perfect

Plenty of cutting power as well as battery life for my needs. I am not a contractor but this has been used quite a bit around the house where corded ones would have not been possible. A little pricey but comes with 2 big 30 batteries and a charger.

I buy from Amazon a lot, but don't post reviews very often, but figured this product deserved some feedback. I am a moderate DIY home owner that had a need for a power saw of some sort for light duty around the house (mostly pruning, more than likely, if my wife has any say in the matter). With that in mind I knew I wanted something cordless, and since I already have a set of Makita drills, this seemed like a good choice to expand the set. Went with this set as opposed to the tool only option because the drill set I have came with the 1.5amp batteries, as opposed to the 30amp. That being said, I got the saw today, right when Amazon said I would (points there) and immediately put the batteries to charging. I was planning on breaking this in on a 30' willow tree that fell in the backyard, so I got a set of Bosch and Milwaukee 12" pruning blades to start off. Once charged I got to work, using the Bosch blades first. They cut easily through all of the branches, with minimal effort on my part. I know that you are supposed to hold the shoe of the saw against whatever you are cutting, but that caused some serious vibration and was not as effective as working the full length of the blade back and forth. Once I got my rhythm going I quickly got through all the branches (most were about 2'-3" thick). Then I went to work on the trunk, about 4"-6", starting at the top, to about 12"-14" at the base. No problems on the top parts, but started running into trouble at the bigger pieces, at about the time the first battery started going (about 12min into it, steady cutting). Definitely slows down, as opposed to just stopping as it does with the drill. Swapped out the battery and off we went again. Cut through 6" pieces very fluidly and got through a fair amount before the battery started going (about 8" thick). Took a break to recharge the batteries, when I resumed continued to breeze through. I stopped when it started getting dark out there, and noticed that even though the battery was charged was having trouble cutting through. I suspect that first Bosch blade may be losing some edge. Got about 20' to go, so I'll try the Milwaukee blade next, when its light out. Not sure I will get through the thickest part of the trunk, but we'll see. Will update the post then.All that being said, my first impression is a good one. Like/Dislike belowLikeCordless,relatively lightweight,powerful, at full chargehook and LEDrange of different blades should make this a versatile toolDislikeslots of vibrationbattery life only about 12 min each with constant use.

I bought this to replace my very old Porter Cable saw that I loaned to a neighbor. It mysteriously didn't work when he returned it. Anyway, this saw is a great improvement.The batteries charge in just a few minutes. The power is more than ample to saw through 2-4 inch limbs, 2x4s, and a 3 inch (1/4 inch thick) wide metal pole.A sharp blade makes the difference and they are expensive. I cannot tell the difference between Makita (or other brand names) vs. plain old Ace hardware brand. I just by the big packs on sale.

I was loaned an older model of this Makita Reciprocating Saw, by a friend, to do some clean up work, around the yard. It worked rather well, so being a FAN of Makita cordless tools, I JUSTIFIED another purchase. Does a 18 volt Lithium Ion battery beat a 18 volt Ni-Cad? Try it.I am still amazed at how well the newLi-ion's work. Power enough to do all the tree cutting I needed to do. I'm NOT a Paul Bunyon, just needed to get some 6 to 8 inch limbs, that had snapped off, cut up and disposed of. This saw did the trick and best of all, I DID NOT have to drag a cord around, to do the job. Just do yourself a favor and fit it with the CORRECT blade (for the task at hand).Next, I did some plumbing demolition work, which involved the cutting up of 4 inch cast iron drain pipe. This Makita Li-Ion cordless Reciprocating saw was a dream to use. It was lighter, a bit smaller, lengthwise, and cordless, in comparison to what I am used to using. It's hard to justify using the old, corded, do all reciprocating saw. Just make sure to use the correct blade (length, thickness, and and Teeth Per Inch). AND pay the extra bucks for the batteries, charger and case instead of the "TOOL ONLY'. I'm convinced that it's a much better deal.One more tip.I live out here, between the west coast and the "Far East". Anti up and buy into Amazon Prime. I have happened, twice now, to end up ordering tools, late on a Thursday night, and been able to pick up the shipped items, at the local U.S. POST OFFICE, both times, on Tuesday afternoon. That, folks, is FIVE days, from ordering to having the items in my hands.