fearofpavement
Trying them all
I went by the Stihl dealer today. This is a chainsaw shop and Stihl is their only line. Needed a muffler screw for the 028AV before it goes on the block. (don't like selling saws with missing stuff) and casually asked him if he still had any MS200T saws left. He said when he realized that they weren't going to be made any more he started adding 2 or three to every saw order and he had about 34 of them. He called all his tree service customers and asked if they wanted any. Most companies bought 2 or 3. He got another call from another tree service and they asked how many he had left? He told them six and they bought all of them. He still has four of them in the shop but they have been paid for. I assume he has them so the warranty clock doesn't start running until they go out the door.
He said the MS201T has not been well received but when he went to the school on it, they demonstrated that while it doesn't rev as high out of the cut due to the limiter, in wood it is supposed to be as fast as the 200T. He didn't know for sure but that was the propaganda. He also stated there will probably never be a top handle saw as good as the 200T. He had just done $350 worth of repairs on one for a customer and they were happy to have it in service again. I personally have never used either the 200T or the 201T. I use the much maligned 019T for my limited climbing and it keeps me happy.
He said the MS201T has not been well received but when he went to the school on it, they demonstrated that while it doesn't rev as high out of the cut due to the limiter, in wood it is supposed to be as fast as the 200T. He didn't know for sure but that was the propaganda. He also stated there will probably never be a top handle saw as good as the 200T. He had just done $350 worth of repairs on one for a customer and they were happy to have it in service again. I personally have never used either the 200T or the 201T. I use the much maligned 019T for my limited climbing and it keeps me happy.