Many people will overlook that 1lb. difference when it leaves $400 in their pockets as it does here in Canada.
I see it similar. And if we are honest for 5-6hrs cutting time / year to be faster by about 20min, that is a lot of dough.
But another often overlooked object is personal safety. If you want to invest in personal safety then you should count in at least 150-250$. That would include chaps, steel toed boots, eye/face & ear protection, some good quality gloves and helmet as a minimum.
Then don't forget at least one extra chain(I would prefer at least two good quality ones like Stihl chain, over here Stihl chain is ~25$/loop). And don't buy the el cheepo line. Like I mentioned above alone a sharp good quality chain will make your saw cut in a totally different league. Usually the chain comming with the saw are, how should I put it, the economy line. Good for a few cuts/year but nothing to cheer about. I like these cheap chains very much because they are excellent for the "dirty work"(like cutting around the dirt, etc.). They get damaged => who cares.
Chain sharpening kit ~ 20$, I like the husqvarna roller type very much.
Splitting axe, I like Fiskars ~ 70$, good quality starts at about 50$. Don't be cheap on this one, it will make you unhappy. And I'm really being conservative.
Then we have to talk about bar oil and fuel. A 5 litre jug of bar oil costs about 20$. Full synthetic two stroke oil, if you want to mix yourself, costs about 10$/litre=>50 litres of fuel mix. In your case you might think about premixed fuel. It usually is stable for at least 2-5 years, depending on storage, so that would suite you fine. But it comes at a premium.
All this equipment alone adds up to at least 400$!
So these costs are the same for all saws. But the economical aspect slowly deteriorates as the costs ad up.
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