Makita DUC353 vs DUC306

Quick and dirty comparison of the Makita DUC353 (XCU03) rear handle chainsaw and the DUC306 (XCU08) top handle chainsaw.
NOTE: the top handle saw is of course not meant for this type of work; it’s an arborist saw aimed at use up in the tree. Buy the saw that fits your use case.
The DUC353 is equipped with an Oregon 40cm (16") bar. The DUC306 with its original Makita 30cm (12") bar.
Both are running Oregon 90PX 3/8" x .043" (1.1mm) chains. Both chains are sharp.
The wood being cut is a dead oak tree, cut down a few minutes earlier. Approximately 25cm (10") in diameter.
DUC353 is using Makita BL1850b (5Ah) batteries, the DUC306 is on a set of Makita BL1860b (6Ah) batteries.
Sorry for the sound cutting out every now and then, guess that's the GoPro's wind noise reduction or so (it was quite windy).

[@David-qv7bd]

Thank you, have been looking for this exact comparison. I recently purchased the DUC306, so far am loving it.

[@jules2cv]

Thanks for the video! I already have the little makita duc254 top handle chainsaw. And really happy with it for pruning. Now i also want the 2x18v chainsaw 😅 im glad i switched to makita. They make really good stuff for a decent price. Their hedgetrimmer and blower are also a lightweight and silent beast. My proffesional 2 stroke equipment is on retirement now🙈

[@guillermogtalk8417]

STIHL hta 65 hta 85 wireless pole pruner how much & condition/s?.

[@dilipnaik7487]

Where found in this machine in India which state I need this machine

[@ericleong1453]

Good video sir ! I was thinking to get either xcu06 or xcu08 but after watching your video so I decided to go for xcu08 in case I need to cut bigger log rather just pruning. LOL

[@hhcosminnet]

they are for different uses. the duc353 (that i have) requires two hands for operating. the duc306 requires one hand. so if you have some branch to cut into pieces then you can hold that with one hand and cut with the other. the two hander is better for cutting larger stuff. both saws have the same engine or similar (1200 watts) and both can be fitted with different size chains. having the duc353 that is better for falling tress and cutting thicker stuff, i'm considering getting the one hander for cutting smaller stuff and working in trees. if you ask me the two hander is better for cutting the log he cut in the video. the log is already lifted a bit and fixed.

[@serhiisklyairenko62]

Thanks , you just help me to make right choice ! DUC 306 with brushless motor is the best !

[@frankv84]

Glad you found the video useful! Keep in mind though: both are brushless and apart from the boost mode there is not much difference in performance. In the end these are two different tools each with their own specific purpose. I can only recommend choosing the saw that best fits your purpose 🙂

[@moppedmann123]

@@frankv84 i think the different Performance depends on the length of the sword.

[@frankv84]

@@moppedmann123 you mean the 353 would have performed better with a 30cm bar like the 306 had?

[@moppedmann123]

@@frankv84 exactly 👍 because of lower resistance

[@frankv84]

@@moppedmann123 not sure if that would make too much difference but if I happen to think about it next time I'm working with the saws, I might swap the bars around and see.

[@ToolsandTravelAddict]

Nice comparison 👍

[@L110508]

What caused the stall? I have a makita pole saw, recently it often stalled while cutting thicker branches. Few stalls and it would stop running (blinking light and won't run), all I need to do is take out one battery and install back right away (like reset) and it would back to full power.

[@frankv84]

Probably just pushed it a bit too much (leveraging the spikes). As long as you let the saw do the work and prevent the bar from getting pinched it is usually not an issue. Doing a lot of heavy cutting can also cause it as that just heats up the batteries and at some point protection kicks in.

[@eloadasokbzsa8753]

Interresting. The 306 seems to be a little bit faster, but it is not as handy for this job. The 353's shape is much more convenient here. The question would be however, which one will last more?

[@frankv84]

In boost mode the 306 is indeed a bit quicker. But you can’t run that all the time and as you state: for this type of work a rear handle is the better tool. Run time I’d expect would be similar except for any extra fast drain from using boost mode. But overall performance really isn’t a relevant aspect when deciding which of these two saws to buy. What you use it for is much more important. Arborist work up in the tree: pick the top handle. Pretty much anything else: rear handle.

[@honda116969]

Your Makita ⛓️🪚 has an Oregon bar & ⛓️ lol. Nice video!

[@n-wnw3145]

Does the duc353 have an adjustable trigger?

[@frankv84]

Yes, you can control the chain speed by varying the trigger, if that's what you mean.

[@Mahibisht6643]

Prize plz??

[@ArturZagaj-Izraelita]

A byłem pewny że ta mała ma mniejszy silnik.

[@patterdalezipsuzilil]

Bro I realy want makita I have 10 6amp batteries but I heard they keep thowing chains I see one of yours has oregano set up how you do that

[@frankv84]

The Makita bar and chains are also just rebranded Oregon stuff. So when I wanted to upgrade the bar from 35cm to 40cm I just bought an Oregon one. Can’t say I’ve had much issues with these saws throwing their chain and the few times they did, it was probably my own fault not paying attention to chain tension.

