What is the big concern with Stihl vibration levels?

[sILlogger]

maybe it is just me...but i have put several thousand hours on saws. both husky (372,385,394,395) and stihls (044,046,066&and the newer MS version) and i don't know what all the hype is about stihls having such high vibration levels. I honestly don't notice any difference in the vibration between the two. I used to think that huskies were just ever so slightly smoother...but i have ran more of them lately, and i must say that i don't realy think one is any smoother than the other. Is it just that i run these saws for a living and don't have a choice? I don't know what it is. but i personally believe that the people that whine and cry about how much stihl saws vibrate need to man up and quit being a bunch of skirt wearing nancies. the old timers saws vibrated alot more than now.......o thats right tho...they were MEN!!

 

[rngrchad]

I run alot of Huskies and Stihls side by side. There is no doubt in my mind that the huskies are extremely smooth saws when compared to the Stihls. I have not ran the newer 441, or 361 with the good AV, so I can't comment on those.
A steel plate with 6 screws in my right forearm are also a big reason I lean toward the Huskies and a big reason I'm a "NANCY" you might say....the vibrations are felt 10x in my right arm compared to my left

 

[sILlogger]

me having the nickname "Popeye" and bear claws for hands might have something to do with my lack of concern with vibration levels.

 

[rngrchad]

me having the nickname "Popeye" and bear claws for hands might have something to do with my lack of concern with vibration levels.

Very true. I weigh 125lbs soaking wet and have 4% body fat. LOL. Quite the difference between you and me

 

[sILlogger]

Very true. I weigh 125lbs soaking wet and have 4% body fat. LOL. Quite the difference between you and me

i was 125lbs in 5th grade......about 240 now

 

[Woodie]

the old timers saws vibrated alot more than now.......o thats right tho...they were MEN!!

Many of which can no longer use their hands.






.

 

[2000ssm6]

I never had a problem with vibes either but that 441 is smooth, I might not cut enough but Stihl is always my choice. I will take a few vibes in favor of the #1 brand of saw made.

 

[Highclimber OR]

I am with SIL on this one. My dad said that even back in the 60's the saws were much louder, heavier, and had way more vibration. He said that after a day of removals or bucking that you would often drive home with your forearms because your hands were numb. When things would get real bad some guys would apply DMSO to their forearms for relief. I would say that pretty much all the saws today are much better than the old clunkers. If you can't handle the vibe, consider a career change, or harden up.

 

[B_Turner]

maybe it is just me...but i have put several thousand hours on saws. both husky (372,385,394,395) and stihls (044,046,066&and the newer MS version) and i don't know what all the hype is about stihls having such hight vibration levels. I honestly don't notice any difference in the vibration between the two. I used to think that huskies were just ever so slightly smoother...but i have ran more of them lately, and i must say that i don't realy think one is any smoother than the other. Is it just that i run these saws for a living and don't have a choice? I don't know what it is. but i personally believe that the people that whine and cry about how much stihl saws vibrate need to man up and quit being a bunch of skirt wearing nancies. the old timers saws vibrated alot more than now.......o thats right tho...they were MEN!!

When my hands were the same age as yours are now I didn't mind either. Pounded thousands of spikes by hand, and jack hammered days on end, etc.

But they aren't any longer. I find my 371, 395, 7900s and 3120s quite smooth and they don't bother me to run them for extended periods.

But my 066 and 880, although great saws, definitely do bother my hands and in fact make them tingle after a while. And over a day they tire me more than my other saws, mentally and physically. And I know quite a few full time arborists that feel the same.

Night and day difference, not hype.

I did run a 441 once and it was very smooth as all Stihls will be in the future.

Appreciate your youth while you have it.....

 

[sILlogger]

When my hands were the same age as yours are now I didn't mind either. Pounded thousands of spikes by hand, and jack hammered days on end, etc.

But they aren't any longer. I find my 371, 395, 7900s and 3120s quite smooth and they don't bother me to run them for extended periods.

But my 066 and 880 definitely do bother my hands and in fact make them tingle after a while. And over a day they tire me more than my other saws, mentally and physically.

Night and day difference, not hype. I did run a 441 once and it was very smooth as all Stihls will be in the future.

Appreciate your youth while you have it.....

and that is a very good point. i am younger, and that very well might be alot to do with it. but the only time i ever really had a problem with chainsaw vibrations was the last time i broke my right hand. I got my hand crushed in between two facemasks playing football (me and another linemen hit helmet to helmet going full speed at one another with my hand in between us). I didn't go to the doctor or get it x-rayed but it broke my middle, ring, and pinkey fingers and broke the corresponding bones back in my hand. i reset the bones and built splints out of large popsickle sticks and taped those fingers together. I had to run the saw with my thumb and index finger for a couple months.....that is one time when i was definitely quite vibration sensitive (i was running 395's at that time btw)

Maybe it is to some people but i really don't think the difference in vibration is near of big a deal as people make it out to be. but that could largely be due to my youth.

