MS660 vs 395xp for milling

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Good points Steve

I hadnt thought about the Harley analogy but you are right. Harley is in trouble too with that marketing strategy in this economy. Take a look at their sales and stock price.

I want to make it clear Im not saying Stihl saws are not good. I own an 029 and its been a great saw. AND I am not a Husky zealot either. This is my first Husky saw. I would love to get my hands on a 372xp for a while. Ive heard its a great all around saw.
 
Call it what you like it is what it is fraternity or not, there's no retail comparison as far as resale, and as far as reliability the stihl has it there as well look at the number of 395's compared to 660's sold not due to a fraternatiey but tried and true. Good example 2100 cd's how many do you stil see running compared to 056's especially the 056 mag 2
 
TNMIKE said:
I hadnt thought about the Harley analogy but you are right. Harley is in trouble too with that marketing strategy in this economy. Take a look at their sales and stock price.

I want to make it clear Im not saying Stihl saws are not good. I own an 029 and its been a great saw. AND I am not a Husky zealot either. This is my first Husky saw. I would love to get my hands on a 372xp for a while. Ive heard its a great all around saw.
Click to expand...

I agree Mike , all I have is Stihl's , but I am very willing to look at other good brands , my local Stihl dealer is a real w-nker , when I have too , I drive an extra 50ks to the next dealer , he is a real good bloke , Stihl saws are just getting to bloody dear now , Husky is quite a bit cheaper over here , also the pine fallers around here mainly use Stihl or Husky saws both very reliable , but parts for a Stihl over here are a complete rip off , a few years back they wanted $800au just for an 038 head and $130au for piston and ring . As for the Filter problems , well my mate got the the Stihl clowns to admit there was a problem with the air filters on the MS660 type air filters . That is all I have to say on this subject , apart from my next saw will be a Husky . Cheers MM
 
I've been using a 395 with a 33" bar, and can't say I'm unhappy with it. I was looking at buying the mill and a new 372 last year, but the shop had this used 395 for $595 CAD. I know the mechanic at the shop and I know he won't let anything go out that's a POS, so I got 20+cc more saw and the mill for about the same price as the new 372. It still runs great. I've never run a Stihl except for the 044s we use at work, but I do like some of their features such as the inboard clutch. Stihls, at least where I am, are more expensive to fix it seems. Most of the loggers around here use big Huskies so old spare parts are easy to find.
 
as far as comparing the two (660, 395), it looks like the 395 might come out on top - higher torque figures, have a look at the graph i just put together, the 395 and 394 are basically the same right?:
specs-4.jpg
 
I'm still trying to get, data for the 3120xp, and remember the 066 is more powerful and torquey than the ms660 when comparing to the 394xp...
 
394 vs 395 xp

Im not sure what the torque difference would be here..does anyone know?
 
I now have both of these saws, the 660 with a 25" bar and the 395 with a 24" bar. Just need to grab some chain for the 660 and will try to compare the two this weekend. I have a big 30" spruce on the ground waiting to be milled. The 660 has a muffler mod, so it might pull ahead a bit. Already ran it thru 10" douglas fir on the mini mill and it just screamed with the .325 and a 9 tooth sprocket. Vibration was a nonissue. Never had it on the Alaskan though so I'll try that next.
 
Given their specs are so close I don't believe any individual can demonstrate conclusively whether one brand of saw was better than the other.

Testing a single pair of saws of the same age, with the same run in and factory tuned and everything a similar as possible will still be inconclusive. Manufacturing and other tolerances means that no two saws of the same brand will ever be exactly same.

And no two saws can cut through the exact same piece of natural wood.

The most conclusive test would require the testing of dozens of saws from each manufacturer in a range of timbers and some sort of statistical testing would need to be done and even after that there may still be a reasonable proportion of "loser" saws that can outperform some of the "winner" saws
 
Well, the 660 that I have definitely pulls ahead of my 395 a bit. As I said though, it's been modded so that's expected I suppose. I also used it to buck a 30" Douglas Fir. Cut up about 40 feet (down to about 18" diameter) in just a few minutes. Thinking back on all those years cutting firewood with my dad's old worn-out Homelite... Could have saved so much time and effort. For milling, I like the 660 better overall, if for no other reason than the side chain tensioner. I don't like the handle as well though, as it wraps around farther and is almost 3" lower when the saw is on its side in the mill. I can't say which saw is heavier but the 395 is definitely a bit more svelte, and just feels a bit less cumbersome for some reason, not that either really is.
 
I`ve been milling with my 066 since 2000. But its main use is working weekly at my tree service. It still runs like brand new.
 

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