P1PE 62cc Petrol Chainsaw Review

Since this chainsaw comes with all of the necessary tools for assembly, along with a gripper bar that has already been fitted, assembling the machine only took about 10 minutes. All you need to do is remove the side panel so that you can attach the bar and chain. Then, tighten the chain before replacing the panel. The screws that are used for tightening the chain are normally at the side of the unit. However, in this case, they’ve been placed at the front. Personally, I prefer this as it makes the tightening task much less fiddly.

Once I was done assembling the machine, I filled it with fuel and oil and then gave it a quick start to make sure that everything was in the right place. It’s a good thing that I did this before I headed outside, as I happened to notice a tiny pin in the handle come loose with the vibration of the chainsaw. The pin holds the handle in place, so it’s a pretty vital piece. I re-inserted it, tried again, and the same thing happened. In the end, I grabbed my hammer and knocked the pin into place – thankfully, it finally stayed there. 

My first impression of this bright orange chainsaw was that it looked like a very solid and professional piece of kit. One of the first things that stood out was the big “powered by Hyundai” text splashed across the bar. This then made me compare the two machines side by side, after which I realised that, in terms of design, the two are almost identical. The P1PE chainsaw has the same shape and style as the Hyundai, along with the same primer bubble, choke button, and 20” bar. Both also come with a canvas holdall-style carry bag, which is ideal for people like me who often take a chainsaw to various locations.

That said, there were a couple of noticeable differences between the two, with the first being that the P1PE doesn’t have a decompression button. However, unlike the Hyundai, it has good grips on its handle, which should make it slightly easier to use the machine. 

As I mentioned, it also comes with a side-mounted chain tensioner. This makes adjusting the chain much easier. It also has a protective plastic cover that slides on and off the chain without any issues.

Since I found the Hyundai chainsaw a little tedious to start up, I was expecting the P1PE to be the same. Fortunately, I was wrong – it started up easily the very first time I tried, as well as every other time after that. 

I was extremely happy with how this chainsaw performed. Its 20” bar meant that I could tackle tree trunks that were roughly 40” in diameter, meaning that this chainsaw was able to slice up even my biggest trees. It did so without any problems – I could just hold the chainsaw in place and it would whizz through the wood without any force needed on my part. Its auto-lubrication feature, which adjusts oil flow to the chain based on what you’re doing, worked well and kept the chain consistently lubricated as I worked.

As I expected, this chainsaw performed well on smaller branches too. Just as P1PE claims, this is a machine that’s definitely capable of being used for both small and large scale tasks.

With a 62cc, 2-stroke petrol, easy-start Hyundai engine, this machine pretty much matched that of the Hyundai petrol chainsaw that I tested in terms of power. There weren’t any differences between the two that I could spot. 

Just like the Hyundai, this one felt very powerful as soon as I turned it on, and it was more than capable of managing heavy work for several hours straight. While those who are looking for a chainsaw to help with light tasks around the garden probably wouldn’t ever need such a powerful machine, this engine is the ideal size for those who want the option of doing heavy-duty work too.

I genuinely really enjoyed using this chainsaw. Yes, at 5.4kg, it’s a little on the heavy side (however, it’s lighter than the Hyundai chainsaw that I keep comparing it to), but that’s to be expected when a chainsaw is equipped with a large engine and a long bar. Its weight does help to give the machine a little extra sturdiness, which was useful when working on large trunks. That said, it’s not a chainsaw that I would choose to take up a tree with me (the Husqvarna was the one I picked for that). 

As I mentioned, in addition to ergonomic handles, this chainsaw also has grips on those handles. This makes the chainsaw significantly more comfortable to hold and manoeuvre, especially when you’re using the machine for extended periods of time. 

Safety is so important when it comes to a chainsaw. Fortunately, other than the issue that I had at the beginning with the pin falling out of the handle, this chainsaw excelled at keeping me as safe as possible.

In addition to the multiple safety stickers dotted around the machine, this chainsaw also has an anti-kickback safety brake and a chain catcher that will catch and shorten the chain should it happen to derail. It has also been fitted with anti-vibration technology, which, in my opinion, worked well as I didn’t notice an uncomfortable vibration when using the machine.

It’s worth noting that even if a chainsaw has more safety features than you can count, it’s still vital to make sure that you’re wearing all of the right protective gear when using a chainsaw.

As I have said several times now in this review, this chainsaw is very similar to the Hyundai chainsaw that I also tested in terms of design and performance. However, where the two really differ is in price.

This one costs significantly less than the Hyundai. Considering that its only real shortcoming was its lack of a decompression button, I would say that this machine offers fantastic value for money. Take into account the fact that it comes with two chains, a full maintenance toolkit, a carry bag, and a two year warranty (with spare parts available in the UK) and you’ve really got yourself a bargain.

I’m not usually one for buying power tools from a brand that I’m not familiar with, but overlooking this P1PE chainsaw would have been a huge mistake. It performs just as well as, if not better than, many of the chainsaws from the bigger-name brands, yet comes in at a very affordable price. If you’re looking for a chainsaw that’s small and compact, then look elsewhere (check out the Einhell or the Husqvarna chainsaws that I reviewed), but, for anyone who would prefer to go with a larger and more powerful machine to give them the option of performing both small and heavy-duty tasks, this one will meet all of those requirements.