Well,I suppose it depends on how much a person would actually use a saw as to how much money to invest in one.
As usual there are a certain factor of people that chime in and say just buy an MS 660 Stihl and be done with it,nonsense.For what the guy wants to do,a better grade of Echo or Poulan would work just as well and be a darned sight cheaper.
I have mostly old Macs,a few Homelites a few Stihls and several Poulans.The little Poulans work quite well,thank you much.Fact is I just recently did a port job on a 2800 Poulan,you might be a little surprised that it's possible to make a wildcat from a little kitten,with a little coaxing.
This is not to say that Echos or Poulans are of the same quality as Stihl,Husqvarna or Dolmar but they do serve a certain market very well .On the same lines,my 18 HP Huskee mower does just as well as somebodys fancy green,high priced John Deere although I didn't spend 5 grand to buy it.Well,I suppose bragging rights come with a price too.:deadhorse: