Before I bought this, i did a search to see what the maximum cutting height was. It was stated to be 13 feet and one could extend it to 17 feet using an optional extension shaft. This is deceptive. I was expecting some way to extend the shaft. There is none.Well when I assembled it, the entire unit, from the end of the chain to the end of the battery is 86 inches. Just a tad over 7 feet. Now I am not 6 feet tall. My arms are two feet long and they attach to my shoulders 56 inches off the ground. So that makes my reach with this saw 86+56 = 142 inches - just under 12 feet. Holding the saw at a 45 degree angle yields 24 inches * .707 = 17 inches , bringing the total up to 159 inches. Now subtract half of the 10 inch bar length since you want to cut with the middle of the bar yields 154 inches or 12.83 inches.Okay, you can call that 13 feet. Attribute this one to those clever folks in marketing. What they fail to realize or appreciate is the disappointment in their customer's eyes when they find out they got something other than what they expected. That said, I will go out and buy the extension.I love EGO product in general. This will be my 4th product as I move away from products with gas engines