Stihl MS 261 VS Husqvarna 346 XP VS Dolmar PS 5105

[SawTroll]

Too bad it's a position that husky will never be in. While they take their quality down to meet big box retail positions, I'm hearing Stihl is focused on eliminating the lower end saws like the 170 and is going to actually start there line at 249.00 in the not too distant future and raise the bar for entry level saw quality.

It's hard to deal with all the envy when your number one.

That simply isn't true at all - where do you have that "info" from?

 

[indiansprings]

That's what the Stihl rep for area was telling us last week in the local shop. He said they are going to move away from the 170/181 type homeowner saws and prolly start with a saw around the 211/231 size at a 249 dollar price point, he said it may take a year, but that is the plan. He was concerned about a loss of sales. May not be true in your market, but the guy had just been to Va. Beach. He said marketing though the name recognition alone would get customers to step up to the next logical price point. Really it's not a bad idea. It's the same way Costco markets in retail here.
The low end saws the possibility of tarnishing the image and also could have a high cost of warranty claims, making them marginal in profitability, also giving that customer up couldn't hurt product liability either with some of the home owner mentality. I could see them doing here in the US, call it an intelligent loss of sales, give customer to Husky/Poulan. Let them have the margainlly profitable business and the returns and warranty claims. Let the first time guy have a bad expierence with a box store purchase get the bad taste in his mouth and then when he come in the dealership have ole Tommy standing there selling him up in price and perceived quality. Makes marketing sense, which is the one thing Husky isn't worth a damn at.

 

[The Count]

I wish they could do something to those saws so nobody could copy them anymore.
Don`t know if it is true, but sound good to me. On the other hand I know lots of ppls that bought MS 180 or Husky 235 and if cheaper were available, they would buy it for sure.
I don`t know which way this ball will roll but maybe it is not that bad for sales. if the cheapest Husky is 200$ the guy is buying it; if the cheapest is 250 the chance is that he`s still buying it.

 

[Stihl Crazy]

To me, the 261 is a totally uninteresting model, after seing the specs and how it is built! That saw will never handle like a 50cc saw should! :msp_cursing:

For me, it does not have to. My 242/246's take care of that. The 261 weighs the same as the old Husky 254, has the same power specs, and probably handles the same as well. If that is the case, they have a winner.

 

[Oregone]

I wish they could do something to those saws so nobody could copy them anymore.
Don`t know if it is true, but sound good to me. On the other hand I know lots of ppls that bought MS 180 or Husky 235 and if cheaper were available, they would buy it for sure.
I don`t know which way this ball will roll but maybe it is not that bad for sales. if the cheapest Husky is 200$ the guy is buying it; if the cheapest is 250 the chance is that he`s still buying it.

This is me here....or close to the way I feel about all this
YouTube - ‪Radiohead - Creep‬‏

 

[Brian VT]

Great tune.

 

[Oregone]

Great tune.

Well, thank you Brian. I am glad someone LIKES IT.
Tonight, It's a big fire outside and we are ready to put some meat on it. Not supposed to be on the PC.

 

[mikefunaro]

Anyone check out their new album yet?

 

[Oregone]

Anyone check out their new album yet?

Mike,
You can listen to the whole album here

YouTube - ‪Radiohead - The King of Limbs [Full Album]‬‏
Very "atmospheric"
Acquired taste only need to apply
1 that is going to get some "getting used to"
They switched their brand of Marijuana.
Sounds like acid to me.

 

[mikefunaro]

oregone, do you listen to heavier duty/more thoroughly electronic stuff or do you draw the line somewhere around here?

 

[Oregone]

oregone, do you listen to heavier duty/more thoroughly electronic stuff or do you draw the line somewhere around here?

My musical taste is very immature but you can't help what you like.
There is a very subjective thing...musical taste.
Here are some of my favorite tunes, there are tons more but it would be too long to list.

