Opinions on Forester chain compared to Stihl

[teacherman]

Good morning gents,

I happened upon an article comparing chains, and they like Oregon better than Stihl for homeowner use in softwood, which I figure the homeowner would need to be good with a file on mild steel. I found their choice of full chisel chain was Forester. They claim it's hard and durable. I only use Stihl chain, because I hate to stop and file chains, and I suck at it, even with a 2 in 1, which I think is a great invention. What do y'all think about this?

I hope this ain't in the same realm as yet another oil thread..... I just started using Red Armor, which the local Stihl tech says is really good stuff, and I learned about it on one of those dratted oil threads on here, for which I'm grateful. Hope yall have a good Saturday!

 

[pro94lt]

The best chain is like who makes the best boots really depends on how you cut and how experienced you are... I lump the aftermarket Chinese chain all together, it will cut, it will hold its edge for weeks if you don't hit something, but they are soft compared to stihl or oregon chain. if you sling stihl or oregon you can fix it. if you sling a Chinese chain the links or cutter will simply break... I probably broke 2 dozen of them this year and had to throw them away... plus i have no way of knowing for sure but i believe the Chinese chain vibrates more then real chain...

 

[sean donato]

Have a link to that article? I've found most of them are utterly garbage reviews, but I'm always up for a read.
Having said that, I prefer stihl and the new husqy chain, Oregon seems like the quality has been slipping fir a few years now. I tend to stay away from the China made chains, as my experiences with them hasn't been great, lots of stretch soft cutters (well the chain in general seems very soft.) Chrome plating peels off pretty easily. Just not something I want to deal with.

 

[djg james]

Have a link to that article? I've found most of them are utterly garbage reviews, but I'm always up for a read.
Having said that, I prefer stihl and the new husqy chain, Oregon seems like the quality has been slipping fir a few years now. I tend to stay away from the China made chains, as my experiences with them hasn't been great, lots of stretch soft cutters (well the chain in general seems very soft.) Chrome plating peels off pretty easily. Just not something I want to deal with.

Is Forester chain made in china? I saw some ripping chain at a good price. I thought I'd try one.

 

[sean donato]

Is Forester chain made in china? I saw some ripping chain at a good price. I thought I'd try one.

they just re badge chain, so it's kinda the flavor of the month If you know what i mean. I'm pretty sure Carlton or Windsor used to make chain for them, but as of right now I have no idea. I suspect from their price point it's imported China chain. Surly couldn't hurt to try a chain for the cost.

 

[Franny K]

The Upstart chain in .325 and full size 3/8 has the dimpling on the drive links like Stihl. The Upstart .325 uses the Stihl splicing components (not the ones for the 23rspro 3690 stuff) if I recall correctly. The 3/8 full size splicing pieces I think are pretty much the same but I kind of stay in the smaller stuff. Somehow the barrel part of a tie strap is supposed to be harder than the end that gets peened or rolled over. In 3/8 the HIPA stuff punches out a tie strap easier than Oregon for what that is worth. Oregon has changed owners maybe twice in recent times so it might be a moving target and hard to know what I would type would be fair to the latest newest product. Mini 1/4 , normal 1/4, mini .325, nk.325 regular .325 3/8lp/picco61 and 63, There is a lot of product not sure how fair it is to generalize.

We all know that there is a hard chrome layer that will contain the edge, right?

 

[Cliff R]

With all this "outsourcing" going on I'm not sure how accurate my info is but as of right now ALL the Oregon chains I've purchased are still USA made and top shelf quality.

Stihl is decent, but anything else I've had ZERO success with. This includes Carlton and Archer. I tried Archer a couple of years back as it came highly recommended by a couple of friends. They must not be as picky as I cam because the chains were WAY too loose in the bars and one of the roller noses seized solid on the second outing. Plus the .050" chains were too loose in them for my liking. I still use one of the bars that didn't lock-up but have to run .058" chains in it or it doesn't cut well.

Any of the Chinese chains are pure CRAP and don't stay sharp for **** and you're lucky to get two tanks of fuel thru the saw without breaking one.

Just a few months ago I was on Ebay and saw Lazer chain advertised as "German Steel" so grabbed one. What a PATHETIC piece of bovine excrement that thing was. Save your money folks and stick with the good stuff........FWIW....

 

[jblnut]

I’ve worn 8-10 Forester chains down to nothing cutting firewood in the last few years and they seem to hold up fine for me. I’ve run all kinds of cheap chains cutting dirty wood and the Forester chains seem to hold up the best. They do stretch a bit more than a Stihl chain but after a few tanks they don’t anymore. I should specify that I have only run .325/063 chains on an MS250 and MS251 so nothing with huge power. The 041/066 both get Stihl chain.

 

[Hermio]

Good morning gents,

I happened upon an article comparing chains, and they like Oregon better than Stihl for homeowner use in softwood, which I figure the homeowner would need to be good with a file on mild steel. I found their choice of full chisel chain was Forester. They claim it's hard and durable. I only use Stihl chain, because I hate to stop and file chains, and I suck at it, even with a 2 in 1, which I think is a great invention. What do y'all think about this?

I hope this ain't in the same realm as yet another oil thread..... I just started using Red Armor, which the local Stihl tech says is really good stuff, and I learned about it on one of those dratted oil threads on here, for which I'm grateful. Hope yall have a good Saturday!

