Are Stihl Owners Brainwashed?

[tallguys]

I find this a lot on this site where people post things like "just buy a Stihl!" and "Stihl is the best!", a lot of times without any rational reasoning behind their statements. Are these folks just compensating for the extra money they spend on their saws or is there some mind-altering chemical in...

My, oh my! :msp_ohmy: I do believe we have found the one person on AS who has not yet read any posts by SawTroll. :hmm3grin2orange:

Cheers Niko!

 

[tomsteve]

welp, i would think some of it has to do with personal experience. just thinkin about the name recognition thing and the name itself. want a dependable saw built to work? would it be one with a name like stihl or husky( tough names) or home-lite? kind of sounds like a lite use saw. dont get me wrong, now. i've owned and/or used homelites, macs, and poulans, but for power and performane, for me its stihl or husky. i think it all started when i was cuttin firewood quite some time ago. 10-15 face cord a day. huskys and stihls were what we used. the boss stood behind stihl and the other man workin with us was dedicated husky. i just wanted a saw that was gonna have the power to do the job,be dependable and last, and both brands did that and still do. but i prefer stihl. gladly take a husky or 2 tho.

 

[DWSX]

My neighbor talks very well about several different brands of chainsaws and agrees that just about every maker has good models. The thing is, he always tells me I should buy a Stihl and that he only buys Stihls. The other funny thing is, he never really gives any hard reasons why. I find this a lot on this site where people post things like "just buy a Stihl!" and "Stihl is the best!", a lot of times without any rational reasoning behind their statements. Are these folks just compensating for the extra money they spend on their saws or is there some mind-altering chemical in the Stihl brand oil that is inhaled during operation, causing a Manchurian Candidate effect?

......In The Weeds,I couldn't agree with you more....Bottom line...They have no idea....Every sentence(your) is exactly related too.. I bet they vote the same way also.....Thanks for bringing this to light....

 

[JustinM]

We have them here brain washed for every brand!

Exactly. Although I think "brainwashed" is probably a stronger word than necessary. I think many people have a strong "preference" for one brand over another and the majority of those are often Stihl-Heads. I suspect its a combination of the marketing and the resale value that keeps them the most "preferred" brand by those who are brand-specific.

 

[In The Weeds]

Thanks for all the replies guys, I definitely laughed at a couple and they all shed more light on the subject. I also appreciate the thick skin of all the stihl fans . I would ask my neighbor about it but hes quite a bit older than me, also I think he might take it the wrong way lol.

 

[chopperfreak2k1]

My neighbor talks very well about several different brands of chainsaws and agrees that just about every maker has good models. The thing is, he always tells me I should buy a Stihl and that he only buys Stihls. The other funny thing is, he never really gives any hard reasons why. I find this a lot on this site where people post things like "just buy a Stihl!" and "Stihl is the best!", a lot of times without any rational reasoning behind their statements. Are these folks just compensating for the extra money they spend on their saws or is there some mind-altering chemical in the Stihl brand oil that is inhaled during operation, causing a Manchurian Candidate effect?

you said it all yourself. word of mouth is the best advertising i think. sure i can watch a commercial or two about a saw but it's nothing like a guy i really trust telling me what he thinks is best. and how do we build word of mouth advertising? by having a better product, period. i think husky makes a very good saw and we could nit-pick the little points (and we have) for days, but in the end Stihl must be doing something right to be the best selling saw. whatever you feel that might be.

 

[russhd1997]

Hey I use Stihl Ultra oil in all of my saws and I'm not a Stihl only guy. I used to be a Stihl only guy but got a good buy on a used Dolmar. That one also turned out to be a great saw. I liked it so much that when I was bitten by the CAD bug I bought another one. I haven't owned a Husky yet but I am sure that I will someday. The big 3 all make some great saws but I think that Dolmar has the best Pro quality built saws from the top to the bottom of their line up.

 

[DWSX]

............Gotta be the color scheme of the Stihl..........:tongue2:

 

[MattCrowe]

Not sure if it is brainwashing, so much as a good product and their method of pushing it, I wouldn't know what its like over there, but every Stihl dealer you drive by down here has STIHL written in huge letters and they always have a "bloody great big chainsaw" on their roof about 6 feet high and 10 feet long (just guessing never measured), Husqvarna and J-red and Dolmar dealers don't do that down here, in fact some of their dealers don't even have a display pic in their windows. So my opinion is that it is and always has been a very clever advertising route for Stihl because the general population without need of experience will always relate Stihl and chainsaws and i bet if you sat 1000 people with no previous chainsaw experience in a room and asked them to write down the first thing that comes to mind, then said CHAINSAW, 900 of them would write down Stihl.