New stuff
YouTube - ‪The Arcade Fire - Rebellion (Lies)‬‏
YouTube - ‪My Chemical Romance - Famous Last Words (Video)‬‏ (bad video)
Old stuff
YouTube - ‪Les Rita Mitsouko ~ C'est Comme Ça‬‏
YouTube - ‪All is full of love‬‏
YouTube - ‪Rapture - IIO‬‏ (warning...retarded video)
YouTube - ‪BILLY IDOL - Rebel Yell‬‏
YouTube - ‪The Cure - A Strange Day traducido‬‏

 

[Oregone]

OK...I could not wait so I decided to do it with some old dry stuff. Maybe it was not such a good idea (like at 1 in the morning after a few too many beers and the lady watching "desperate housewife")Hey I am sharing my true life here with no shame or pride...be gentle on me, OK?

Ouch it says that file ism too large...geez, that sucks! Will have to do some editing and Youtubing...

 

[Throwback Man]

Main reason I will stick with the 364 XP is that it felt like the most tossable of all 3 saws and since I am often climbing in between fallen trunks and cutting at angles I probably shouldn't...sawtroll confirmed to me what I suspected all along after holding one...it's the saw for forest situation and tricky cuts. If I had a sawhorse and could always cut in the wide open, I'd probably look more seriously at the ms 261 or the Dolmar.

"Bingo" as cousin Eddie would say. I looked at the MS261 on paper and thought it would be an awesome saw in the woods. Then I went down to the Stihl dealer and met it in person. The wind in that sail was lost -heavy and awkward feeling. My left wrist hated the feel. The unit was cumbersome. Before my 346xp got stolen it was a dream to handle, light and fast. Easy to climb with and confident to saw with.

 

[peter399]

For me, it does not have to. My 242/246's take care of that. The 261 weighs the same as the old Husky 254, has the same power specs, and probably handles the same as well. If that is the case, they have a winner.

Same weight yes, problem is the 254 has 3,1kW=4,15 hp whereas the 261 has 3,8hp. You tell me how they can have a winner if they have the same weight but have lost 0,3hp to a saw that had start of production in 1993 Good work Stihl in the last 18 years

 

[SawTroll]

Same weight yes, problem is the 254 has 3,1kW=4,15 hp whereas the 261 has 3,8hp. You tell me how they can have a winner if they have the same weight but have lost 0,3hp to a saw that had start of production in 1993 Good work Stihl in the last 18 years

That is part of the reason I regard the MS261 as totally uninteresting...

 

[Stihl Crazy]

That is part of the reason I regard the MS261 as totally uninteresting...

May be uninteresting, but sure works nice.

 

[slipknot]

Why you put the ms261 in there is beoyond me. It's obviously clear you have no intention of buying it and only used it as a means to throw rocks at STIHL.

The guy at the husky/dolmar ship took 1.5 hours with you and took the whole saw apart and showed you the ins and outs of them and yer still here talking about which one you should get? opcorn:

I'll bet you this guy is liberal democrat by the way he sounds. Aggressively defensive..lol

 

[SawTroll]

May be uninteresting, but sure works nice.

Of course it does, but a lot of saws do that.....

 

[Stihl Crazy]

Of course it does, but a lot of saws do that.....

Yup, even that 346 seems to do a reasonable job of passing as a useful saw.

 

[Eecho]

I know this is a relatively late reply to this

Id like to say that I own a new dolmar 5105 and in response to the ignition you can just buy the 5100 muffler and the non limiter ignition they sell the au version for the 5105 on numerous sites as its only the u.s. that limits the saw . I do have to say that I like mine when I went for a new one this past year I took a hard look at every manufacturer an came to the conclusion based upon build quality (metal oil housing ,metal chain tensioning system) I have owned many huskys an four stihls for close to as long as I was able to work lol. I was recently told not confirmed but husky was bought by poulan. Stihl had their issues when va beach opened an I wont forget that mess on my 029 . I was also told by my dealer that dolmar still only assembles eight saws a day in germany of course those arent 100% confirmed but I liked my old husky just wouldnt risk this years saw for anything was going for a well built long lasting buy and tried to be as non biased a buyer I could. Can anyone confirm those two statements by chance.