stihl

[Ryan Willock]

Maybe, Brian what irrates me is that he is trying to give advice as if he is a pro or has had LOTs of experiance with various saws. Wouldn't you hate to be the one who purchased a saw based on his advice? I know I would!!!

 

[bwalker]

Maybe in a few years they might have something to offer.

Leave it to Rock to be the optamist.

 

[Max]

So...Gpanseri,

Are you still thinking of the MS361?

 

[WRW]

Thanks, Max, for bringing us back to the topic.

I have an 036 that impressed a co-worker enough that he bought a 361. We traded off saws on one job, before it was broken in, and I was really impressed by its performance. Fer all that's worth.

 

[Max]

My Pleasure..poor ole Gpanseri...I hope this did'nt throw him.

I was just rubbed the wrong way a bit with BSM making such a mental statement like that. Then the genious who went on about the 361 being a "homeowner saw" and a bigger version of the 029/290 modular series almost made me pinch myself to see if I was dreaming!

As I stated earlier, I am no expert/pro and do not earn a living with my saws however I do respect and enjoy using them and feel there is a ton of great reading here.

I am glad to see others set this issue straight in this thread.

Now lets help that man get a new saw!

 

[BigSawMan]

Yeah you pro loggers/arborists are right, I dont have any saw experience, except for taking some of them apart, handeling them, fueling them, but not using, unless its a handsaw. . Basically when I said that, I obviously wasnt thinking, so I just posted it, to be rudely corrected by a few of you. Yes Stihl is a great saw company, and maybe me saying that stihls are trash was harsh, but I dont see myself buying a Stihl as my next saw, unless someone, not the sales rep, shows me the advantages on a new one, will I buy one.

You guys must have forgot about my statements in the 385 thread of mine. I am not the guy that runs the saw, my dad and my brother do, I am what you could say as being a bit too young to use a chainsaw. My brother is 20, and my dad is 55. My dad has many years of experience using a saw, but for firewood. Thats all my family uses a saw for, for cutting up firewood. We arnt loggers, or arborists. My brother purchased that saw because he wanted to learn how to use one, gain experience with it, and because we didnt currently have a running saw to cut firewood. We bought wood, lots of it, from the amish guys, but since we dont find it conveinent to buy it from them, we are going to cut it ourselves. I registered on this forum so I could ask you guys questions when needed to answer questions that my brother, dad, or me had. You all have an extreme amount of knowledge, and I wouldnt want to not be able to participate among you. My advice isnt the greatist, as you all have proven, but I try, and I learn. I hope to go to work for a tree service company in a few years. Rocky J and Butch here are amazing arborists, and I guess you could say that Im fans of their work. Gypo Lambert is one amazing logger, truely one of the best, and I have learnd a lot from everyone here. No Im not kissing all of your asses, Im just telling you the way it is, so you can understand me better.



Regards, Neil

 

[Mange]

If you need advise, facts, experiense and a little fun, I belive thease forums are the place.

Mange

 

[tony marks]

seems to me somebody just made a little progress on his learniing curve..
u handled it well and u got lots o time..

 

[gpanseri]

I am still confused as to which saw is worth purchasing. my dealer has a few 360's left and another dealer near me will sell me a 361, but would i be wrong to buy a husky or an echo or a jred? i like the stihl's and have heard nothing but good things and i have run a 290 and i liked its power but it dogged in fresh maple so it doesn't have the power i want. i have heard great things about the 360 and i have run an echo and loved it. but i guess i am most concern with buying a strong saw that will give me years of service. i am very confused by who to trust because every dealer feels that their product is the best.

I'm sorry that this thread became such a rough one. i hope you guys will stillconsider my questions and give me the same good feedback. i would appreciate more feedback on huskies?

 

[Newfie]

Huskies are every bit as good as Stihl. It mostly comes down to personal preference and dealer support. If you find a Husky dealer that you like more than Stihl then get a Husky. Stihl tends to be the most expensive of the major brands. A lot of the Jreds (not all) are red Huskies. I've never run an echo but I've heard nothing but good things about them. As probably said before a Husky 357xp will suit your needs nicely. I don't like the way they feel in my hands, sort of off balance, so I have a 346xp and a 372xp.

 

[WRW]

gpanseri,
You started this thread asking about the 360/361. Now you want to know what brand is best? Of the saws you've mentioned, any should give you long service life. Like Newfie wrote, buy from the best dealer...the one you trust to help maintain your saw and that will show you how to use it properly.

BTW, would you buy from a dealer that thought his product was NOT the best?

 

[gpanseri]

I know that the original question was about the 360 and 361, but i guess i was also looking for insight into what is the best purchase for my situation. i really like the echo 670 and how the saw is built but i don't know if it will last like a stihl or husky. the stihl saws are super nice but are expensive. the 361 is 59cc and costs $540 at my dealer and the 360 is 62cc and $520 at my dealer while the echo 670 is 66.7cc and $470 at my dealer with all saws hanging a 20 in bar. i don't want to make a bad purchase and regret it. one other question: would it be bad to buy a husky at lowes because thats the closest dealer to me?

 

[Oregon_Rob]

Originally posted by BigSawMan
Yeah you pro loggers/arborists are right, I dont have any saw experience, except for taking some of them apart, handeling them, fueling them, but not using, unless its a handsaw. . Basically when I said that, I obviously wasnt thinking, so I just posted it, to be rudely corrected by a few of you. Yes Stihl is a great saw company, and maybe me saying that stihls are trash was harsh, but I dont see myself buying a Stihl as my next saw, unless someone, not the sales rep, shows me the advantages on a new one, will I buy one.