 

[BC_Logger]

I cant tell the difference if any between the 660 and the 395 they both run smooth

 

[CentaurG2]

I make my living with stihl, husky and dolmar saws. Stihl saws are built like a bank vault and I don’t remember ever having lost a nut or bolt from a stihl saw. Husky saws look like they were assembled in someones basement. You need to keep an eye and tighten bolts and screws as they do vibrate lose over time. Yet as the husky vibrate enough to destroy themselves, you don’t feel it in your hands. The stihls seem to use your hands as shock absorbers. I was young once too and thought myself indestructible. After you round 40, you really begin to appreciate the art of self preservation.

 

[sILlogger]

I make my living with stihl, husky and dolmar saws. Stihl saws are built like a bank vault and I don’t remember ever having lost a nut or bolt from a stihl saw. Husky saws look like they were assembled in someones basement. You need to keep an eye and tighten bolts and screws as they do vibrate lose over time. Yet as the husky vibrate enough to destroy themselves, you don’t feel it in your hands. The stihls seem to use your hands as shock absorbers. I was young once too and thought myself indestructible. After you round 40, you really begin to appreciate the art of self preservation.

I definitely don't think i'm indestructible. i honeslty just can't tell a difference in between them that makes it worth all the hype that it gets.. if other people can tell a difference then great, but i am not one of them

 

[Highclimber OR]

I'm all for self-preservation but I also accept the fact that there are just a few things that go along with this line, especially when you make it your life's profession. If you start early in life you can bet that you are gonna feel a thing or two over time, but I also know that there are many who came before me who had to go through much worse. Ya do what ya can to minimize your pain but you have to decide when enough is enough, and that's all you can do.

 

[huskystihl]

maybe it is just me...but i have put several thousand hours on saws. both husky (372,385,394,395) and stihls (044,046,066&and the newer MS version) and i don't know what all the hype is about stihls having such hight vibration levels. I honestly don't notice any difference in the vibration between the two. I used to think that huskies were just ever so slightly smoother...but i have ran more of them lately, and i must say that i don't realy think one is any smoother than the other. Is it just that i run these saws for a living and don't have a choice? I don't know what it is. but i personally believe that the people that whine and cry about how much stihl saws vibrate need to man up and quit being a bunch of skirt wearing nancies. the old timers saws vibrated alot more than now.......o thats right tho...they were MEN!!

I to make a livin cutting and agree with the pro saws from stihl are relatively smooth but I ran a 390 and briefly owned a 310 and they are rattleboxes. My 460 doesnt bother me but I will say that my 372 is definetely smoother. Your right though, man up!

 

[Cedarkerf]

Im with you SIL last year ran a nearly new 390 nice saw but I ran my 066 next to it and wasnt amazed. Ive said in other posts on this subject maybe my hands are just insensitive Im well on the down hill side of 40 had a 5 year stint runnin an 044 500-1000 hrs a year so maybe its just an individual thing.

 

[teacherman]

I like the way all my Stihls feel. The only nonAV one is the 009, which isnt really large enough to require AV. I'm sure it would be different if I ran one all day every day. My stone carving career was ended by a repetitive stress injury in both wrists from running a large dallet (inline air chisel, the largest one is like a jackhammer) too hard and too long, so I do relate to wanting to protect one's hands and wrists.

The 361 is one weird little saw. It is so quiet and is obviously made of rubber.

 

[Andyshine77]

I think when people come out and say man up or something similar, is somewhat ignorant, because I think exposure plays a big part in how sensitive one is to vibrations. In the past few years my hands and arms have become more and more sensitive to vibrations. Why have I become more sensitive to vibrations? Because I've been running commercial mowers and handle power equipment for nearly 20 years now and it's starting to catch up to me. After running one of my mowers for nearly 8 hours my hands are almost completely numb. A couple of weeks ago I was working on a friends Poulan, and running that thing made my hands and arms hurt like hell almost instantly. I guess I have some nerve damage.

Now I've ran 660's and 460's and yes they do vibrate more than Huskys, but not so much that it bothers me, but than again I don't run saws for 8 hours a day.

Andy.

 

[outdoorlivin247]

I was going to start this same thread a couple of weeks ago after a friend of my that was helping my dad and I cut up an Elm tree said that my 310 was so much smoother than the 400evl...

I have never really understood the AV thing either...I can run saws all day and never notice the difference...Run my :censored: weed eater for 15 minutes and I can't feel my hands for an hour..

 

[Andyshine77]

I was going to start this same thread a couple of weeks ago after a friend of my that was helping my dad and I cut up an Elm tree said that my 310 was so much smoother than the 400evl...

I have never really understood the AV thing either...I can run saws all day and never notice the difference...Run my :censored: weed eater for 15 minutes and I can't feel my hands for an hour..

:agree2:

Saws are definitely smoother than any trimmer I've ran.