Contemplating current production 30cc class top handle saws

[Jim Timber]

How do the current crop stand apart from each other?

I'm contemplating buying a climbing saw to add to the collection and my growing assortment of pro-grade climbing gear. I have nerve damage in my hands and my knees are shot, so I will never be a production climber. Side jobs and personal use is where I'm coming from - but I do have a lot of trees (thousands of them).

Tried looking at a Tanaka/Hitachi TCS33 today, only to find out they don't stock them in the store and if I have it shipped to my house I'm stuck with it (no returns even if it hasn't seen fluids). So Amazon is the way to go on the cheapest option I've seen with any prayer of a good reputation. $220 give or take: more money than I want to throw away, but old Tanaka was good stuff. Amazon is worthless past 90 days, so I'm at the mercy of the Hitachi warranty dealers for service should I need it.

Echo CS355T looks good, and I'm pretty happy with my other 35cc class Echo rear handle saw. Local independent dealers won't deal (yet. I might get one to budge since I've dropped 7 bills on him in the past 3 weeks), but I get 10% off from Home Depot bringing this one in at $340 with the tax.

Jonsered/Husky have something in this $350 price range too, but I haven't looked at it in a couple years. Wasn't overly impressed with it at the time, but wasn't actively seeking a climbing saw either. Have not actually ran the saw.

Then we get into the big boys: 201T and 540xp: Both are a chunk of $$$ and over $600 with the 540T being cheaper by $100 from the one dealer I saw the Stihl at today - maybe not an accurate price comparison?

What I'm hung up on is that I could buy 2 Echo's for the price of the Stihl, and 1.5 for the price of the Husky. I'm not that crazy about the autotune either, so I'm not hung up on it in the differentiation (they've also had their fair share of teething issues with the e-carbs). This Echo gets a lot of love from the youtubers, but Husky's 540T seems to own the market in the trees/buckets around here. The 201T was all plastic too, so that's not a valid concern or justification on their price.

I'd be a lot happier if I could demo all of them myself.

 

[Jed1124]

For what your talking about doing I would get a 355t.

 

[Jim Timber]

I forgot to mention I'm also quite pleased with my Echo forestry trimmer.

Does anyone know why Makita isn't selling an arborist saw in the US anymore? Is it the CARB/EPA crap?

 

[benjo75]

I have all of them. The 540 XP is my least favorite. It just doesn't run quite right to me. Lots of power but doesn't seem to idle just right. If a saw dies while hanging on my belt, which the 540 does, I won't use it very long. My favorite is the old 020T. I still run mine. It's old and getting weak but is still the best saw I've got. Can't find anyone to rebuild it. My second favorite is the 200T. Even with the design flaw where the air filter cover tab is known for breaking off and going in the engine. Ask me how I know. And after only about 20 tanks of gas. A Stihl rep finally admitted it to me. I purchased a MS 201T about 8 months ago. It's ok. Probably the most reliable but doesn't get near the fuel mileage that the rest of the saws do. The tank seems smaller also. That might be the problem. Also seems to be the weakest of the bunch. Btw all my saws are purely stock.

My go to saw right now is the Echo 355. Might be because it's the cheapest and I feel like I'm saving money by wearing out the cheapest saw. I've had it about 8 months also. Check their warranty as compared to the 90 day Stihl warranty. Also half the price.

Pros.. The Echo is powerful. It seems to be my best cutting saw for some reason. Good price. Best warranty.

Cons... The tiny gas and oil cap are hard to fill without getting it everywhere. But at least it's the screw on caps unlike the sorry Stihl flip caps that have to be replaced every 6 months, constantly leak and if not tightened properly, will dump chain oil or gas all over your pants leg first thing in the morning. Sometimes it doesn't want to idle down all the way without popping the throttle once or twice. The choke and kill switch is reversed as compared to the Stihl. For someone who's used to Stihl for 25 years it gets confusing especially when I use both saws weekly depending on which truck I'm in.

If I could have only one it would obviously be the old 020T. If it was rebuilt. No. 2 would be the 200T minus the design flaw. That leaves 3 that are in production and available today. I'm taking the very crappy customer service from 2 local Stihl dealerships in my area into consideration. Which is the only real problem I have with Stihl right now, Keeping in mind that 22 of my 25 saws are Stihl. Keep in mind parts and repair of the Echo if the need arises. Stihl Southwest distribution is about 8 miles from my house. I can have any Stihl part the next day if needed. Not sure how long the Echo would be down if it quits or gets dropped, since it did take calling 3 times and having to special order it since they didn't "have enough to place an order". The Echo gets ran about 8 out of ten times I go up. The other times are divided up between the 200T and the 201TCM. The Husky and several others stays in the trucks for backup saws. I've ran the Echo hard and it performs great except for the occasional idling down issue and the very small filler holes. The 201TCM has performed flawlessly so far also. For half the price, I'll be buying Echos until I have a reason not to.

Btw I take very good care of my saws, keep them sharp and clean and stock. I like them to last as long as they can. They also get used a lot. I'm putting extra use on the Echo to see what it can take. I know what the Stihls can take.

 

[Jed1124]

I have all of them. The 540 XP is my least favorite. It just doesn't run quite right to me. Lots of power but doesn't seem to idle just right. If a saw dies while hanging on my belt, which the 540 does, I won't use it very long. My favorite is the old 020T. I still run mine. It's old and getting weak but is still the best saw I've got. Can't find anyone to rebuild it. My second favorite is the 200T. Even with the design flaw where the air filter cover tab is known for breaking off and going in the engine. Ask me how I know. And after only about 20 tanks of gas. A Stihl rep finally admitted it to me. I purchased a MS 201T about 8 months ago. It's ok. Probably the most reliable but doesn't get near the fuel mileage that the rest of the saws do. The tank seems smaller also. That might be the problem. Also seems to be the weakest of the bunch. Btw all my saws are purely stock.

