12 Harbor Freight Bauer Outdoor Power Tools Worth Adding To Your Collection

Harbor Freight’s outdoor power tool section is filled with a mix of brands, some of which offer a broader range of tools than others. Bauer has one of the most expansive selections of outdoor tools of any of these brands, with a mix of corded and cordless options available.

That abundance of choice shouldn’t come as a surprise to any buyers who are already well acquainted with Bauer’s DIY power tools. Though, just like the brand’s DIY tools, not every Bauer outdoor power tool is worth buying. Thankfully, there’s a reliable way to check which tools are well-liked by Harbor Freight customers and which don’t make the grade.

Thousands of customers have already left their feedback about Bauer’s most popular tools on Harbor Freight’s website, and those reviews are a great way to gauge overall customer sentiment on any tool. These top 12 picks are some of the safest choices if you’re on the hunt for new outdoor power tools for your collection.

Some outdoor power tools are essentials that the vast majority of home landscapers will find useful, while others are niche tools that fewer people will be able to justify investing in. Hedge trimmers sit firmly in the former camp, and as a result, most power tool brands offer their own cordless trimmer.

Buyers looking for a cheaper alternative to those big-name brands would do well to consider Bauer’s 20V hedge trimmer, which retails for $55. It gets consistently high ratings from buyers at Harbor Freight, and it runs using the same 20V battery packs that fans of Bauer’s cordless tools will already have in their toolkit.

Bauer recommends using a 3Ah battery for optimal performance, but any one of the brand’s interchangeable 20V battery packs will be able to run the tool. The trimmer can tackle branches up to 9/16 inch in diameter, and it reaches a peak of 2200 SPM (strokes per minute), so it can cut through foliage quickly. It’s lightweight too, coming in at less than five pounds (battery pack not included).

A chainsaw is another essential home landscaping tool, and Bauer offers both a cordless and corded version. The cordless version is the Bauer 20V 10-inch chainsaw, which promises high capability and low maintenance. According to its maker, it takes less than a second to reach full throttle, and can cut through wood up to nine inches thick.

Tools like chainsaws need to be durable, but even the most durable examples might need some replacement parts eventually. If your Bauer chainsaw ever needs repairs, Harbor Freight will sell you replacement parts, and there’s no shipping fee to pay on any of them.

The chainsaw is available at Harbor Freight for $85 as a standalone tool, and it’s not available as part of a kit. Newcomers to the brand who do not already have a Bauer 20V battery and charger will need to purchase both items separately at an additional cost. It’s worth keeping in mind that battery packs designed for other Harbor Freight brands, such as Hercules, are not interchangeable with Bauer tools.

Bauer offers the majority of power tools in its outdoor range as standalone products only, but the 20V 338 CFM Blower can be bought as a kit. That makes it a good entry point into the brand for anyone who doesn’t already have a toolkit full of Bauer products. In most cases, buying a kit with a tool, a battery, and a charger is cheaper than buying all three items individually. That remains true here, with the blower kit retailing for $99.99.

In contrast, the standalone version of the blower retails for $54.99. That means buyers get a 5Ah battery and 1.7 amp charger for an additional $45. Buying both the battery and charger separately would be more expensive, since the battery costs $69.99 and the charger is on clearance for $14.97, at the time of writing. As a result, buyers save roughly $40 by buying the kit.

As well as being a money-saving option for Bauer newbies, the blower is also an appealing yard tool in its own right. It reaches a peak speed of 96 mph and an output of 338 CFM, weighs just over five pounds, and features a dual-speed dial to prioritize either runtime or debris clearing power.

Harbor Freight shoppers have several options when it comes to picking a pole saw. The cheapest option is a wired tool sold by the Portland brand, which features a shaft that can extend to over eight feet. At the other end of the price spectrum, Atlas’ 80V cordless pole saw extends up to nine feet for a total maximum reach of 15 feet. In the middle of those options, in terms of both price and reach, is the Bauer 20V pole saw.

This tool retails for $89.99 and its shaft extends up to nine feet, giving the tool a total maximum reach of 14 feet. It’s able to make cuts of up to 7.4 inches using an eight-inch bar, and it weighs 10.65 pounds. Of course, the numbers only tell half the story; The key thing is whether users actually think the pole saw is any good.

