My Husband's Chainsaw Has Sat In The Shed For Three Years. Here Are The 7 Reasons I Bought Myself A 1kg "Toy" Chainsaw Instead — And Got My Garden Back
Last updated July 9, 2026 · 6 min read
Ian's chainsaw is still in the shed. It's orange, it weighs about as much as a car battery, and it terrifies me.
After I lost him three years ago, the garden slowly started winning. Branches over the clothesline. The bottlebrush pushing into the gutters. Every week it got a little further away from me, and every week I felt a little worse about it.
My neighbour has a saying about gardens like mine: "getting out of hand." That's a polite way of saying what I actually felt — which is that the garden was a daily reminder of everything I couldn't do on my own anymore.
So I called a tree lopper. Lovely bloke. He walked around for ten minutes, pointed at some branches, and quoted me $450. For one afternoon. And he was booked out five weeks anyway.
That night my daughter sent me a link and said, "Mum, just try this. If you hate it, they give your money back."
It was a chainsaw the size of a kettle. I laughed. I honestly thought it was a toy.
I've now owned the BetterGardens 6" Mini Chainsaw for eight months. Every branch you can see cut in these photos, I cut myself. Here are the 7 reasons it worked for me — including the two nobody mentions.
1. It weighs 1kg. My kettle is heavier.
Ian's petrol saw weighs about 6kg. Six bags of sugar, held out in front of you, vibrating. That's why my arms gave up before the garden did — and why so many women my age simply never touch one.
This one weighs 1kg with the battery in. I hold it in one hand, the way you'd hold an iron. I pruned for two hours on my first Saturday and the only thing that got tired was the garden.
2. I'm not scared of it. That changed everything.
Here's the truth: it was never really about the weight. I was frightened of chainsaws. The roar, the kick, the stories. My friend Helen's husband won't even let her near theirs.
This one can't start by accident. You have to press the safety button AND squeeze the trigger at the same time before the chain will move. Let go, and it stops. Instantly.
Both feet stay on the ground. One hand stays free. There's no petrol engine trying to rip itself out of your grip. The first time I used it, I braced myself for the kick — and there wasn't one. It just… cut.
3. One button. No cord to pull. No petrol. No fumes.
Even when Ian was here, that petrol saw would sulk for twenty minutes before it started. Yank the cord, flood the engine, mix the two-stroke, breathe the fumes. He'd come inside smelling like a lawnmower and swearing like one too.
Mine charges on the kitchen bench, like a phone. Press one button with your finger and it's going. It's no louder than my Victa, so I can prune at 7am on a Sunday without the neighbours holding a meeting about me.
4. I thought it was a toy. Then it went through an 8cm gum branch.
This is what I got wrong, and what I suspect you're thinking too: something that small must be junk.
It cuts branches up to 10cm thick — gum, grevillea, bottlebrush, the lot. That's basically every job I used to call someone for. It won't fell the big gum by the fence, and it doesn't pretend to. But the honest secret about garden work is this: it was never one big tree. It was two hundred stubborn branches. This eats them.
5. I haven't touched the ladder since.
My doctor's exact words a few years back: "Sue, the garden won't kill you. The ladder might."
Because this saw is so light, I can hold it above my head with one hand and keep the other on something steady. The high branches over the clothesline — the ones I stared at for two years — took about four minutes, with both my feet on the lawn.
👉 GET THE FULL KIT —6. It paid for itself before dinner.
Remember that $450 quote? That's one visit. My garden needs that kind of tidy-up twice a year, every year. That's $900 a year, forever — to a stranger, on his schedule, five weeks from now.
The whole kit cost me $149.99. It beat the lopper's quote by $300 on the very first afternoon, and everything since has been free. I'm 67. I plan to be pruning at 80. You do the maths.
7. If I'd hated it, I'd have got every cent back.
This matters more than people admit. My book club is full of stories about garden gadgets from Facebook that arrived in six weeks, broke in two, and the "company" vanished when you emailed them.
Better Gardens is an Australian company that ships from Brisbane. Mine arrived in three days. There's a 30-day money-back guarantee — use it, decide, and if you don't love it they refund you, no questions asked. And if anything goes wrong in the first 90 days, they replace it free. There's a real support team on the other end of the email. I checked before I bought. You should too.
The Exact Kit I Bought — Today's Bundle
| BetterGardens™ 6" Mini Chainsaw Kit | $240.00 |
| 2 × Extra Chains | $29.99 |
| Total Value | $269.99 |
| Bundle Discount | − $120.00 |
| Your Price Today | $149.99 |
- 2 batteries included — swap over for close to 90 minutes of cutting
- Fast charger, spare chain, tools, chain oil and gloves — nothing else to buy
- Cuts branches up to 10cm thick — one-handed, from the ground
- 30-day money-back guarantee + 90-day free replacement warranty
- Australian owned — shipped express from Brisbane, free, in 2–6 days
Don't take my word for it
Rated 4.9/5 from 248 verified Australian reviews — over 12,000 Aussie gardeners have made the switch.
The questions I asked before buying
I've never used a chainsaw in my life. Is this safe for me?
That was me. It has a dual-switch system — you must press the safety button AND squeeze the trigger at the same time or the chain won't move. Release either one and it stops instantly. Gloves come in the box. Many buyers are in their 60s and 70s using a chainsaw for the very first time.
Will it handle Aussie natives — gum, grevillea, bottlebrush?
Yes, up to 10cm thick. That covers nearly every suburban garden job. For a big dry hardwood trunk over 10cm, you'd still want a full-size saw (or a professional).
How long does the battery last?
About 45 minutes of actual cutting per battery — and the kit includes two, so close to 90 minutes. In practice, the garden runs out of branches before you run out of battery.
What if it breaks — or I just don't like it?
30-day money-back guarantee, no questions asked. And a 90-day warranty: if anything stops working, email support@better-gardens.com.au and they replace it free.
Is it really an Australian business?
Yes — Australian owned and operated, based in Brisbane. Orders ship express from the Brisbane warehouse within 24–48 hours and arrive in 2–6 business days, free, with tracking.
Try it in YOUR garden for 30 days — risk free
Order today, prune the branch you've been staring at, and decide. If you're not thrilled, email the Brisbane team and get a full refund. No forms, no arguments, no returns hoops. You risk nothing. The branch risks everything.