Veeeeery interested in that 550xp. I've been really pondering a 346 or 555 and am leaning heavily towards the 346 based on wieght and price. I already have a 361 that will soon have a muff mod so a nimble saw is what I'm after. I do like my 350 but if I could have that size with more power
Whats with all the new huskies? Did the Stihl r&d department blow up?!
Others might flame me, but there seem to be different behavioral trends with the R&D departments of Stihl and Husky.
If you look at it, Stihl generally lets models run a lot longer, and lets the EPA deadline serve as the sort of push and impetus for the redesigns. At least for what I have seen.
If you look at the husky line for example, lots of the 3xx saws were introduced in the 90s, replacing the 2xx saws, though more of stihl saws remained unchanged, and just got multipled by 10 to form their model numbers 025 to MS 250.
In recent years, it seemed the one saw that had been reworked in the standard rear handle line prior to the EPA switch from Stihl was the 036/ MS 360 going to the 361. That was it. Everything was postponed until the impending shift to strato saws.
Stihl has a slower, more metered approach to their upgrades, whereas husqvarna appears to be more aggressive in their redesigns. In some cases they are on their first redesign of strato saws, following from the first generation. Stihl has had apparently fewer flubs with their strato saws; however.
I think so long as Stihl does not encounter sales losses due to their designs being older they will not be moved to do otherwise. Saws are not like cars and people don't want a new model every 3-4 years.