The answer is that they do, although both the Portland pole saw and Atlas pole saw get marginally higher average ratings. Still, the Bauer saw remains one of the brand’s top-rated outdoor power tools.

Buyers who are interested in Bauer’s cordless tool range are well served, but anyone who prefers to stick with corded tools certainly isn’t missing out. That’s because Bauer’s Corded 115 MPH/805 CFM Jet Blower is not only cheaper than the brand’s cordless blower kit, but the tool is also far more powerful.

The 20V 338 CFM Cordless Blower kit retails for $99.99. Meanwhile, this corded blower costs $76.99, and it generates a far superior peak airflow of 805 CFM. Its peak air speed is also slightly higher, at 115 mph versus the cordless blower’s 95 mph.

The corded blower has received fewer reviews than its cordless counterpart, but buyers that have left their feedback have been consistently impressed. At the time of writing, it has racked up an average review rating of 4.8 out of five stars, making it the joint highest rated tool in Bauer’s entire outdoor power tool lineup.

Browse through Harbor Freight’s range of electric pressure washers and you’ll find six different products to choose from, with five of those being sold under the Bauer brand. Out of those Bauer tools, the one with the highest average user rating is the 1,800 PSI 1.2 GPM portable pressure washer.

It’s available for $99.99 and can be carried around the yard thanks to its top-mounted handle. That makes it more portable than most other pressure washers, although it still relies on a traditional wall outlet for its power rather than using batteries. At least the power cord is 35 feet long, which means you’re unlikely to need an extension cord if you have a small or medium-sized yard.

The tool comes with a trio of nozzles which can be stored onboard when they’re not in use. Also included is a 20-foot hose, a spray gun, and a quick-connect coupler, alongside a soap siphon hose. It has plenty of in-house competition, since many different Harbor Freight pressure washers get good reviews from buyers, but its compact proportions and comprehensive equipment list make the Bauer portable pressure washer a particularly safe bet.

Although Atlas’ 80V cordless weed eater is the highest rated model at Harbor Freight, it’s also the priciest, at $80 for the tool only. Bauer’s 20V string trimmer isn’t far behind in terms of ratings, and most users are still very happy with it too. Plus, assuming you already have a Bauer cordless tool in your tool kit, you’ll be able to buy it as a standalone tool without needing to factor in the cost of batteries.

The trimmer runs on the same 20V batteries that power the brand’s other outdoor cordless power tools, as well as its highly-regarded cordless DIY tool range. Atlas requires users to purchase battery packs specific to the brand, which unlike Bauer only produces outdoor tools. The Bauer trimmer retails for $54.99, and it’s designed to be easy to use for all kinds of home landscapers. Its adjustable shaft lets users adjust the tool to better suit their height, and the handle pivots into six different positions for better control. The tool is multi-talented too, and can convert into an edger or mini-mower in just a few seconds, thanks to the 7-position adjustable head.

Although most users are happy with the trimmer overall, it does get more mixed feedback than the majority of the other tools here. Many of the less satisfied reviewers say that it’s not tough or powerful enough to tackle longer grass or thicker overgrowth, and some say that the automatic line feed doesn’t work. For tougher jobs, the Atlas trimmer might be a better bet, despite the additional cost.

Using a regular chainsaw to cut through smaller tree branches is overkill. Instead, a pruning saw will do just fine: It’s smaller, lighter, and generally less unwieldy, but it still packs enough power to get the job done. Bauer sells a 20V 5-inch pruning saw that gets good reviews, and it retails for $65 in tool-only form. According to its maker, it will cut branches up to 4-¾ inches thick, yet it only weighs 2.5 pounds without its battery.

The number of cuts that buyers can expect to achieve on a full charge will vary based on the capacity of the battery pack they’re using, but Bauer says that a 3Ah battery should achieve over 160 cuts before it needs to be recharged. Like all of Bauer’s power tools, the pruning saw is covered by a 90-day standard warranty, although Harbor Freight does offer extended warranties for buyers seeking extra peace of mind.

