Customer Reviews

High Limb CS-48 Rope-and-Chain Saw

5 star:		(51)
4 star:		(71)
3 star:		(21)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(12)

 

 

I recently purchased this and used it to cut two branches that were about 25 feet high. The first was no problem and I was shocked how easy it was. While cutting the second branch, the chain got jammed in the branch when it was almost cut all the way through. It took me an hour to get it free but I learned the tricks to free it quicker in the future. The instructions say to stand way out to the side so that the branch does not fall on your head, but the problem when you do that is when the branch starts to sag after it is cut about 2/3 of the way through, it pinches down on the part of the chainsaw that is on the bottom half of the branch so you end up with the chain stuck in place with a half cut branch. I learned that it was more effective to cut from under the branch and get out of the way when it falls. Another review said that he used two people and that would probably be the best way to reduce your chances of the chain getting stuck and also to not get hit on the head. The tool has a "flipping" part that causes the chain to flip over to the sharp side going down and this works pretty well after a few tries. I think that this tool works better on thick branches (more than 4 inch diameter). This is because on the larger diameter branches, the chain is not bent at too severe an angle. When you are almost done cutting through the branch, the chain will be bending in a tighter area that I think that caused me trouble on a thinner branch. For larger branches, the branch will snap before you get into such a tight area. Overall, it's not the greatest tool, but pretty cool to deal with those special cases where the pole saw won't reach. You should be aware that the cut will not be very clean at the bottom of the branch in many cases because you are cutting from the top and sides, not the bottom. In any case, I still recommend it since it costs a whole lot less than having a tree guy come to cut one or two unreachable branchs. But only expect to use it sparingly.

I had purchased the Professional High Limb Rope Cain Saw - 48in for a neighbor's Oak tree limb that was shading my backyard garden. It was about forty feet up and 13" in diameter.

The saw came with a Throw bag, Handles, and Rope with saw attached.
The Throw bag work flawlessly. Two tries and I had made the branch. After drawing the saw up for the cutting that is where the "Almost the right tool" comes into play.

The Righting Weight at the end of the saw wasn't heavy enough to flip the cutting blades into the right position. So after many rope twisting, twirling, flipping efforts the blades were orientated correctly.
I began to pull on the ropes and after a few tries where the blade flipped onto the wrong side. I finally got a good bite and began sawing. I eventually needed another body to get the proper cutting angle and the saw was working well until the limb pinched the blade which halted the cutting. At that point the limb had been cut enough that the weight of the limb with a little shaking brought it down.
The unfortunate consequence was that the saw broke when the pinched part hit the ground.

Overall the Professional High Limb Rope Cain Saw - 48in did the job, but it was difficult getting it into position. Cutting teeth on both sides of the saw would eliminate the need for the useless weight, and make it easier to position. When the saw gets cutting it worked great until it got pinched by the limb. It was the tool for the job almost.

I give high marks 5 STARS to the Throw Bag. It has come in handy on several occasions where I have to get a rope up high. It continues to work flawlessly.

Smile? Yes, I bought this out of desperation but it works so well, and so easy that three of us working with it the first time all started smiling. I know none of us thought it would really work. Requires two people, but is fast and easy.

The downside, some of the limbs we were trying to trim were about 30' up. It took a lot to finally get the weight bag over a limb. It's harder than you might think. Then there's the problem of getting the chain right side up. There's a weight on the chain that's supposed to make that automatic, but you'll either have to be patient and try several times to get it right or add some weight to the bar.

A large limb may work best with two cuts, but the chain does most of the work.

Amazing and safer than climbing a tree. Very happy with this.

Pros: Cheaper than a bucket truck, easy to use.

Cons: Clip for bean bag isn't strong enough.

Note: Really a two-person tool for anything over 15 ft high.

Bought this to trim branches hanging over a basketball/tennis court, and to get some dead limbs out of pine trees, etc. It only takes a few minutes to get good at throwing the bag over the limb. We did have some issues with getting the chain to flip "cut side down", but with two people, and holding the right tension on the ropes, you can make it work without too much effort.

The only thing keeping this from getting 5 stars is the clip for the bean-bag weight. It's a little cheap/weak, and it bent the first time the bean bag got stuck on a limb. I'll be replacing the clip with a caribiner, which should solve that problem.