My go to saw right now is the Echo 355. Might be because it's the cheapest and I feel like I'm saving money by wearing out the cheapest saw. I've had it about 8 months also. Check their warranty as compared to the 90 day Stihl warranty. Also half the price.

Pros.. The Echo is powerful. It seems to be my best cutting saw for some reason. Good price. Best warranty.

Cons... The tiny gas and oil cap are hard to fill without getting it everywhere. But at least it's the screw on caps unlike the sorry Stihl flip caps that have to be replaced every 6 months, constantly leak and if not tightened properly, will dump chain oil or gas all over your pants leg first thing in the morning. Sometimes it doesn't want to idle down all the way without popping the throttle once or twice. The choke and kill switch is reversed as compared to the Stihl. For someone who's used to Stihl for 25 years it gets confusing especially when I use both saws weekly depending on which truck I'm in.

If I could have only one it would obviously be the old 020T. If it was rebuilt. No. 2 would be the 200T minus the design flaw. That leaves 3 that are in production and available today. I'm taking the very crappy customer service from 2 local Stihl dealerships in my area into consideration. Which is the only real problem I have with Stihl right now, Keeping in mind that 22 of my 25 saws are Stihl. Keep in mind parts and repair of the Echo if the need arises. Stihl Southwest distribution is about 8 miles from my house. I can have any Stihl part the next day if needed. Not sure how long the Echo would be down if it quits or gets dropped, since it did take calling 3 times and having to special order it since they didn't "have enough to place an order". The Echo gets ran about 8 out of ten times I go up. The other times are divided up between the 200T and the 201TCM. The Husky and several others stays in the trucks for backup saws. I've ran the Echo hard and it performs great except for the occasional idling down issue and the very small filler holes. The 201TCM has performed flawlessly so far also. For half the price, I'll be buying Echos until I have a reason not to.

Btw I take very good care of my saws, keep them sharp and clean and stock. I like them to last as long as they can. They also get used a lot. I'm putting extra use on the Echo to see what it can take. I know what the Stihls can take.

Send the 020t to @lonewolf. He can get it fixed up for you and have it running good as new.

 

[Conquistador3]

I don't know about your area, but here Jonsered is presently running a promotion on the CS2236T, which is really nothing more than a Zenoah GZ3500 with Jonsered decals.
Well worth checking.

 

[Jim Timber]

Well, I screwed up and missed a Bloomington dealer having a 20% off event next weekend. Called him and ordered a 355t with the 14" bar, which he'll sell me at the discounted price when it comes in next week. Now I wait for the call.

 

[ropensaddle]

I just use the 372 xpw Oooops , lol sorry forgot; 30cc hmm I don't have naw 30 cc

 

[Jim Timber]

I just use the 372 xpw Oooops , lol sorry forgot; 30cc hmm I don't have naw 30 cc

I had my 2166 in a man-lift taking down an unsafe birch a couple weeks ago. Didn't have my Echo at home and wanted that tree gone before it fell on our house (it's storm season up here). The pull from the chain cutting caused the crown to move about 5". Glad I rented the lift! But working that saw at arms length over the cage was hard on my neck. Over-head and out of position stuff causes me a bunch of problems with my nerve damage (not just limited to my hands), so the new Echo will be a nice gift to myself. My doc's want me to stay active.

I inherited a couple wild things and I think a 50cc Jonny along with a Stihl FS91 when my sister made her hubby move to the suburbs from a 2.5 acre wooded lot. I muffler modded one of the wild things (prior to giving it to my sister), and haven't touched the other two saws. Last I heard he locked up 'my' WT, but claimed he fixed it - god knows what they did to it since it was taken to a shop for repair. That Jonny might be a good 'un, I just haven't gotten around to looking yet. They're all smaller than I normally run. That's why my 352 hasn't seen wood in over a year. Fired right up the other day though.

 

[david1332]

I own both the 201tcm and the 355t. I think both are amazing saws, however I don't like the smaller tanks on the 355. But I can live with that! My vote would be for the 355t so you can buy two and have a backup!

 

[Jim Timber]

Nothing a little funnel won't fix.

 

[david1332]

I meant the small capacity

 

[Jim Timber]

Oh, I've got the small cap size stuck in my head because that's really the only complaint that keeps showing up about them.

What kind of run time do you usually get on a tank?

 

[david1332]

Never really tracked it but I know it's less than my 201

 

[ropensaddle]

Maybe im a glutton for punishment but I use my samurai for the small stuff then drag up the jonny red 2252 or the 372 xpw.

 

[benjo75]

You must have got rain last night too.

 

[ropensaddle]

You must have got rain last night too.

Yes still raining this is my second day off in 3 weeks straight 14 hours per day. I'm enjoying it Of course overtime was ok too

 

[benjo75]

Same here. About 2 more weeks of trees on houses.

 

[ropensaddle]

Same here. About 2 more weeks of trees on houses.

Good on ya Ben make hay my friend. I took a job so i'm only doing my thing when it suits me now!

 

[BuckmasterStumpGrinding]

I'm happy with my 355t. If you one hand from a bucket or need something lighter for your hands you can try a ms150t or a ms192t with a 150 bar and chain. The 192 will last about a year but it is light and priced right.