I have not used the Forester. But I have used Oregon, Stihl and a few others. In my own limited experience, the Stihl RS chain is the fastest cutting, and it lasts longer also. It does not tend to stretch as much, either. I think Oregon chains are too soft. They just don't hold an edge.

 

[NSEric]

I've been using the holtzforma chain lately, it seams alright it stretched a little first tank then stopped and is holding an edge fine.

 

[Franny K]

With all this "outsourcing" going on I'm not sure how accurate my info is but as of right now ALL the Oregon chains I've purchased are still USA made and top shelf quality.

I don't know how accurate my information is as of current production either. I did get some new looking boxes of 91px and it said made in Canada. I bought some M75bpx from Ferawleys/loggerchain which is one thing I am confident is recent production and that was discontinued, they had 5 100' rolls at the time. I am not in a position to look at the 25 foot roll now and the made in ..... may have been on packaging I threw away. Probably what counts the most is where (or more likely quality of) the cutters and the barrel/roll over ends attached to the tie straps. Made in USA or anywhere could be where essentially where the rivet spinning line is. I bought some 80txl in the last month and on the box it said made in the USA, under that Fabrique aux-EU (little mark over both e and E) and another line Fabricado en EE.UU. so what does this mean?

As for the title here, I doubt Forester has a really similar comparable offering to go against Stihl 61pmm3 or the NKish 23rspro. sure they have a 0.043 3/8lp.

 

[Seachaser]

The best chain, to me, straight out of the box is the X cut by Husqvarna. I’ve got a Stihl chain on a 500i and Oregon on some others. The Stihl is the least impressive of the three. And seems to dull quicker. May be just that chain, but each cutter seems a different hardness. I hand file only.

 

[Hermio]

The best chain, to me, straight out of the box is the X cut by Husqvarna. I’ve got a Stihl chain on a 500i and Oregon on some others. The Stihl is the least impressive of the three. And seems to dull quicker. May be just that chain, but each cutter seems a different hardness. I hand file only.

I have not used the Husqvarna chain. But some have compared it to Stihl RS and found it to cut slower. I have not had issues with the Stihl RS. I drag logs out of the woods and buck them in an open field for my personal safety. This means that all of my logs are muddy on one side. I try to cut from the clean side when possible to minimize contact with the dirt, but of course some contact is unavoidable. I usually can go for 2-3 tankfuls on my 500i without sharpening. That works out to about a cord. It takes me about 5 minutes to sharpen with the 2-in-1 Pferd. That method of sharpening results in a slightly faster cut than brand new. I have filed by hand before with various guides including the type you clamp on to the bar. But all the other hand filing methods are slower than the 2-in-1, which makes me wait a bit longer than I should between filings. I don't care for semi-chisel, as the cutting speed is so much slower than the RS that it does not make up for the need to sharpen the RS a bit more often.

 

[sean donato]

I've found x cut to be every bit as fast if not faster then rs on factory grind, much smoother running as well. Once they are sharpened the first it's pretty even. Price alone makes the X cut a better value even if it were somehow "inferior" to stihl rs.

 

[Hermio]

I've found x cut to be every bit as fast if not faster then rs on factory grind, much smoother running as well. Once they are sharpened the first it's pretty even. Price alone makes the X cut a better value even if it were somehow "inferior" to stihl rs.

Worth a view: https://www.alloutdoor.com/2020/11/25/product-test-chainsaw-chain-best/
Your results may vary. As for price, I do put a value on my time. If I just looked at cost of the product vs results, I would have bought a 271 instead of a 500i. Both will buck the wood I cut. But the 500i is faster.

 

[Bubster]

It has been a few years since I bought a Forester chain, but I do remember the last ones I bought being dull right out of the box. They are easier to file than Stihl. I have found Husqvarna X-Cut to be the sharpest out of the box, but finding full chisel X-Cut here is almost impossible. Stihl beats the semi-chisel crowd in my opinion

 

[djg james]

Looking around a little bit and found these:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/2961747845...uYy4vIXr8rL9r7PTakG2mBkcemFa|tkp:BFBMuLu-1bdj

Can't be much for $16. Never heard of them.

 

[sean donato]

Worth a view: https://www.alloutdoor.com/2020/11/25/product-test-chainsaw-chain-best/
Your results may vary. As for price, I do put a value on my time. If I just looked at cost of the product vs results, I would have bought a 271 instead of a 500i. Both will buck the wood I cut. But the 500i is faster.

No offense, I don't put a lot of stock in project farm. the husqy chain he used is re badged oregon chain, not x cut chain.
This is x-cut
https://www.husqvarna.com/us/chains/x-cut-c83-3-8-pitch-050-gauge/?article=585550072
this is h-46
https://www.baileysonline.com/husqv...8-drive-links-591119468-hva-591-11-94-68.html
I put value above price, when I have 2 products that work the same and one is slightly cheaper I get the cheaper one.

 

[Lionsfan]

No offense, I don't put a lot of stock in project farm. the husqy chain he used is re badged oregon chain, not x cut chain.
This is x-cut
https://www.husqvarna.com/us/chains/x-cut-c83-3-8-pitch-050-gauge/?article=585550072
this is h-46
https://www.baileysonline.com/husqv...8-drive-links-591119468-hva-591-11-94-68.html
I put value above price, when I have 2 products that work the same and one is slightly cheaper I get the cheaper one.

Careful, you don't want to upset the Project Farm minions like I did.

 

[sean donato]

Careful, you don't want to upset the Project Farm minions like I did.

Yep.. I'm sure my comment made a few butt hurt. Doesn't matter.