Once the rope is over & the saw blade is oriented correctly, it doesn't take long to cut through the limb. Didn't have a problem with the saw getting pinched, but most of my branches were weak/dead when I cut them.

As others have mentioned, having a second person makes this tool MUCH easier to use. You can get the right cutting angles against the limb, especially high ones, and not be directly underneath it where it could fall on you. Make sure to wear eye protection when using this -- not only for the sawdust from the sawing, but also for any small branches that may come off on the way down.

Works but at times a PITA. The ropes need to be more heavy duty.
If you buy get the long 48". It cuts better than you expect.

I purchased this rope saw with the single purpose of cutting off a long, 6"-diameter, 20'-long dead branch on a scarlet oak tree in our back yard that loomed over the badminton net, threatening death and destruction to the players. I knew that this was not going to be easy: 25 feet up, with a backdrop of white pines and other trees. And it wasn't. I had read the earlier Amazon reviews and therefore decided not to risk losing the red throwing sack; instead, I tossed a rock tied to many feet of nylon kite string toward the branch -- 20 or 30 times, with various (embarrassing) results. By the time I scored, the trees were festooned with string and the woods peppered with stones that had come untethered. But score I did, finally, and the saw worked PERFECTLY. By then my whole family had gathered to watch, so when the first cracking sounds started we ran like rabbits to a pre-planned safety spot. The saw was definitely a worthwhile purchase!

I needed a way to remove limbs that were obstructing my ham radio wire antennas. Some of these limbs were up over 60 feet. I put quick connect hardware hooks on each end of the rope provided with the rope saw and added 50 feet of rope to the 25 feet on each side that came with the saw. That gave me 75 feet of working ability with the rope saw. I used a slingshot reel to send 15 pound test line over the offending limb and then used that to pull some heavy string back over. Then I used the string to pull one end of the rope saw over, making sure that the weight on the rope saw was pointing down as it passed over the offending limb. It usually takes a couple of tries to get it in position. Once you get the cut started it takes about 10 minutes of back and forth pulling to bring down a 4" thick limb. Ummmm... get out of the way when it comes crashing down! You generally hear some pretty loud creaks and cracks before it starts to fall, but not always! I usually make a second cut closer to the tree to clean up the first one because it tends to tear along the branch as it falls. This thing works really well. Oh, I got my rope saw caught in a branch just like another poster stated. All you have to do is shoot another line over the branch and then pull one side of the rope saw back over the limb. The rope saw will lift right out of the cut and drop to the ground! As previously stated, it sure is MUCH cheaper than bringing in a bucket truck! The 48" bi-directional chain saw and other associated hardware are fairly rugged and should stand up to most jobs around the yard. I would highly recommend this product.

I liked this rope chain saw, but it has it limitations.
Cut some limbs 4"-5" in diameter and over 30 feet above the ground... Small limbs can be hard to cut because they move around, and you can not get a bite on them.
I found that the easiest limbs to cut with this are live limbs without twigs and leafs in the area you are cutting... the line can catch on these and get stuck, or make it hard to position cutting side of chain saw.
I did not like the bean bag, it's to easy to get stuck. I took a 1 1/2" ball bearing ball and wrapped strong polyester twine around it, and covered smoothly with duck tape and used this for positioning my cut, then tied the saw rope on to it ,and taped the joints so it would make it harder to get stuck while pulling through the tree. It can take quite a bit of time to get positioned to cut by throwing this up in the tree. I do not think the poly rope will last very long. It is already frayed quite a bit, but it does slide easy. The ferrule clip that holds the rope on came loose and the rope came off. These clips are flimsy.
You can cut hard to get to limbs from the ground or ladder without climbing the tree. Would buy this again.

I had different difficulties than some of those cited. The first was getting the bean bag over the branch---mine were very high...but with patience I got it. Then, the bag would not drop...so I had to repeatedly slack the line to get it to inch down. Once in place it worked great---no problem getting it to be on the cutting side and it sawed very very quickly.

This is one handy puppy, but you need to be patient to have it work for you

Length:: 0:20 Mins

When there's no other way to cut branch that reaches the clouds, this will do the trick. Here's a video when we cut a 35 foot high branch. It took me about 20 attempts to throw the bean bag over the branch. Sometimes the chain would seem to get stuck. Just pull really hard if that happens, and then the tooth will break free and start cutting again.