A chain brake is a great feature on an electric saw.
They tend to "keep-spinning" a bit after you make the cut through and let off the trigger.
A 40Volt will spin pretty good on a 12"
Some have an inertia braking feature - but actual chain brake is a real safety factor.

The older i get, the more safety features i need.

Thanks for the feedback on the brand.

Nearest Lowe's is 1-1/2 hrs away so not worth the drive for me.

Home Depot is local but my experience is they send you to manufacturer after a 90-day? window for warranty claims. I recently tried to make a warranty exchange at HD and they refused. I contacted the manufacturer and was told the nearest repair center was a 3-hr drive each way. I asked the manufacturer to ship a repair part and they refused. This is why I asked about warranty coverage! I will find out about the warranty process BEFORE I buy next time.

I'm sure you are going to thoroughly investigate as many technicalities as you can about this saw , after what you went through before.

I just browsed one that i think is the same saw -
and noticed it was 4 years tool / but only 2 years on the battery .

All other Greenworks saws i had looked at before were 4 yr tool / 4 yr battery -
so wanted to bring that up to clarify i made a mistake by taking that for granted.
Still a fair warranty period

I think all Kobalt and Ryobi saws i have browsed were 5yr tool / 3yr battery

In case anyone gets interested in the 12" Craftsman saw - and can find one for $71 or nearabouts at a Lowes ...

Just found out it is a Carbon Copy of the DeWalt 12" 20V saw -
except the DeWalt is brushless motor , and Yellow.
And wayyyyy more expensive.

Thanks again. If I could have taken advantage of the Kobalt "secret sale" pricing discussed in the thread, I may have bought one. But you are correct. I need to learn more before shopping. The 12" is probably too small, brush motor is probably less reliable, and your warning about a chain brake was heard. I've been happy with DeWalt cordless tools and already have a few batteries so I need to see if there is a chainsaw that uses the same batteries.

Another heads up on another small saw -
Walmart has a 40Volt 12" for $125
i think it was named Power-Tech
Looks like a Knock-Off of the Makita 36Volt

Its not brushless, but does have a Chain Brake.

I am keeping the 18" 80 Volt 5Ah Kobalt saw.
It is a Beast
Have taken all the other saws back to Lowes.

Then i bought a 14" 40 Volt Kobalt $199
Which is one i thought i really wanted right from the start, but i wanted a Clearance Type Price. Finally decided to buck up for it.
Could have sworn it was equipped with Chain Brake - but its not - so it went back to Lowes too.

Now fixing to buck up another additional $50 for a different 14" saw
Its a 56 Volt made by E-GO
Weatherproof, 6,000rpm, Variable Speed Trigger, Chain Brake, Brushless
5 year tool / 3 year battery
It's ugly as hell, but worth the extra $50 over the 14" 40volt Kobalt

https://www.lowes.com/pd/EGO-Power-5...ded/1003130712

Just thought I'd throw one more saw into the mix.

Read reviews & watched videos. Seems like it may be a decent choice.

It's a WEN brand 40v brushless, with brake, & 16" Oregon bar & chain. About $160 @ WM, Lowes, Amazon, & HD. Comes with a 4Ah batt & charger.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/WEN-40V-M...kaAg5xEALw_wcB

https://www.lowes.com/pd/WEN-40-Volt...B&gclsrc=aw.ds

https://www.amazon.com/WEN-40417-Lit.../dp/B0711Z1VSX

https://www.homedepot.com/p/WEN-40-V...B&gclsrc=aw.ds

https://www.ebay.com/itm/40-Volt-Max...75.c1#viTabs_0

IIRC, the only WEN product I have is a small air compressor. It works great. Below is a pic of it, beside our gas generator, in our pickup. Took it along, hoping that the tractor tire would air up. But, we had to take it to the tire shop where he used his blaster to pop the tire bead back out against the wheel.

Check around online, including eBay. There are actually battery adapters out there that allow you to use, say, a Dewalt battery in a Milwaukee tool. EDIT:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMssklzoBAk

Those type adapters won't do any good for a chain saw, because the battery fits down into a hole which is barely bigger than the batt. There is no room for an adapter like those in the video, which fit underneath the handle & just make the battery hang a little lower.

Most cordless chainsaws do seem to have top-load batteries.
But a good portion also have underside mount batteries too, where the adapters might could come into play.

The EGO i am getting is underside mount, for instance.
And the 14" Ryobi 40V that ta6point6 bought, is underside too.

The 14" 40V Ryobi deserves more mention in case anyone is in the 14" market.
It has better features than the 14" 40V Kobalt, and the same 5 yr tool/3 yr battery warranty. And is the same $199 price.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/RYOBI-14...951574#overlay

Due to losing one of my receipts on one of the saws (and actually getting a larger refund than paid) i am sort of "locked-in" to Lowes for my 14" saw selection.
They issue store credit in those instances.
Otherwise i would have probably went with the 14" 40V Ryobi saw.

