Stihl MSA 70 C-B Review: The MSA 140 C-B’s Successor, Checked
For years the MSA 140 C-B was the small battery saw people pointed you to for garden pruning and log-store work. It has now sold out at UK dealers, and the MSA 70 C-B has taken its place in Stihl’s AK range, with the same 30 cm bar, the same ¼-inch chain and the same 45-minute claim. Here is what the testing on the old saw tells you about the new one, and what to budget for beyond the box.
Where the reviews line up
Our three sources all cover the MSA 140 C-B, the saw the MSA 70 C-B replaces. They are a half-day field test by Bob Vila’s tool reviewer, owners on Yesterday’s Tractors and ProductReview.com.au, and 545 buyer ratings at Ace Hardware. All three are American or Australian. We found no UK editorial test of either model.
They agree on three things. It is light and easy to handle: under 4 kg with the battery fitted, with very little vibration. It runs longer than the headline suggests. Stihl quotes about 45 minutes on an AK 30 battery, but Bob Vila’s tester reckoned stop-start garden work stretched it to about an hour and a half. And it is a small-timber saw. Stihl’s own UK page puts the limit at trees up to 20 cm across. The tester called it undersized above about 25 cm (10 inches), and an Australian owner said the same above 225 mm.
There are three caveats. The standard charger is slow: three hours or more, according to both the tester and owners. The tool-only price is misleading unless you already own Stihl AK batteries. And the saw is only part of the cost. Stihl’s own guide lists a helmet with a visor, gloves, chainsaw boots and chainsaw trousers, and we would add ear defenders whatever the marketing says.
Our view: for pruning, storm clear-up and logs under 20 cm, the MSA 70 C-B in the kit with an AK 30 battery and AL 101 charger is a sound choice. Budget about £275–£346 for the kit and the same again for proper protective kit. If you are felling anything bigger, look further up the range.
The three reviews this summary is built from
- Bob VilaHands-on test, June 2023: half a day of pruning, felling and bucking. 9.6/10, top of 12 saws tested.
- Owners’ forumsYesterday’s Tractors thread (Dec 2021) and 3.2/5 from 4 reviews on ProductReview.com.au. Thin, but candid.
- Ace Hardware5.0/5 from 545 reviews of the US MSA 140 C-B kit, on a page that sells it.
Before the review: 140 C-B or 70 C-B?
The MSA 140 C-B is no longer available at ITS, and Stihl UK’s current AK chainsaw page is the MSA 70 C-B. World of Power calls the 70 “an upgrade from the popular MSA 140 C-B”, and a Czech test video titles it “MSA 70 C-B (formerly 140 C-B)”. Stihl Canada’s MSA 70 C-BQ page still sits at an “msa-140” web address. The published specifications match: 30 cm bar, ¼-inch PM3 chain, 110 cm³ oil tank and about 45 minutes on an AK 30. Stihl UK does not say on its own page that the 70 replaces the 140, so treat the reviews below as being about its very close predecessor. Charlies says the 70 cuts 25% better than the smaller MSA 60 C-B, not than the 140. If you see a new MSA 140 C-B on sale, it is leftover stock.
