The lightweights

[Marvinlee]

I now have two of the lightest chainsaws made: The Echo CS-2600 and the Makita DCS231T. The DCS231T is a Makita branded chainsaw previously made in similar form by Dolmar, now Makita owned. Echo and Makita each claim to have the lightest saw. Who wins? Makita, by a large margin. I weighed both saws on our inspected and certified 50-pound scale. The Echo came in at 8 pounds, 9 ounces. The Makita weighed 7 pounds, 7 ounces; a 1 pound 2 ounce difference. Both weights were with full fuel and oil tanks, because it is the real-life way that we take our saws to work. Put differently, the little Echo is more than 15 percent heavier than the Makita. Both saws are about the same physical size and each has the standard 10 inch bar and chain. Don't look for these saws in your nearest chainsaw store. I imported each from Australia. Are there any other current contenders for lightest gas chainsaw?

 

[Shagbark]

Sweeet. Let's see the tale of the tape pictures!

 

[MS460WOODCHUCK]

I was told by the stihl dealer that the ms192tc is the lightest in the industry but I never weighed it.

 

[B_Turner]

I think my redmax 3200 CV is around 7.7 lbs (32cc).

Feels tons lighter than my 339NE which specs at 8.8 and my new G3800 which is supposed to weight about 9.1 lbs.

 

[Spitzer]

Makita's the lightest out there.
22cc A very nice little trimming saw.

 

[TraditionalTool]

My 336 is 7.7 lbs. and 35cc

Setup with a 16" Cannon Carver bar and 1/4" pitch chain.

 

[mountainlake]

Don't forget, full of fuel and oil on a good scale, not published wieghts. Steve

 

[nmurph]

weigh them with the powerhead, clutch cover, and nuts. the amount of fuel and oil each holds varies. don't "penalize" one saw bc it holds more than another.

 

[2000ssm6]

192T, 6.9lbs. The real test would be to put all of them on the scale. That 192 is going to be hard to beat.

 

[roncoinc]

My personal thoughts would be : "working weight".
as stated,how it is as you are going to use it.
if you have a saw that holds more fuel than another are you going to fill it only 1/2 way so it weighs less ?? maybe if you where climbing a tree for something quick that might be a good idea,would want as little weight as possible rite ?
for comparison saws full..
just my 2 cents.

 

[Spitzer]

192T, 6.9lbs. The real test would be to put all of them on the scale. That 192 is going to be hard to beat.

192T is easy to beat.

Makita dcs230T = worlds lightest gas chainsaw. A good lb lighter than a 192T.

 

[mowoodchopper]

My personal thoughts would be : "working weight".
as stated,how it is as you are going to use it.
if you have a saw that holds more fuel than another are you going to fill it only 1/2 way so it weighs less ?? maybe if you where climbing a tree for something quick that might be a good idea,would want as little weight as possible rite ?
for comparison saws full..
just my 2 cents.

Who cares what it weighs with out fuel and oil! As soon as it runs out you fill it up dont you!

 

[MS460WOODCHUCK]

192T is easy to beat.

Makita dcs230T = worlds lightest gas chainsaw. A good lb lighter than a 192T.

22cc is a joke. What does it run a 6'' bar? (LMAO)

 

[nmurph]

My personal thoughts would be : "working weight".
as stated,how it is as you are going to use it.
if you have a saw that holds more fuel than another are you going to fill it only 1/2 way so it weighs less ?? maybe if you where climbing a tree for something quick that might be a good idea,would want as little weight as possible rite ?
for comparison saws full..
just my 2 cents.

thats fine, then we need to have a standard length bar and chain. everyone has an "ideal" b&c combo and each one has a different weight.

 

[Marvinlee]

Makita DCS231T

Good question: "22cc is a joke. What does it run a 6'' bar? (LMAO)" The Makita DCS231T runs a 3/8 40 link chain on a ten inch bar. The bar length is the same as on the Echo 2600CS. The saw is useful for small cutting, such as I am doing while clearing out masses of blackberry mixed with poison ivy, thistle, stinging nettle, all entangled around desirable small trees, dead wood, and Snowberry. I use the Dolmar 5100S on larger cutting.

 

[wood4heat]

My personal thoughts would be : "working weight".
as stated,how it is as you are going to use it.
if you have a saw that holds more fuel than another are you going to fill it only 1/2 way so it weighs less ?? maybe if you where climbing a tree for something quick that might be a good idea,would want as little weight as possible rite ?
for comparison saws full..
just my 2 cents.

The flip side to this argument would be do you plan to top it off between each cut? Otherwise it's going to get lighter as you go so weighing it completely full isn't entirely accurate either.

 

[nmurph]

PHO is a minimum which gives a floor to the weight of a saw and an equal starting point for all. from there everything else is a matter of preference and customization as well as how much flluid capacity a manufacturer gives its saw. if you insist on weighing saws which are topped-off, you are unnecessarily penalizing a saw for a greater capacity of fluids.

 

[Spitzer]

22cc is a joke. What does it run a 6'' bar? (LMAO)

10" - Cuts small stuff well. Its got its place like everything else, and is a pleasure to use.

 

[wood4heat]

Just for argument sake the Makita holds 200ml of fuel vs 240ml for the echo and 190ml of oil vs 160. Not enough to make up for over a pound difference but there it is.

Plus pics of each:

 

[Marvinlee]

New Stihl lightweight

I was told by the stihl dealer that the ms192tc is the lightest in the industry but I never weighed it.

The new (2013) Stihl 150 chainsaw may be the lightest gasoline chainsaw on the market today. I've not weighed one to verify factory claimed weight. Are there any other contenders for lightest gasoline chainsaw? I seem to recall having once read about a 22CC chainsaw, but can't recall where or brand name.