Best 22-Inch Chainsaw 2026: Gas Power for Felling Trees and Cutting Firewood

A 22-inch bar severs about a 20-inch diameter in a single pass. The called length of a bar is measured from the tip to the base where it mounts to the powerhead, and the powerhead and sprocket cover sit between that base and the wood, so the last couple of inches never enter the cut. That two-inch difference is the rule to remember: usable cut is roughly two inches shorter than the bar length.

Firewood rounds and trunks up to about 20 inches across go through in one pass. Logs in the 16–18 inch range are easy work, with the bar buried only partway. Above roughly 20 inches, you need to notch and cut from both sides, or bore through and work around the trunk. That is slower and demands more skill, and it is where a longer bar would save time.

Felling has a separate limit. A tree can be felled with a single back cut only while its diameter stays within about twice the bar length, so a 22-inch bar covers felling trees up to roughly 40 inches across at the stump with correct technique. That is well beyond what most homeowners fell. The 22-inch bar is a firewood and medium-felling tool, not a big-timber saw.

Every extra inch of bar adds chain to pull, more friction in the groove and more load on the sprocket. Chain speed drops unless the engine has the displacement to hold it. A 22-inch bar wants roughly 50–60 cc as a minimum and is comfortable from about 60 cc upward. Each extra two inches of bar calls for roughly 5–10 cc more engine.

An undersized powerhead bogs in the cut. The operator leans on it to keep the chain moving, the engine runs hot and lean under load, the bar and chain overheat, and the cut wanders. The flip side is that a short bar on a big engine cuts faster than a long bar on the same engine, because chain speed rises as the loop shortens.

A saw in that band pulls a 22-inch bar at speed rather than being dragged through the wood, which is why the displacement matters more than the bar length on its own.

A 22-inch bar is the sweet spot when you buck firewood rounds in the 16–20 inch range without stopping to roll them. It also suits felling medium trees where a single back cut reaches across the stump, and limbing and bucking where the longer bar lets you stand more upright and reach across a pile, and clear storm-damaged trunks where the extra reach saves repositioning.

A shorter bar wins in other cases. Felling and bucking anything under about 14 inches goes faster with a 16- or 18-inch bar because chain speed is higher and the saw is lighter. Limbing at chest height and below tires the arms faster with the nose weight of a long bar. Any work where you carry the saw for hours favors a shorter, lighter bar.

A 22-inch bar is a lot of saw for a first-time user. A shorter bar is the safer and faster choice until you are comfortable with kickback control. The decision line is simple: if most of the wood in front of you is under 16 inches, a shorter bar serves better; if a good share of it is 18–20 inches, 22 inches earns its place.

The bar and chain hang forward of the handles, so adding four inches of bar moves the balance point toward the nose and makes the saw feel heavier at the tip than its dry weight suggests. The saw noses down when carried by the rear handle, your front arm takes more load when the bar is held horizontal, and fatigue builds faster in long bucking sessions.

Carry the saw with the bar pointing down and back. Keep the work close to your body rather than reaching out. Let the bumper spikes take the saw's weight in the cut instead of holding the bar up, and stand so the bar is supported by the log rather than by your arms. A well-balanced 22-inch saw feels lighter in the cut than a poorly balanced shorter one, because you are not fighting the nose.

Kickback comes from the upper quarter of the bar's nose. A longer bar puts more nose further from your body, so the tip contacts wood more easily in limbing, boring and plunge cuts. Three controls keep it in check.

• The chain brake should be checked before every session and engaged whenever the saw is carried or set down.
• Stance means standing to the side of the cut line rather than behind the bar, with both hands on the handles and the left arm braced.
• The depth gauge (raker) setting controls how aggressively the chain bites and therefore how hard the saw pulls into a kickback.

A low-kickback chain reduces the risk but does not remove it. The longer bar's extra reach is exactly what tempts operators into one-handed or overhead cuts, and both should be avoided.

Chain loop length grows with the bar, so the drive-link count for a 22-inch bar is higher than for the 18- or 20-inch bar on the same saw. Match the count stamped on the bar, not a guess. Pitch and gauge must match the bar and the drive sprocket: common 22-inch configurations run .325-inch pitch with .050- or .058-inch gauge, and a mismatch between chain and sprocket wears both rapidly.

A longer bar needs more oil. The oiler has to deliver enough lubricant to the full length of the groove, and an oiler set for a short bar will starve the nose of a 22-inch bar, causing heat, stretch and bar wear. Check the oil flow at the bar tip and adjust the oiler if the saw has one.

Maintenance checks specific to a long bar: keep the groove clean and the oil holes clear, check the bar for burrs and dress it flat, keep the chain tension correct (a long loop stretches more and needs checking more often), and rotate or flip the bar to even wear. A 22-inch bar is more sensitive to a dull chain than a short one, because the extra length magnifies the load.