Specification at a glance
| Spec | Figure | Confidence |
|---|---|---|
| Bar and chain | 30 cm (12 in) bar, ¼ in P PM3 (Picco Micro 3) chain | Stihl UK, repeated by three dealers |
| Motor and voltage | EC (brushless) motor, 0.90 kW, 36 V (40 V max) | Stihl UK |
| Run time and cuts | About 45 minutes, or 210 cuts, on an AK 30 S | Stihl UK’s figure. Test timber and size not stated |
| Battery | Stihl AK system only. Stihl UK’s page lists the AK 20 as recommended but quotes its run time on the AK 30 S. Kits come with an AK 30 (36 V, 180 Wh) | Stihl UK; Charlies; Ron Smith; Ripon Groundcare |
| Weight without battery | 2.5 kg (World of Power, Ron Smith, Ripon, Stihl Canada) or 2.9 kg (Charlies, PriceSpy) | Sources disagree. Ripon says 2.5 kg is without battery, bar and chain |
| Weight with AK 30 | 3.9 kg (World of Power) or 4.2 kg (Ron Smith). The AK 30 alone is 1.3 kg (Charlies) | Sources disagree. Bob Vila weighed the old 140 C-B at 8.6 lb (3.9 kg) with battery |
| Chain tensioning | Tool-free quick tensioner using an adjusting wheel | Stihl UK |
| Oil tank | 110 cm³, transparent, tool-free bayonet cap. Chain oil not included | Charlies; Stihl UK |
| Safety | QuickStop Super chain brake, trigger lockout, two-handed operation | World of Power; Stihl UK mentions the chain brake |
| Chain speed | 14 m/s | PriceSpy only, unconfirmed |
| Noise | 94 dB(A) quoted for the MSA 140 C-B. No figure found for the 70 | ITS. Wear ear defenders |
| Cutting capacity | Firewood, pruning, small trees up to 20 cm diameter | Stihl UK’s stated use |
| Guarantee | 2 years domestic. Stihl’s warranty table lists no registration extension for AK-system tools; its 3-year offer applies to petrol tools bought with MotoMix fuel | Stihl UK warranty table and product-registration FAQ (see below) |
| UK price, 5 Oct 2026 | Tool only £174 (Stihl UK). Kit with AK 30 and AL 101: £275 Ripon Groundcare, £289.98 Charlies (RRP £299), £346 Ron Smith | Checked on each shop’s own page |
Bob Vila
This is the one proper hands-on test we found. It is American and covers the outgoing MSA 140 C-B. The tester spent half a day pruning branches at waist to chest height, felling and bucking a small dead tree, and slicing a 10-inch (about 25 cm) seasoned oak log into dozens of discs. He rated it 9.6/10 and put it ahead of the other 11 battery saws in his group test for versatility and overall ease of use.
The most useful line is about run time. Stihl quotes 45 minutes. In real stop-start work, with a 5–10 second cut followed by up to 30 seconds of repositioning, he estimated the battery lasted closer to an hour and a half. He found the vibration very low, the saw quiet, the chain tension stable and the cutting fast even in seasoned hardwood. His criticisms were the premium price, the saw being undersized for anything over about 10 inches, and the 3-hour-plus recharge on the standard charger. He weighed it at 8.6 lb (3.9 kg) with the battery fitted.
Watch: Battery Chainsaw STIHL MSA 140 C-B - Test / Review: The Garden Gurus
A television gardening segment putting the MSA 140 C-B to work in a garden. It is closest in spirit to the editorial test above.
Watch on YouTube ↗Yesterday’s Tractors and ProductReview.com.au
Owner evidence on this small saw is thin, and we would rather say so than pad it. On the Yesterday’s Tractors forum, one MSA 140 owner used it with an AK 30 for blueberry pruning. He was “very pleased”, and his wife pruned the last two or three rows on her own without trouble. That fits the light-work picture. Other posters in the same thread own the bigger MSA 200 and report it holding up after four or five years. The worry raised was the cost of replacement Stihl batteries.
ProductReview.com.au is less flattering, but its sample is only four reviews, averaging 3.2/5. Ease of use and safety score full marks. The complaints are about 40 minutes of continuous running, 2–3 hour-plus charging on the standard charger, struggling above 225 mm, and one owner whose motor jammed after two and a half years. We count that as one owner’s report, not a pattern, but it is the only durability evidence we found either way.
Watch: Stihl MSA 140C Review
An owner-style review of the MSA 140 C. Use it for how the saw looks and sounds in use rather than for figures.
Watch on YouTube ↗Ace Hardware
This is the largest sample we found, and it comes with two warnings. It is a US retailer, and a perfect 5.0 average across 545 reviews is unusually high. We would cite the number of happy buyers rather than lean on the score. No UK dealer page we checked, including Charlies, Ron Smith, Ripon Groundcare and World of Power, had any reviews of the MSA 70 C-B yet. PriceSpy shows a single five-star review.
The listing does add useful facts. It gives 5.7 lb (2.6 kg) without the battery and 8.6 lb (3.9 kg) with battery and bar, which agrees with Bob Vila’s scales. It also says the saw is sold assembled by Stihl-trained staff with a safety demonstration. UK approved dealers work much the same way, as explained below.
Watch: Stihl MSA 140 C-B Cordless Chainsaw - ITS Expert Panel Overview (Simon Bowler)
A UK tool retailer’s expert walking through the MSA 140 C-B’s controls, tensioner and oil tank. It is retailer-made, so treat it as an overview rather than a test.
