Smaller companion to MS361?

[Evan]

260 wearing 16-18" bar will likely pretty well replace the 361 wearing 20 they cut that good

 

[huskystihl]

260 wearing 16-18" bar will likely pretty well replace the 361 wearing 20 they cut that good

260 is a great saw but would accomodate a 70 cc saw a little better. I have a 270 used as a ground/limbing saw to work along side of the 211 limbing which follows behind a 70 cc or vice versa. The 270 is more of a firewood making saw with the decent sized limbs back at the yard. The problem is that most firewood cutters are gonna pass on the wood that calls for a 5hp saw to cut it, for cutting and processing purposes it tends to be to big and troublesome. I met an old timer the other day who burns around 4 cords a year and cuts it all with an ms170. Just real selective on what he chooses to cut.

 

[Evan]

im a firewood cutter thats all im cutting 20-30" trees seem to be the norm around here. my 026 wearing 18" and full size 3/8 oregon lgx chain works very well buckn up the 20" trees. it cuts at very decent speed and is my go to saw for the smaller 20" trees. this saw when in a pinch will also work well on 30" tree but shes works much harder and longer than a bigger saw will. the 346 would also fill this bill well it has more power and cuts faster and it would surely delete the 60cc from from the lineup.

the 044 440 441 460 372 and other comparable 70cc saws are very good do all saws and are the saw i want when cutn firewood as general all around firewood saw the 60cc saws arent enough lighter to justify sacrificeing cc;s for the weight saveings. youve pretty much screwd yourself if you decided on 60cc and 24 25" bar and run into a hardwood tree 20" or bigger. seems these trees are made of concrete.

you should see the grin on my face when cutn 25" wood with my 044 and 28" bar thats baried right to the tip as shes throwing huge chips and self feeding right through all on her own. and she cuts like animal with the 18" bar and oregon lgx you wana buck wood fast this combo will getr done in hurry.

to me the 60cc saw fills the small wood nitch with small bars and this sight makes that very aparent its good saw to get if your cutting wood on acasion and is the only saw you will ever get. but there are much better slightly heavier saws that will do it better and smaller saws that are lighter and will do the same job as the 60cc saws

 

[smokinj]

if i where running a 361 I would go with the ms660 Ok your wanting a smaller saw the ms 180 a nice light weight saw 8.8 and a very narrow kerf:greenchainsaw:

 

[2000ssm6]

Stihl MS211, husky 435, Dolmar 420. Any of these will be a good little brother for the 361. But a 211 and 441 go well together also.

 

[Termite]

I could get along just fine with my Redmax3800 and 7900Dolmar. I really like the 3800. And it is now a Husky cousin.
What I can't do is cut wood in this heat with all the ticks!

 

[huskystihl]

I could get along just fine with my Redmax3800 and 7900Dolmar. I really like the 3800. And it is now a Husky cousin.
What I can't do is cut wood in this heat with all the ticks!

Tell me about it! I just got home from a 1/3 acre clearing job with no wind and waist high in briars and poison ivy with 200% humidity and 85 deg. Luckily everything went smooth and the beer isn't cold enough right now and I hate chainsaws and wood!

 

[SawTroll]

The 420 is a little monster with close to 200 PSI compression stock. It's also a pro constructed engine which no Stihl homeowner saw has.

Power and weight both match the 024/240 pretty evenly (but those are not "homeowner" saws either).....

An ol' Husky 242 weights the same as both, but has .7 more hp.....:jawdrop::jawdrop:

 

[windthrown]

I have been running a 361/250 combo for a few years now. Cannot say that the 250 is that great a saw. They work, but tend to pool when they are hot, and they are a pain to work on. I would like to look at Dolmar saws, but like Down Under, they have little presence here.

I am still looking to replace my 250 and 025, and its down to the 260 and the 346/NE. The 270 is too close to the 361 in weight, and it has a clamshell engine case. The 260 is far easier to work on. Getting a 346 means having to go to a different place to get parts, and having different type bars. It also has that outboard clutch. So I will likely just stick with Stihl and get the 260. 361 and 260 are a good cutting combo. The guy I cut for in California last summer bought a 260 on my advice, and he loves it. We cut with them last year and they made a good pair for dropping and limbing 100 foot firs, redwoods and pines.

 

[huskystihl]

I have been running a 361/250 combo for a few years now. Cannot say that the 250 is that great a saw. They work, but tend to pool when they are hot, and they are a pain to work on. I would like to look at Dolmar saws, but like Down Under, they have little presence here.

I am still looking to replace my 250 and 025, and its down to the 260 and the 346/NE. The 270 is too close to the 361 in weight, and it has a clamshell engine case. The 260 is far easier to work on. Getting a 346 means having to go to a different place to get parts, and having different type bars. It also has that outboard clutch. So I will likely just stick with Stihl and get the 260. 361 and 260 are a good cutting combo. The guy I cut for in California last summer bought a 260 on my advice, and he loves it. We cut with them last year and they made a good pair for dropping and limbing 100 foot firs, redwoods and pines.

I understand the clamshell thing if you wanna have em modded but I ran an 026 for almost 7 years and easy to work on or not when it died I burried it on the shelf in the shop. I figure by the time the 270 craps it paid it's rent a few thousand times over so I could care less if you gotta split the case. But from a warranty standpoint I could see the difference though.

 

[Jtheo]

Stihl MS 211 or Dolmar 420. Both very good saws.