 

[Johny Utah]

No manufacture can match the power of the Wildthang. The sales people in the hardware dept of Canadian Tire are just so knowledgeable and helpful.

 

[Myarmistired]

I’d have a hard time buying anything other than Stihl or Husky. I like to know that I can find new and used parts easily.

I just walked into my Stihl dealer yesterday and bought a bar adjustment screw thrust block for my 30 year old Stihl, try that with your Wild Thing.

 

[BigJ]

Husqvarna's Canuck-istan pricing is pure retardation... $800 for a 346xp...this has the effect to drive up the price of the used market as well. lots of people try to sell beat to hell 359's for over $400. I'd love a couple all orange ones in the lineup, but it's not realistic with the prices being what they are.

 

[J.W Younger]

My, oh my! :msp_ohmy: I do believe we have found the one person on AS who has not yet read any posts by SawTroll. :hmm3grin2orange:

Cheers Niko!

Yep everybody knows that the only Stihl worth takin to the woods is the euro version 361.

 

[sunfish]

I'm brainwashed on Stihl Ultra and their weed eaters. Good stuff!

 

[sunfish]

Yep everybody knows that the only Stihl worth takin to the woods is the euro version 361.

I'd take one if the right local deal came along.

 

[Somesawguy]

I wouldn't say I'm brainwashed, but I'm partial to Stihl. I grew up around my dads old Homelite 350, and while it cut great, he had it in the shop more than it was out cutting. Once I graduated college and had a little extra money, I bought a MS250, which had oiler problems, so I went to the MS290 Farm Boss. It's been a great saw for everything I've asked of it except the oiler doesn't work nearly as well as I'd like. I picked up a 024 this fall for a limbing saw and a backup truck saw. Now I've got CAD thanks to you guys, and have an 024,290, mac eager beaver x 2, mac 610 Timber Bear, Mac 10-10, Homelite XL, Poulan 306, and some oddball Wizard.

All are welcome at my house, but I'll probably grab my Stihl, if I need to cut something. :hmm3grin2orange:

 

[s219]

I don't know about brainwashed, but I do think people can fall into a mode where they need to justify/defend their choices in products (I've even seen this with choices of airlines or cell phone companies, which blows my mind, since they all suck, and will all screw the customer eventually). I am almost the opposite, since I always like to explore new options when I am in the market for a product. Many times I do come right back to the tried and true, but other times I find something new and better.

To be honest, owning a Stihl actually makes me appreciate my Echo saw more! They both run and cut fine, but the Echo has much more consistent starting manners, and is just more user friendly overall. I sure wouldn't have appreciated that Echo nearly as much without owning a Stihl!

 

[OH_Varmntr]

Brainwashed? Ummmm...no. hmm3grin2orange

 

[a. palmer jr.]

A little brain washing might be possible.

"Stihl"

It started a few years ago with a weedeater. Had been through several of them and was tired of having machines that wouldn't last. Someone told me to "spend the extra money and buy a Stihl. It will last you a lifetime"

Well 8 years later still cranks on the first pull and I have put it through much more than it was meant to.

Chainsaws. I had a crapsman that wouldn't stay running. A co-worker said "you might as well get a Stihl, It will last a lifetime"

Going off of the experience with my weedeater I bought a 10 year old Stihl. Starts first pull every time. I put that through hell and it keeps going. Parts are interchangeable with several other models and by looking at the repair manuals I know I can work on it myself.

There are other makes beside Stihl and Craftsman, some are very good.

 

[a. palmer jr.]

As I've said before, it all depends on how much you need a saw and how often you use it. I'd hate to buy a new Stihl 660 if I only cut firewood once or twice a year. No more than I cut wood I would be very happy with a Poulan 3400 in good condition. For littler stuff it would be hard to beat a Poulan 25 or micro saw in good shape.
There's no need to cut wood to try to save a little money on your heat bill then go out and buy a $1500 chainsaw...