Watch on YouTube ↗Where you can and cannot buy it
Stihl sells through its approved dealers, its own UK website and, since July 2024, Screwfix, which stocks its battery tools — but not through marketplaces. Its dealer terms, as reported by trade title Service Dealer in April 2019, say products “cannot be sold on sites such as Amazon, eBay or any other third party marketplace website”. They also say chainsaws “irrespective of power source, still need to be assembled and tested before sale” and must be handed to the customer in person. So you will not find it sold by Stihl or an approved dealer on Amazon, and a marketplace listing is not an approved-dealer sale. Ripon Groundcare’s page shows what the dealer route gets you: the saw assembled by a technician, a pre-delivery check and instruction at handover. Stihl UK’s own shop lists the tool-only saw at £174 with delivery in one to three working days.
The protective kit the price leaves out
A battery saw is quieter and simpler than a petrol one, but the chain is just as sharp. Stihl’s UK chainsaw buying guide lists a helmet with face visor or eye protection, gloves, chainsaw boots, and chainsaw trousers with protective patches. Add ear defenders. Toolstop’s listing for the MSA 140 C-B claims it is quiet enough that you do not need ear protection, but ITS quotes 94 dB(A) for the same saw. We would not take the risk at that level. The QuickStop Super chain brake is there for kickback, which means keeping the bar tip clear of the work. Read the manual before the first cut.
Strengths and weak points
What holds up
- Light, at roughly 3.9–4.2 kg with an AK 30, and well balanced, according to a tester and owners alike.
- Very low vibration and far less noise than petrol, with no fuel mixing or pull-starting.
- Stop-start garden work stretches the 45-minute claim to about 1.5 hours, by one tester’s estimate.
- Tool-free chain tensioner and a see-through, tool-free oil tank.
- The AK battery also runs Stihl’s AK hedge trimmers, mowers and blowers.
- Dealers sell it assembled and tested, with a handover.
What people complain about
- Undersized for anything over about 20–25 cm. Stihl, the tester and an owner all say so.
- The standard charger takes three hours or more.
- Spare Stihl batteries are expensive, a point raised by owners.
- The £174 tool-only price excludes the battery and charger.
- No low-oil warning. You check the tank by eye.
- Very little UK owner feedback on the new MSA 70 C-B yet.
Who it actually suits
Buy it if you have a medium to large garden with fruit trees, hedges that have got away from you, storm-fallen branches or a log store to feed, and you want a saw you can pick up for ten minutes without fuel or noise. If you already own Stihl AK batteries, the tool-only saw is good value. If you do not, buy the kit with an AK 30 and AL 101 charger.
Look elsewhere if you plan to fell trees thicker than about 20 cm or cut firewood for hours at a time. Look at a larger saw for that. And if you will not buy chainsaw trousers, boots, gloves and a visor helmet, do not buy any chainsaw. For smaller jobs, a long-reach hedge trimmer or loppers may be all you need.
What we could not check
- Hands-on testing of the MSA 70 C-B itself. Every source above covers the MSA 140 C-B. We found no UK or overseas editorial test of the 70.
- Whether the 70 is a rename or a revised saw. Specifications match and retailers call it the upgrade, but Stihl UK does not say so on its own product page.
- The true weight. Dealers publish 2.5 kg or 2.9 kg without the battery, and 3.9 kg or 4.2 kg with an AK 30. We could not see Stihl UK’s own figure.
- The battery recommendation. Stihl UK lists the AK 20 as recommended but quotes its 45-minute, 210-cut figure on an AK 30 S. Kits ship with an AK 30.
- What the 210 cuts were. Stihl does not say what size or type of timber the figure is based on.
- The registration extension. Stihl UK’s registration FAQ says registering adds a year of warranty, but its warranty table shows two years domestic for AK tools and lists no AK extension. Our reading, checked again on 7 October 2026 while reviewing the HSA 50: AK tools get two years, and the three-year offer is for petrol tools. Do not budget on a third year.
- Noise and vibration for the 70. The only noise figure we found was 94 dB(A) for the 140, from ITS. We found no vibration figure.
- Chain speed. The 14 m/s figure comes from PriceSpy only.
- UK buyer ratings. No UK dealer page had reviews of the 70. The 545-review sample is from a US retailer.
- The videos. YouTube would not open from our research tools, so all three videos were confirmed by their titles appearing in two separate search listings, not by watching them. No listing named the channel.
Sources last checked 5 October 2026. Prices and kit contents change, so check which battery and charger are in the box before ordering.