Tree Trimming and Pruning, Orange

We bought a Remington pole saw maybe 15-20 years ago and it finally gave up the ghost. It was a great electric pole saw and I used it extensively before, during and after Hurricane Ivan in Florida. My Poulain chainsaw died and I finished up with the Remington. It would not have handled some of the bigger stuff with the shorter blade, but it handles things quite well that were within its design parameters. The chain cut fast and well. The new one cuts well, also. I had to replace the chain once and epoxied a few cracks in the plastic over the years, but finally, the housing that holds the bolts that tighten the blade in place cracked and it became impossible to tighten the blade securely - making it dangerous. So, as it had been an excellent tool, I bought a new one from the same company - this one.The new model is slick in design and easily switches between a pole saw and a short chain saw with the push of a couple of buttons. Very straightforward and clever design. The oil reservoir is clearly visible, so you know if it has oil in it - much better than the original design. It does NOT come with oil, though, so you need to put oil in it BEFORE you use it or you will probably burn it up. Just FYI.... I didn't expect it to come with oil and I already had oil for the last one.There is a brilliant tool free chain tightening system, but you need to READ the directions and know how it works. The black knob on the side locks the blade in place. To adjust the chain, you unscrew the black knob and rotate the grey sleeve on the outside to tighten or loosen the chain. ONce it is where you want it, re-tighten the black knob until it is secure. Super easy! If the chain area gets clogged with debris. simply unscrew the black knob until the whole assembly comes off, clean out the debris and reassemble - still no tools needed. Really brilliant and easy and takes no time to adjust. The original pole saw we had needed wrenches and a lot of time and a screwdriver - this is light years better! The pole latch for the extension is also more secure. All in all, this is a much better saw in many ways. The only drawback I can see at all is that it is a bit heavier than the original, but I suspect it is also more durable. It is not a super lightweight saw, though. But, I have yet to find an electric pole saw that actually works that is lightweight at full extension, so can't really complain too much on this one. The leverage at full extension is just bad, period, for any pole saw with a weight on the end of it. And it is quite beefy in design, so I expect this to hold up well over time. The price was a lot less than several competitors. I have no idea why.... It's really well designed. Excellent value for the money I think, but I have not had it that long, though I have used it a fair bit since I got it. I had a lot of stuff that needed trimming when I discovered the other one was dead... Hope that helps....

Several people have commented on the weight of this saw extended out on the easily adjustable, 10 foot pole, but I can tell you from experience, that really isn't an issue if you use your thinking ability first. After buying this saw several months ago, I finally got the time and opportunity (and ambition) to go out and trim up my 30 year old, four-trunk, clustered oak tree in the front yard. The first thing I did was study the tree and where exactly I needed to make cuts - either to trim out dead branches, or uneven growth, or branches that could threaten my roof during a storm. After figuring out WHERE I wanted to make my cuts, I had to decide just HOW to make those cuts. I'm no weakling, but I don't have tremendous upper body strength either, so I had to figure out how I was going to make the cuts without harming the saw or myself in the process. Fortunately, this saw is well designed, with an offset cutting angle and an integrated hook to help hold it in place once the saw is positioned, so I simply lifted the saw almost vertically until the chain blade was on top of the limb I wanted to cut (MUCH easier than approaching the limb at a 30 to 45 degree angle). At that point I moved slightly away from being directly below the part of the limb coming down and pulled the trigger. Gravity is your friend when using this saw because the weight of the saw at the end of that 10 foot pole is largely supported by the limb being cut, and the natural cutting direction is assisted by gravity. The only challenge there was making undercuts on some the the heavier, thicker limbs before cutting them from above, but even that was manageable, thanks to that angled, self-lubricating cutting head. Once the limb is cut (VERY quickly done with this sharp cutting chain) it's a matter of sliding your hand(s) further up the pole (toward the center of the pole - better mechanical advantage or leverage) to prevent the saw from crashing to the ground. Once the tree limbs were on the ground, quickly converting this saw to a small, normal chainsaw was quite literally a snap, with no tools required. I found cutting the limbs out of the tree to be the easy part. After the limbs were cut from the tree came the hard part of cutting everything into four foot lengths for the trash company to haul it all off. I used bypass loppers for the smaller branches because that was much quicker, and it preserved the sharpness of the chainsaw for the thicker branches. I bought this saw on sale and it did a superb job, saving me about $250, PLUS THE COST OF THE SAW that I'd have spent hiring someone else to trim up my tree, and this way I got the tree trimmed up just as I wanted it to be (no severe cutting back and endangering the future health of the tree). This pole/chainsaw is well designed and very well made, and after my experience with using it, I will no longer dread using it in the future. As a homeowner who routinely does my own yard maintenance, I consider this saw to be one of my better purchases.

This product seems like one of those designed in America, produced in China products. After spending 20 years as a product designer, I can say without reservation that this is a well designed product right down to the oval shape of the pole. (This adds significant extra strength versus a circle.) I received it today, added oil, and went to work trimming a ton of branches from a large mesquite tree. The saw, with its sharp blade, went through almost every branch without slowing the motor. One branch was 6 inches or more in diameter. This was the only branch to slow the saw motor down, but the chain still went through the wood like a hot knife through butter. :-) It functions well as a stand alone small chain saw when used to "unrat" the intertwined mesquite branches. The large handle may be just a little unwieldy. I am like 70, and did find that with the pole extended, and the saw at a 45 degree angle (or more) to me, that it was heavy or top heavy, but still manageable! Think of the old bar bet - I bet you can't pick up a phone book (when it is at the end of a broom!). To tighten your chain, you have to loosen up the "nut" that holds the bar assembly in place (at least I did.) It's not an issue though! This saw was just the tool I needed for this job, and I worked from high up on an 8 foot step ladder. I have no reservations about recommending this saw. I took the obsolescence protection of ordering 2 extra chains, as I the chain is made in China as well. I ordered Oregon chains, which are often made in Canada. The Oregon chains for this saw were made in China. I think this review sums things up nicely. If a 70 year old fat man can use this, you can too!