Sometimes, the only time you can get a job done is after the sun goes down, and for that, you’ll need the right lighting setup. Bauer can help, since it has multiple affordable jobsite lights in its current range, including the 20V 220 Lumen Work Light. It ranks among the top-rated flashlights at Harbor Freight, and it uses the same battery packs as other Bauer outdoor tools.

The light is claimed to deliver a beam of up to 426 feet, and it can either be stood upright using its battery as a base or held in your hand. In both instances, the pivoting head helps position the beam exactly where you need it. Bauer says it can rotate up to 110°. There is also a hook built into the top of the work light, so it can be hung from a higher position for even more versatility. Bauer offers the tool for $14.99, which is cheaper than many similar-looking work lights from big-name brands, just like you’d expect from any Harbor Freight staple.

Arguably one of the more under-the-radar tools that Bauer sells is an inflator that can be used for everything from car tires to sports balls. The 20V 0-to-160 PSI inflator is available for $29.99 as a standalone tool, and the vast majority of reviewers think it’s worth its purchase price.

The tool comes with ball, air bed, and tire adapters, so it’s more versatile than you might think given its low asking price. When those accessories aren’t needed they can be stored on the tool. Unlike some pricier inflators, there’s no auto-stop feature, but there is a straightforward pressure gauge so you’ll know when you hit the target pressure. Air is sent through a 19-inch hose, which should be long enough to reach even the most awkwardly placed stems on tires.

This isn’t the only cordless inflator that Bauer sells, since the brand also offers an inflator and deflator that can be run using either a 20V battery pack or 12V DC power. However, that dual-power inflator has a slightly lower average review rating, and it’s also $20 more expensive, making the $29.99 inflator arguably a more worthy addition to your tool kit.

Given its name, you’d think that the Bauer 2,000 PSI 1.3 GPM Max Performance pressure washer would be the highest performance pressure washer that the brand offers. That’s not actually true, since Bauer also uses the “Max Performance” moniker for a pair of even pricier pressure washers that offer higher maximum pressures. In fact, compared to the full range of five different electric pressure washers, this washer is right in the middle in terms of max pressure.

So, why have we selected it above the other, more powerful options? There are several reasons: Firstly, it’s considerably cheaper than its more powerful siblings, with a retail price of $189.99. Secondly, it has accumulated the highest number of reviews by a significant margin, most of which are very positive. Thirdly, it’s likely to be the best bet for the broadest range of buyers, and there’s no point in paying more for additional capability you mostly won’t need.

Bauer claims that a pressure of 2,000 PSI is enough to remove tree sap and rust stains from vehicles, and even strip a wooden deck. Even most of the dissatisfied reviewers have no significant complaints about its power — instead, most complaints revolve around reported reliability issues. However, it’s worth reiterating that these complaints form only a small part of the overall feedback, and when asked, 90% of reviewers still said they’d be happy to recommend the item.

Cordless electric chainsaws are more convenient for their portability, but corded chainsaws are usually a cheaper option if you’re not already invested in a cordless tool ecosystem. As an example, take the Bauer 14.5 Amp 16-inch Chainsaw, which retails for $75. It’s the same price as the brand’s cordless electric 10-inch chainsaw, but it doesn’t require costly batteries and a charger to run. That makes it equally appealing to both longtime Bauer fans and buyers who are entirely new to the brand.

The other big difference is the size of the chainsaw’s bar. Buyers of the cordless tool receive a saw with a bar that’s 6 inches shorter than its corded counterpart. Plenty of things remain the same between the two tools, their short 90-day warranty being one of them. That hasn’t been enough to put off buyers, who have left more than 1,600 reviews of the tool to date, most of which give it a full five-star rating.

Although the brand has a generally good reputation among Harbor Freight customers, not every Bauer outdoor power tool is worth buying. When making this list, we only selected Bauer outdoor power tools that were still on sale at the time of writing. To whittle the list down into these 12 top picks, we relied on feedback from reviewers on Harbor Freight’s website. Each pick has a minimum rating of at least 4.4 out of five stars from at least 200 reviews at the time of writing, putting them among the best-rated Bauer outdoor power tools overall.