The advent of good quality lithium batteries changed everything. I have been a fan of battery sawzalls for all the small wood cutting jobs. Matched with a good arbor blade, it's amazing what you can do.

I used cheap Ryobi sawzalls with 4.0Ah batteries for years, and I have to say they served me well. Recently, I picked up a brushless Makita sawzall and a bunch of 4.0Ah batteries on a good deal -- more muscle when I'm taking apart a tree at the top of a 30' ladder.

Sure, I have a big gas Stihl for big jobs, but I only use it now and then.

We had a big windstorm last week and a huge poplar tree came down on the road in our neighbourhood. I didn't have gas mixed for the Stihl, so I grabbed the Makita sawzall and walked down. By the time everybody else showed up with chain saws, I had chopped up the tree and the road was clear for traffic. That included some 16" cuts.