 

[windthrown]

I understand the clamshell thing if you wanna have em modded but I ran an 026 for almost 7 years and easy to work on or not when it died I burried it on the shelf in the shop. I figure by the time the 270 craps it paid it's rent a few thousand times over so I could care less if you gotta split the case. But from a warranty standpoint I could see the difference though.

The main thing is the weight... a 361 is only 1/2 pound heavier than a 270. Hence, why I bought a second 361 rather than a 270.

 

[belgian]

My firewood combo ist the 361 and the MS200, and they complement each other very well. Although an expensive saw, the MS200 is really worth its money. Very lightweight, excellent power, and soooooo easy to use for limbing. I really love that saw. I also have a 242xp, but it"s noticeably heavier than the 200.

The MS260 is too close to the 361 imo, and I don't really know the 180 or 250, but both seem to be pretty good saws as well.

If I had to buy a Husky, I sure would go for the 346XP.

 

[huskystihl]

The main thing is the weight... a 361 is only 1/2 pound heavier than a 270. Hence, why I bought a second 361 rather than a 270.

I don't blame you with the weight I just don't care much for the pricing. Plus when you got a guy running a saw thats not his for ya I would rather have it be $400 versus $600. I havent modded the 270 but did pull the spark arrestor and it runs real well for it's intended purpose.

 

[lspmmp]

OK, let's get the formalities out of the way first. Hi there, and this is my first post, but have to admit to have been lurking for a while. I am definitely in the category of "enthusiast amateur" or whatever you want to call it, but really appreciate the comments of the pros here, which helped me understand better my needs, get reasonably educated and objective (??) comments. All of which led me to graduate to the MS361, which thus far I love. My chainsaw life started a couple of years ago with my first purchase of a MS250, having tooled around on an old small domestic McCulloch. I see this chainsaw thing as definitely addictive. I found the 250 was pretty good for most things, but was occasionally running out of grunt on some of the jobs I was doing. So I figured an upgrade was in order, so got good money on the MS250 from ebay before I had worn it out too much (made the upgrade less painful). The 361 is fantastic and eats through logs in a way that the 250 was sorely lacking....but.....

Now.....I reckon I require a smaller, lighter saw for the smaller cutting jobs, pruning and firewood etc, where the 361 is a bit unwieldy (something with a shorter bar than the 250 and lighter also would fill the gap, I think). I did dabble with the idea of a top handle pruner (192T or even Husky 334T) but hear some negative stuff about that from a safety perspective, esp. for out of tree stuff. The 200T is too much money for a part-time hack like me looking for a second saw.

So how about the MS180 or one of the smaller Huskys even?. I know, they are relative toys to some of you pros, but for a guy like me perhaps that would do the job. The smallest "pro" Stihl is a 260 which is overkill and too heavy for a second saw. Of course I would rather avoid the cash and carry junk from the mainstream stores - I might be an amateur but appreciate good engineering! I would not rule out a Husky but keeping it all Stihl would appeal to me (also run a FS90R brushcutter and a blower vac), given the local service and parts situation here and my familiarity with the marque.

I originally bought an 026 for firewood and it was my main saw for years. However, I found some trees that were a bit much for the 026 so I went out and bought a 361 with a 20" bar. I figured I would use the 026 as my limbing saw and to use it for smaller stuff. However, the 361 cuts so much faster and is so nice to use, I just use it for everything now. My 026 gets very little use anymore.

 

[deluxetwelve]

026/ms260

There are times when the 361 is just a bit much, so I like the idea of a pro saw like the 026/260 as a backup/companion to the 361, especially if can find one used at a reasonable price on ebay etc. Any smaller than that and they are in the homeowner class which would be fine for someone like me, provided I don't have to pay too much. Given the new price of Stihls over here I don't think I can justify another new saw so soon, so it's going to be used, whatever the outcome.

 

[spiffy1]

My firewood combo ist the 361 and the MS200, and they complement each other very well. Although an expensive saw, the MS200 is really worth its money. Very lightweight, excellent power, and soooooo easy to use for limbing. I really love that saw. I also have a 242xp, but it"s noticeably heavier than the 200.

The MS260 is too close to the 361 imo, and I don't really know the 180 or 250, but both seem to be pretty good saws as well.

Now seeing that it may double as a back-up saw, maybe the 260 isn't too close anymore, but I'll second belgian on that 200 being a mini-monster complement to the 361! If your looking used, maybe worth keeping your eyes open for a deal on that as one of your options.

 

[joatmon]

My firewood combo ist the 361 and the MS200, and they complement each other very well. Although an expensive saw, the MS200 is really worth its money. Very lightweight, excellent power, and soooooo easy to use for limbing. I really love that saw. I also have a 242xp, but it"s noticeably heavier than the 200.

The MS260 is too close to the 361 imo, and I don't really know the 180 or 250, but both seem to be pretty good saws as well.

If I had to buy a Husky, I sure would go for the 346XP.

Roland,

W A R N I N G : The NE346XP is almost as much fun as a belly dancer.

ole joat

 

[fredmc]

Roland,

W A R N I N G : The NE346XP is almost as much fun as a belly dancer.

ole joat

jonsahuskpoulux 346ne Quality engineering....

 

[deluxetwelve]

Well just to update (and this may sound like it came from left field), but I got a deal on a used 032 AV with a 16" bar, so for now that's going to be the "smaller" backup saw to my MS361 with the 20" bar. I don't get to see it until tomorrow, but the price was right and so assuming the ebay description is fair I think I have done OK. Wish me luck, girls and boys !!