Saws that surprised you...

[weimedog]

My 238se Husqvarna.. runs like a 50cc saw!

My Homelite SXL925 because after running all the new stuff... I don't expect much out of it... and it always surprises me how strong it is after having it sit a year or three.

MS390 was the disappointment. Really expected more and didn't like the spongy feel either..

 

[rob066]

Im going to go out on a limb and say Husqvarna 362xp special. What an great saw for a firewood cutter. Pretty zippy for a 62cc saw. The husqvarna 365 is great to but the 362 out revs it.

 

[merc_man]

Excho 302s sure was a sweet little saw. I wish i stihl had it. I traded it for a stihl 026 with a brand new bar and chain.

Sent from my SGH-I747M using Tapatalk

 

[abramj]

Perspective is the key here for me. The most powerful saw I had operated was a muff modded 026. It would scream. Picked up a 385xp, and really didn't have any idea what it was, other than a good bit heavier then the 026. Put a 28" bar on it and WOW. Then I sent it to Randy to tweak so I could run a 36" bar. Impressive for the weight, super fast, and very reliable. We had been double cutting trees for a few years around the house for firewood due to the diameter, not any more. This baby gets the job done!

 

[turn_n_burn]

I'm sure to get flamed for this one, but my "Little Green Man" just won't quit on me. It's a little Poulan 2055 with a 14 inch bar I got at Wally world 14 years ago, and that dang thing always starts on the 1st pull. I have an Stihl 034 that is always needing tinkering and tuning, always seems to run too rich or too lean, and Stihl is supposed to be the best. And it's from the 80's, when they were REALLY in their prime, supposedly. My Poulan is like a cheap pair of sunglasses. You could chuck it off the back of your boat in the middle of the ocean, and some scuba diver or blue whale or dolphin or whatever would inevitably pop back up saying "Ya dropped somethin!" Sorry Mr. Foxworthy, I stole your line.

Abramj, I have been laughing for the last 10 minutes looking at your avatar.

 

[CTYank]

Two categories:
Modern: Dolmar 6100. Beast to start down around zero, then a beast in the wood. Very powerful & smooth. Great value.
Antique: Homie 150. Freebie. Added dogs & spark-arrestor. Restored chain. Punches way above its 43 cc displacement. Low vibes in spite of NO A/V. At 9 lb 2 oz, dry PHO, well-suited to limbing and bucking up to 14". Not bad for early '70s. Just looks tatty.

 

[Northwoodshunter]

Echo 620p with a muffler mod, it ripped pretty good.

 

[bikemike]

I'd say power to weight ratio I like my Poulan pro 46cc over all my saws 2 stihl 2 echos a big homelets and Lombard the Poulan is light starts everytime and sounds great. I use this saw for milling too sure cheep not the greatest saw but it still says PRO so that's better than some saws lol

 

[atv1965]

Dolmar 421, it starts easily, cuts well and sips fuel!!

 

[CR888]

l like it how bikemike cannot help himself and fits expansion chambers to box store saws....it's great!! We need more tuned pipes around here!

 

[J0HN_R1]

I haven't handled many saws, dads new Stihl MS250 / his old Husqy 4-series / older Poulan 42cc / my new Makita 5121.

My Makita will out-cut them all... I'll probably never need anything more than what this saw can handle.

The Germans always made good mechanical "things", even if they do lie about the emissions & fuel consumption of some cars...

 

[abramj]

Abramj, I have been laughing for the last 10 minutes looking at your avatar.

My avatar was originally made as a poster I hung in the hospital when my brother, RD35, had surgery. I hung it in his room to cheer him up..... It helped.

 

[abramj]

My Makita will out-cut them all... I'll probably never need anything more than what this saw can handle.

John, John, John..... It's not about need. If it was about need, I would have one of those rope pull chainsaw chains with a string and handle on each end that they sell in magazines that come in the mail the same day as my AARP letters. And when I need to trim a branch, I would toss one end over and do the boogie woogie and cut off that branch that's hanging too low. Anything else I would call for help. That would save money and time. But no, that's not what we do, cause we are men! Men who go to extreme to show our friends and neighbors that we are MEN! So we take perfectly good chainsaws and make then faster, stronger, and often less reliable. We collect enough chainsaws to share with the entire town we live in. We do this, because when we go around that circle and the group leader asks "tell everyone something unique about yourself", we can say we collect chainsaws!

 

[Cliff R]

Echo CS-510. Mine has nothing more than a minor muffler mod, and it flat ROCKS! It's my "go-to" saw these days for firewood cutting. I've owned quite a few saws in the Echo line-up over the years, some were complete "turds", others are just OK. I had one CS-8100 and three CS-670's, and was never overly impressed with any of those, so they went on down the road. That simply happened because I have a couple of Husqvarna saws in that size range and the Echo's simply didn't make the grade......Cliff