Stihl MS361 or Husky 372Xp?

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Valkyrie Rider

Valkyrie Rider

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I currently have only a Stihl 021.....

I'm REALLY wanting a new saw and plan to also get a splitter to start doing ALL my own wood rather then a mix of buying and getting my own with the large majority currently buying.

I've wanted a 372XP for about three years, but SO many seem to like the 361 for personal firewooding.... it's a hard choice..... maybe YEARS down the road I'll have both, but I'm ready for ONE right now.

As for Dealers, I have both in my town. The Stihl dealer is ALMOST across the street, the Husky maybe 5 miles. There are also at least three other of each Husky and Stihl dealers/service within 15 miles or so.

Should I just flip a coin and figure I'll get the other later?

I know they are different classes of saws too.....

My head is spinning with options of splitters and saws... :dizzy:

There is a $200 difference in saw prices with 20" bar chain combo.... but that doesn't concern me in the least.
 
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Tough call...........

I think the best all around firewood saw is about 60cc........ which leads us to the 361. Buuuuuuuuttttt........... I really love my 372, and highly recommend it. You do have a small saw for cutting and bucking the stuff thats 16 inches or smaller. I guess it kinda comes down to how big the stuff is you seek for firewood. If you are cutting bigger trees, get the 372. If you usually end up with pulpwood size trees..... get the 361. You really can't go wrong with either saw. :cheers:
 
That's a tough question. I went through the exact thing last year ended up w/the 361 good saw as you know, as is the 372xp. The dealer I purchased from had a lot to do with my choice. A good guy nice shop etc.
The Husky dealer didn't do much for me.

This question has been run many many times on the chainsaw forum.

I'd go for the 361 and plunk the $200 on PPE or on the new splitter.

Good luck,

Rob
 
The first year I burned I got a few truckloads of BIG oak.... over 24"..... I never know what I'll come across really.... so i think the bigger the better in a way. There is a LOT of hardwood around here.... it's all a matter of what you can get to and haul and also talk landowners into giving you.

I'm also planning on upgrading to a 3/4 or 1 ton diesel truck in the very near future (next few months) so hauling won't be the issue it is now with my base model, V6, 1/2 ton.

I'm REALLY leaning to the 372.... maybe I should get a TSC splitter rather then a Iron and Oak and buy the 361 too...

My what coming into some money allows.

I also just got my plumbing license, so I got a REAL GOOD raise going from apprentice to licensed guy. The saw is kind of my "gift" to myself for having achieved that (here in CT it is 8,000 hours on the job and 16 different night school classes)
 
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woodguy105 said:
That's a tough question. I went through the exact thing last year ended up w/the 361 good saw as you know, as is the 372xp. The dealer I purchased from had a lot to do with my choice. A good guy nice shop etc.
The Husky dealer didn't do much for me.

This question has been run many many times on the chainsaw forum.

I'd go for the 361 and plunk the $200 on PPE or on the new splitter.

Good luck,

Rob
Click to expand...

:agree2: you beat me to it! $200 goes a long way
 
Money no object between the two.....

If they still made NEW 044s... maybe I'd consider that against the 372.

Whatever I get I want BRAND NEW as I said it's sort of a gift to myself and I want it from day one, ZERO hours. I'll keep it forever and take super care of the the saw.
 
Valkyrie Rider said:
The first year I burned I got a few truckloads of BIG oak.... over 24"..... I never know what I'll come across really.... so i think the bigger the better in a way. There is a LOT of hardwood around here.... it's all a matter of what you can get to and haul and also talk landowners into giving you.

I'm also planning on upgrading to a 3/4 or 1 ton diesel truck in the very near future (next few months) so hauling won't be the issue it is now with my base model, V6, 1/2 ton.

I'm REALLY leaning to the 372.... maybe I should get a TSC splitter rather then a Iron and Oak and buy the 361 too...

My what coming into some money allows.

I also just got my plumbing license, so I got a REAL GOOD raise going from apprentice to licensed guy. The saw is kind of my "gift" to myself for having achieved that (here in CT it is 8,000 hours on the job and 16 different night school classes)
Click to expand...

If you're going to cut very much wood over 20" go for the 372. I've got a Husqvarna 359 and according to many it is comparable in power with a 361. If the wood is much bigger than 20" it's tough on the 359. My 372 has a lot more power than the 359. The biggest I've cut with the 372 so far is 33" oak and it didn't even whimper.
 
Favor on the large side.

When I bought my modern saw when I started to heat with wood, I went with a Husqvarna 359 with a 18" bar and a 24" bar for the occasional large wood and thought I would be set. The 359 and 361 for all intentional purposes are equal. I soon found that the wood I was scrounging was larger then I expected and found myself wanting more saw. So with that in mind and a lot of influence from the Arborist Site, I bought a 372xp.
I think a 359/361 is good but a 372 is best. In my hands a 372 feels only slightly heavier then my 359 and a friends 361, but has more power with option of larger bars. My local saw shop sells both Stihl and Husky and they want $619 for a 361 and $699 for a 372, both with 20" bars. If your prices are similar to mine then cost should not keep you from the 372.

Good Luck
 
I'm not a Husky guy, but in this case, I'd just get the 372 and be done. The 361 seems to have quite the following here, but it's dang near as big as the 372 but without the power.

On the other hand, if you get the 361 first, you'll like the 372 more when you get it. If you get the 372 then the 361, the 361 likely won't seem all that great after running a bigger one.

Maybe go with the lower buck splitter and a 372/346 combo that the Husky guys drool over?

Congrats on the job btw!

OK and since no one else has brought it up, got a Dolmar dealer around? If so, just get a 7900 for a price between the 361 and 372, have more power than both, and never look back.
 
A Dolmar 7900 would smoke either of those and cost about the same as a 361. Read the thread in the chainsaw section about saws that don't live up to the hype, lots negative comments about the 361's in that thread, some 372's. The 7900 had overwhelming positive praise and not a single negative.

I know a lot of people are turned of from Dolmar because of dealer support. I Don't know where you live but there is a dealer in Brooklyn ct that sells them for $639 with 20" bar.
http://www.arboristsite.com/showthread.php?t=111240
 
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I have no question 372XP. If I hadn't gotten my 372 for 250 I would have done like was said and went w/ a 7900. The 7900 is an absolute beast out of the box and if your buying new the price can't be beat.
 
I also thought about Dolmar. The dealer is farther away, and I've never been in there (it is a rental store), but a 25 minute isn't too bad!

As for a price of $699 for a 372 with 20" bar!?!?! The prices I got are all $800 for that combo and $600 for the 361.
 

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