[@dennissirvent8811]

Do you find the 3rd party bar & chains outperform Makita's stock stuff?

[@frankv84]

Stock chains are also Oregon, same type, just shipped in a plastic bag instead of cardboard box. So don’t expect any difference there. I believe the Makita bars are also rebranded Oregon bars, but not 100% sure. I believe I bought this one because at the time Makita wasn’t selling 40cm bars here or were hard to come by. So just bought the Oregon product instead.

[@kovalenkoihor4325]

@@frankv84 Yes. Makita takes Oregon. Bars and chains.

[@cjmx06]

If you could choose only one to do it all, which would you choose?

[@frankv84]

The DUC353 is the more all-round saw of the two, but it would be pretty annoying to climb with. So personally I have both for a reason and I'd rather not make that choice at all. But if you don't do (much) work up in the trees, pick the 353. That's what I started with as well. The only reason I got the 306 is because I started to get more and more involved in jobs that involved pruning / breaking down a tree limb by limb.

[@cjmx06]

@@frankv84 Thank you for your insight. I will likely be doing more pruning and tree climbing work than cutting fire wood so I think I might go for the top handle as my only saw. Also since I can borrow my neighbour's gas stihl should I need to drop a whole tree.

[@loganross1861]

Boost mode 🤔 BEAST mode, more like.

[@robertd6925]

How many cuts do you get on one set of batteris?

[@frankv84]

That heavily depends on the type and size of the wood of course. I believe there are some specific videos out there that do comparisons incl. run-time tests. To give an impression, this pile was cut with 1 set of 6Ah batteries (starting from logs about 1m long, cutting them in thirds, so 2 cuts for each 3 pieces of wood on the pile): tweakers.net/i/J37zRKwR3C5mx7kVy8h5r8p7KG4=/full-fit-in/4920x3264/filters:max_bytes(3145728):no_upscale():strip_icc():fill(white):strip_exif()/f/image/lhDtHSl2pwWuuuu18XB6ncEl.jpg?f=user_large

[@FRERABRETZ1]

how do you work out 2 cuts per 3 pieces of wood 😂, are you Joe Biden?

[@user-yg5cz8bp9w]

Which one is the most convenient for cutting a log?

[@frankv84]

For cutting up a log (and most if not all ground work) you’d want to use a rear handle saw. So the DUC353 would be the best choice for that.

[@user-yg5cz8bp9w]

Thanks a lot for video and advice. I thought so also.

[@andreylisenkov4722]

@@frankv84 спасибо. Как раз стоял перед выбором между 353 и 356. Я думал наоборот, что 356 была бы удобнее, но было сомнение. Вы его подтвердили.

[@suoiquang8847]

Máy này bao nhiêu tiền đấy sop

[@user-ux9mw6sl6e]

Я думаю что обе пилы очень хорошо справились с распилом!

[@user-vf7gj3my9z]

Да но 306 на турбо режиме пилит по бодрее чем 353,я не знал,что306 самая мощная в линейке у макиты.У меня 353,очень мощная пила,сегодня смотрел ролики,как 353 сравнивали с аккумуляторной хускварной и сетевой макитой на 1800вт,так вот 353 пилит быстрее чем эти две,мощность ее значит эквивалентна 2000вт,а 306 еще мощнее я думаю ее можно прировнять по мощности к средней бензопиле,интересно ее бы сраанить с деволтом флексвольт и милкой я думаю она им ничем не будет уступать,и даже может превзойдет.353 натягивает многие пилы,как бензо так и сетевые,знал бы,что 306 мощнее взял бы ее но у нее есть и свои минусы перед 353,у нее нет бесключевой натяжки цепи и шину почему то поставили на 30 см,а так пила огонь

[@user-fx7ic1tw6d]

@@user-vf7gj3my9z ещё разница конструктивная. Хват оператор другой (353 похожа на сетевую). Интересно было бы узнать какая при заготовке дров и валки удобнее.

[@Konstanzzo]

@@user-vf7gj3my9z 306-й макиты в России нет, как и 406-ой. В продаже только модель 356, c шиной 350мм. По поводу ключевой натяжки и замены шины - это да, могли бы сделать безключевой. Хотя с другой стороны, цепь тянется только пока новая и на первых этапах работы. После обкатки она уже не требует подтяжки. ) Работал своей новой пилой 356-й и на ней новой цепочкой. Высадил три комплекта акб. и цепь не пришлось даже подтягивать. ))) С пилой DeWALT DCM575 Макиту 353 уже сравнивали в этом видео - kzbin.info/www/bejne/oYjNh5aceaholck и к сожалению она лоханулась,.....хотя возможно её спецом завалили. Так-же в Ютубе есть видео, где американец сравнивает по быстроте работы 356-ю пилу с бензиновыми.

[@user-ly1ez9jh7z]

@@user-vf7gj3my9z приобрёл сегодня 303 будем работать.уду рыбачить у берегов попадаются ясени падшие никто несобирает так как в горочку приходится таскать.

[@stianjohansen9281]

Thanks ,this was an important test imo . One "old" popular model against the newest from Makita . Hope you get many views on this one Wow ,almost half the time in Boost Mode 👍

[@izoyt]

trunk was thicker from the start, this should be also considered, imo. but yes, something like 30-35% faster boost cuts in reality, probably, which is noticeable. 353 is little too much restricted by safety features imo, it would be nice to "figure" out boost mode on it, also (so, not that much cutting of etc). i just bought it.

[@izoyt]

is there any way to get boost mode on 353 as well?

[@frankv84]

No, the 353 doesn’t have that feature.

[@izoyt]

@@frankv84 yes, i know, i was more thinking about hacking it etc. i think it's just some sort of voltage regulation thing, would be nice to know, how it's done on other model..

[@frankv84]

@@izoyt from what I understand that mode allows you to bypass the protection electronics for a short period, drawing power straight from the batteries. Not sure if it would be possible to hack something like that into the 353. I’m not an electrical engineer. Interesting thought though 🙂 Perhaps find a donor 306 and transplant the internals into a 353 😋

[@izoyt]

@@frankv84 yes, bypassing the cut off protection etc was exactly my idea also, what else could it be? i hope some youtube geek will look into this, hehe..

[@mustafagoler1752]

Ürünün fiyatını yazarmısınız

[@frankv84]

Here in NL the DUC306z is around €300, the DUC353z around €250. Both ex. batteries.

[@venanciochaves1103]

both are 36v?

[@frankv84]

Yes

[@hllo836]

এই মেশিনটার দাম কত কত ইঞ্চি

[@outnabout7417]

I love the makita duc306 I use it while a climb I think it's much beter then the sthil

[@frankv84]

I only have it since a month (and I have the duc353 for over a year now), but so far I'm really liking it too. What Stihl saw are you comparing it to? I guess with the MSA160 T and newer MSA161 T Stihl chose to introduce battery power to the bottom of their top-handle line-up and stick with gas for the higher power models for now. Wouldn't be surprised if they come up with an MSA201 T or so at some point. Since it is just a hobby for me, I especially also like the lower prices of the Makita saws compared to Stihl/Husqvarna (and the fact that I can share the batteries with my other Makita powertools).

[@user-zu3zz9th9q]

👍👍👍👌👌

[@loganross1861]

More please.

[@frankv84]

Anything specific you’d like to see?

[@loganross1861]

Frank Vlamings 🤔 A video about the gear needed to get up and down a tree safely, with a chainsaw, and not fall out. Not sure just really liked your vid. Thought the format was great

[@frankv84]

@@loganross1861 thanks man! As I'm not a trained arborist myself (just doing it a bit as a hobby) I'm not sure I should be giving other people advice about climbing equipment, but perhaps I'll do something on my own setup some time. I started out with a cheap 'starter kit' from a local store with a simple arborist harness, 30m climbing line, some prusik cord and such. Since then added a bunch of Petzl gizmo's to make climbing a bit easier (ZigZag Plus mechanical prusik, Zillon lanyard, Pantin foot ascender, Croll L ascender).

[@samsulislam8944]

Hi

[@jssonsheedy6283]

Not sure this is a great video people will see that the little saw is faster and think it’s the better saw for cutting big logs which is just not the case it’s only meant for small limbs and pruning.

[@frankv84]

Good point, and something I’ve also mentioned in reply to some of the comments: buy the saw that fits your use case, not just because it happens to have a boost mode. While the 306 can handle quite a bit more than just small limbs, it remains an arborist saw that is indeed not designed for cutting logs on the ground. I’ve now added a note to the description as well.

[@bartvanhecke4623]

interested in the top handle since i already own a back handle saw. is 35 cm a comfortable length of blade or would the balance be better with a 30 cm blade on it?

[@frankv84]

@@bartvanhecke4623 I usually have a 30cm bar on the tophandle. Up in the tree I don’t really need more than that normally and then a longer bar just gets in the way more easily.

[@raymondchew4141]

now no need petrol

[@user-xr6gm4so1h]

Не оправдала доверия макита. Купил эту пилу duc 353 .раз 15 разрядил аккумуляторы и сдох двигатель. Позвонил на сервис в Браворы сказали год гарантия. Так что пролет. Куплена была в 17.11.2020г. В г. Конотоп сумская область.Так что лапша про 3 года гарантия. Не ожидал что макита как Китай. Больше инструмент этой марки покупать не буду.ps. Сервис сказал ремонт 8000грн. Прежде чем покупать стоит подумать покупать такое качество или лучше Китай и выбросить не жалко будет если поломается.

[@user-lm4pq6so6w]

Що зараз із пилкою?

[@user-xr6gm4so1h]

@@user-lm4pq6so6w хана пилке. За ремонт 10тыс. Просят.

[@devarajt.d-bw8qq]

Sper agricultuer activities. 😮

[@user-ly5lx5mw6y]

брехня