You guys must have forgot about my statements in the 385 thread of mine. I am not the guy that runs the saw, my dad and my brother do, I am what you could say as being a bit too young to use a chainsaw. My brother is 20, and my dad is 55. My dad has many years of experience using a saw, but for firewood. Thats all my family uses a saw for, for cutting up firewood. We arnt loggers, or arborists. My brother purchased that saw because he wanted to learn how to use one, gain experience with it, and because we didnt currently have a running saw to cut firewood. We bought wood, lots of it, from the amish guys, but since we dont find it conveinent to buy it from them, we are going to cut it ourselves. I registered on this forum so I could ask you guys questions when needed to answer questions that my brother, dad, or me had. You all have an extreme amount of knowledge, and I wouldnt want to not be able to participate among you. My advice isnt the greatist, as you all have proven, but I try, and I learn. I hope to go to work for a tree service company in a few years. Rocky J and Butch here are amazing arborists, and I guess you could say that Im fans of their work. Gypo Lambert is one amazing logger, truely one of the best, and I have learnd a lot from everyone here. No Im not kissing all of your asses, Im just telling you the way it is, so you can understand me better.



Regards, Neil

Bigsaw,
That comeback shows humility, which is an important quality in a young guy. I know it’s fun to get into the discussions, but as has been said many times before, “you learn only when you are listening, not when you are talking”. Obviously this doesn’t apply to asking questions. Once you get years of actual knowledge and practice, you can spout off like a rouge whale or arborist MVP.

 

[glens]

You're not going to get a comparable Husky at Lowes.  You'll either have to go to a (more) dedicated dealer or mail-order one.

The Husky 357XP and Stihl MS361 are comparable models.&nbsp; Newfie needs to qualify his "cheaper" statement by saying that's mail-order pricing.&nbsp; I've <i>never</i> seen anything but higher-than-Stihl-priced Huskys on the shelf, ever.&nbsp; If you go to a shop with both on display, set a 357XP side-by-side with an MS361.&nbsp; See which you think is the lighter of the two by alternately picking them up.&nbsp; If the dealer has a scale it will confirm the perception.

As far as your choice between the 360 and 361, that's a tough one.&nbsp; The 360 is a proven model (really just different filler caps from the 036).&nbsp; The 361 will probably be better in the long run, but it doesn't have the time under its belt yet to tell.&nbsp; I suspect subsequent versions will have some updates in the suspension (there's a particularly disposable-looking piece of soft foam-rubber I have in mind; it's used to soften/limit the extremes of travel, not as an actual suspension point).&nbsp; I have an 036 from either the last year it was so known, or maybe the year prior, and absolutely love it.&nbsp; I'd replace it with a 361 in a heartbeat if I had to at this time.

Overall there's not much difference between the "major" brands.&nbsp; They are all good saws generally built to last.&nbsp; I like some of the ways Stihl does the small details such as the chain tensioner.&nbsp; Husky has the centrifugal primary air filtration they picked up when Elux acquired Partner (as it would seem) and that's a nice feature too, but filters need fairly frequent attention regardless the scheme used, so that's less of a "plus" to me than the chain tensioner.&nbsp; To me another major factor over which company I prefer to do business with has to do with how they do business in general.&nbsp; I'm not too big on a large conglomerate who feels the need to produce such a wide range of stuff that they can find something to sell to just about every body on the planet, no matter their interests (think Yamaha; Elux seems to lean that way, too).&nbsp; And "truth in advertising" is important to me too.&nbsp; To specify a weight as being "without cutting attachments" and having it match the weight of a competing product which is weighed without bar and chain only is okay if the "cutting attachments" referred to are the bar and chain; in Husky's (and apparently Dolmar's) case they remove other stuff too.

I guess I just feel there's less to apologize for while bragging about Stihl...

Glen

 

[Newfie]

hey wait a second...

I didn't say Husky was "cheaper", I said Stihl was more expensive. That is from my experience w/ local dealers not mail order.

I wouldn't buy your saw from Lowe's. You end up paying MSRP or close to it, without the advantage of dealer back-up.

 

[geofore]

saws

Gpanseri, are you listening? Don't buy the saw at a big box store, go to a real saw shop that deals in saws and get the 360 or the 361. I have to warn you if you start with Stihl, you will be a Stihl fan for life like Glens. He poo poo'ed my Dolmars and Huskies in favor of his favorites, Stihl's. You start with great saws and you'll be a fan for a long time. Like I am about my saws (Dolmars&Huskies) or Glens is about his (Stihls), when you buy quality tools you're going to love em. Get the saw from a dealer and not a big box store. The dealer is going to be able to get you all the stuff you need to keep your saws in tip top shape. The box stores will have waiting in line to special order the things your dealer would have in stock. Better yet come to the convention in Pittsburgh this August and try all the saws. I invited Glens to come back for the convention even though he thought his Stihls were better than my Dolmars & Huskies.

 

[gpanseri]

when and where is the convention in Pgh? i will not start cutting for another 3-4 weeks for my winter wood so i have some time to keep shopping and picking your brains for the best equipment. you are right about the quality tools becuase i bought an echo trimmer this year and have not regretted it and don't think i ever will. i hope the saws are the same where they feel like they are not even working hard to get the job done.(my trimmer acts like it doesn't even know its cutting!!)

 

[Newfie]

Your winter wood should be cut split and stacked already?

 

[BigSawMan]

Well hmm, "i am very confused by who to trust because every dealer feels that their product is the best."

Unless you can find a really good dealer, most of them do. When we bought the 385, the guy was really nice, talked it all over with my bro, because he was originally going to get a 372 with a 36" bar, but it could only be ordered with a 32", unless he ordered a seperate 36" but that would take time. If you have a good history with the dealers in your area, then buy from them, if they are just trying to sell you a saw, and thats it, I wouldnt buy from them.

 

[Newfie]

A good dealer would have told you a 36" bar was overkill in 99% of situations.