Here is a cool idea for a chainsaw carrying case that a Ryobi owner posted.
Using a $15 Husky 22" portable plastic tool box and making a small cut-out.
I'm going to do this for my saws.
https://photos-us.bazaarvoice.com/ph...8-58159579932e
https://photos-us.bazaarvoice.com/ph...c-cb991fbfba8a

That is a good idea the only down side is the 30w oil leaks out from underneath the saw while in storage. I keep my saw on a hook in a side shed and it leaks oil on my wheelbarrow all the time. I wish I would have bought the 16" chainsaw Ryobi though

Practically all of them leak if oil left in them.
Draining the oil after each use is helpful.
I always used cut up old t-shirt in bottom of case.
At minimum, the case keeps the oil confined.

Some are saying storing the saws on their side stops them from leaking.
The box/ square case would make that position easy to do.

Will update when i get to that point. :)

Hedge Trimmer
 

OK, here's something else we really need for keeping TJ's trails cleared. The bushes that grow along most of the trails, she calls hedge bushes. Don't know what the actual name of them are. And, there are several other assorted vines, briars, thich stem weeds, small bushes & trees that need continual trimming. Here in Louisiana, it don't take very long for assorted vegetation to take over. TJ just looked it up. The most prolific bushes we have here are called Chinese Privet/Ligustrum. They're almost impossible to get rid of.

We've been using "limb loppers" & 1-hand pruning shears to deal with all this stuff. Decided that cordless hedge clippers would save us LOTS of labor. So, I did what I usually do. I Googled it. Different sites have different opinions as to which brands & models are best. After looking at several lists & watching several videos, I decided to go with Bob Vila's pick. Also has a 5 star rating on Amazon, with almost 3000 reviews.

https://www.bobvila.com/articles/best-hedge-trimmer/

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01BSURQXO...dge-trimmer-20

Found 1 in stock, @ our closest Home Depot, in Monroe. Hey, I even got a 10% veterans discount, which paid the tax. Made the total price just under $180. That includes a 5.0Ah batt & charger. 1st time I ever got a discount at HD. Maybe they changed their policy because they were losing business to Lowes.

Just gave the batt a full charge, which only took a few minutes. So, now we're gonna go give it a try. Will report back later with results, complete with pics.

Glad to hear you guys have had such good results so far.

Now I have to pee in the punch a little with my experience.
About 2014 my brother bought a GreenWorks model 20202 12" saw. It sat in the box for three years until I finally asked if I could try it out. When I first used it, I had some dead ash trees to chunk up that were too big for a buck saw. It started out cutting pretty good so I planned on using it until the battery got 'tired'.
When I noticed it was slowing down some, it started to periodically 'catch' in the cut and the chain would stop while the motor screached. I tried to keep the pressure off of the bar but it happened more and more as the battery wore down. I don't think I went much beyond 60% of the usable battery power before I gave up and put it on the charger. After it was fully charged again the saw continued to 'stick & spin' almost as bad as when I quit the first time. It seems like the coupling mechanism is fried. Not sure exactly how the power is connected to the chain sprocket but it just wouldn't go more than a few seconds without stopping and squealing. I might have quit sooner on the initial battery run if I had a second battery to use while the other was charging. I'm still not sure what the exact cause of the problem is but I put the saw away and never tried to use it again.
Since the saw was over 3 years old, I'm sure there wasn't anything we could do about a warranty.

P.S. There was plenty of bar oil in the saw at all times.

Hedge Trimmer
 

OK, we loaded up & went back to the last trail we'd worked on. It starts at the 25 acres or so that my sister had clear cut last year. It is almost completely grown up in what I call cypress weeds. Some of 'em are probably nearly 10 feet tall. Pic #4 shows TJ standing beside some. One of 'em is probably over 7 ft tall.

But, they are not real tuff. The hedge trimmer whacks 'em down with no problem at all.

Trimmin the Trail
 

Had cut the trail thru the cypress weeds, with the Kioti. Our trusty trail hound was with us.

TJ knew where the trail was supposed to be. But I didn't. Had to ask.

TJ used the hedge trimmer. I used the 12" Kobalt & hand pruning shears. Only took a very few minutes to clear a section of the trail. It was getting late, so we ran out of daylight. But, it appears that the new hedge trimmer is gonna be a real work saver. :)

A Little Fab Work
 

The 1st pic shows another victim of one of the storms that came thru here the last couple of years. Don't know which one. Thankfully, it did not fall across the trail.

The trimmer did not come with a sleeve/cover for the blade. Obviously, it has some very sharp edges. So, we decided to fab up a cover. TJ had a piece of sewer pipe left over from her art project.

Just so happened it was EXACTLY the right size to slip over the trimmer blade perfectly. I made a couple of quick cuts on it, with a cutting wheel on my side grinder. Then TJ broke out the duct tape & sealed off one end. Works great ! Hey, whatever it takes ! :)

Every one I've had leaks that oil into the case and yes, storing it on it's side is what I always do just for that reason.
I've done the towel in the bottom and it soaks it up but an oily towel isn't a whole lot better than just having it in the bottom of the case and wiping it down with some shop towels.
You are right, that square box would make that easier since with the factory case I have to support it on it's side or it'll just roll over.

That would have been a real pisser !
Guessing they have developed the saws a lot better since then, and especially the batteries. They don't slow down until almost fully discharged.
GreenWorks is one of the top brands now and give a 4 year warranty on their saws. They get great customer feedback / consumer ratings.
I don't know if they had a 4 year warranty in 2014 though - but it sounds like they owed you guys a new saw back then.