Ready for my first new chainsaw

Hello everyone, I am new to the board and have been browsing through the various threads looking to glean some useful information which there is plenty of….I am looking at buying my first new chainsaw. I have been using an old Remington SL-10A for several years and although it is still a good running saw that I will keep, it is a bit small for what I need done now. Locally, I have dealers for Husqvarna, Stihl, Echo, and Shindaiwa products and am looking for a saw in the 50cc range with an 18” bar with the option of going to a 20” bar and staying in the $400 range. I have somewhat narrowed my choices down to a Husqvarna 455 Rancher, Shindaiwa 490, Stihl MS-290, and Echo CS-530. I know that many people are very “brand loyal”, but what I am looking for is people that own any one of these saws and how they feel about it….likes, dislikes etc, so I can make an educated purchase from people with experience, if anyone has another model of these four makes that you would think is a better fit in my price range and criteria, by all means list it as well and I will consider them.

Thanks

Todd

I think you should look at a Stihl MS260.
Great small pro model saw.
Awesome power to weight.
Very well respected and will last you a lifetime.
A little out of your price range, but in your shoes, that's what I'd buy....

He said 400 dollar range

If he was me.. LOL He would be looking for a dolmar 5100.
But of your provided choices go for the 290 if you must stay within those choices.

What are you going to be cutting; firewood, storm cleanup, property maintenance??? And how big of wood are you expecting to get into

Dolmar 5100 FTW in that price range

Country1 said:

I think you should look at a Stihl MS260.
Great small pro model saw.
Awesome power to weight.
Very well respected and will last you a lifetime.
A little out of your price range, but in your shoes, that's what I'd buy....

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That would be a great choice but out of his price range and above it's limits with a 18-20" b&c. I'm thinking a 361 reference is in order but out of the price range also. A 290 will be fine.

4Kings said:

What are you going to be cutting; firewood, storm cleanup, property maintenance??? And how big of wood are you expecting to get into

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Well, I guess I should have gone into some more detail about what I was going to use it for. I have about 130 acres and some of that is trees, so I will be using it for all things listed above. Last year I had a guy come and take down 2 very large Maple trees and he ended up bringing his 36" saw to get through the trunk.....that's a very extreme case, but mostly trees 18 - 20" in diameter or so, and maintenance during the year. I will not be using it every single week or even every month during the year, but want a quality saw. I did see mention of the Dolmar brand, which I never heard of, and from what I can see have nobody around me selling that brand.....that's why I did not list it. I don't have anyone that I can find selling the Jonsered brand either, so I just stuck with the 4 brands above....

here is the link to their dealer locator

http://www.dolmarpowerproducts.com/contact/dealer_locator/usa_dealers.html

the Husky 455 and the Stihl 290 are both excellent home owner saws and you will be happy with either one . keep the bar at 18 inches and you will really like the saws . they are both the number one selling saw for husky and stihl. If you can avoid the lowes /tractor supply on the husky. buy at a local dealer who does in house service
MD

MS270 right at $400 then start looking for a 70cc saw. that combo will have you covered.

I would consider the husky 450 instead of the 455. It has .3 hp less but also is .9lbs less. I am guessing that the .3hp could be gained by a muffler mod.

That being said I would also check dolmar. I think the 5100 would be exactly what you would need. I couldn't find a local dealer untill after I had made my saw puchase but here is the link to the dealer locator.

http://www.dolmarpowerproducts.com/contact/dealer_locator/usa_dealers.html

ericjeeper said:

http://www.dolmarpowerproducts.com/contact/dealer_locator/usa_dealers.html

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you beat me to it
:deadhorse:

2000ssm6 said:

A 290 will be fine.

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It's just so freaking heavy....
I don't know. I just always think back to my buddy's 039 when I was running the 038 Mag. What a heavy slow turd that 039 was.... But he thought he really had something...

Ok, if those are you're only choices, I'd got 290 too....

Country1 said:

It's just so freaking heavy....
I don't know. I just always think back to my buddy's 039 when I was running the 038 Mag. What a heavy slow turd that 039 was.... But he thought he really had something...

Ok, if those are you're only choices, I'd got 290 too....

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Yup heavy, but for those who have not ran a 361/357, the 290 is like a dream compared to some pos from blowes.

Shindaiwa 490 all the way, or wait a month for the all new 502s!!!!

Motodeficient said:

Dolmar 5100 FTW in that price range

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Yes, no doubt! :agree2:

2000ssm6 said:

Yup heavy, but for those who have not ran a 361/357, the 290 is like a dream compared to some pos from blowes.

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Very true!...:agree2:

I would look very seriously at the MS270.

Its a 50 cc class saw. Its one of their latest versions, and it has some advantages.

First, no matter what the specs say, you really need to run a saw before you can comment on it.

I own a 270, and could not be happier. It cuts really well, and while my tree size tends to 4-12 inch range. I am cutting on a stack of logs, and often I am cutting 2 and 3 logs at the same time. It handles that really well.

The anti vi ration system is simply perfect. There is ZERO buzz at the end of a long day of cutting.

It handles well, call it the ergonomics, but despite it not being the lightest saw in its class, I have never had any arm fatigue at the end of the day (the rest of my body is crying to go home, arms are fine).

While I run an 18 inch bar for better maneuverability, all they import up here are 20 inch (they do have the 18 inch bars in stock, put that on at my request and built a chain for it). While I have not used it with 20, it apparently does just fine with a 20.

I think with the 18 inch bar, I paid $385 for the saw (it was $400 with the 20)

If it has a drawback is it can be bit hard to start (mine is almost 4 years old now, so thye may have improved that) . I have come up wiht the right choke combo and its reliable, but it can be anoying until you figure it out.

If I needed alight saw in that class, I would think seriously on the MS260, but I have not run one.

Some say there is too much plastic. My answer is so what, my cordless drill is all plastic, I have droped it off an 8 foot ladder and it works fine.

I have clunked and dropped the saw (had it all) off logs for 3+ years now. One of the plastic bars in the cooling area is broke, and that's it. Not an issue.

Hey Man welcome to the site. As you can see I like me some Stihls. Go with the 290. Just bought one for a friend it was $359 out the door. Good power, good weight, Mod the muffler and you got a whole new Monster. Mine are older 029 supers but they get the most run time out of all the saws in my sig. We run 20" b&c and they handle it with no problem. We cut all sizes of wood. From 8" to 30" and you can cut it with them if you have to. But that's one reason I have so many different sizes. Some say you don't need but 2 saws but I beg to differ on that subject. As you can see we run Husky also and like the way they run, handle and cut. The 359 3 years ago was about $500, It's pulled a 24" b&c since new and still strong. All my saws have at least a muffler mod, and it makes a big difference. If you are not going to use it everyday any you spoke of will do fine. I'd stay away from the 455 unless it has the metal case in front. The other ones have rubber around the bearings and they fail after some hard use and you end up with a wobbly crank. This is first hand, got rid of one for that. I'll close this novel by saying go look and get some more feedback. Pick the one you can afford and like. Saw Safe, and Sling Chips.

gravely_todd said:

looking for a saw in the 50cc range with an 18” bar with the option of going to a 20” bar and staying in the $400 range..

Thanks

Todd

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Give the Dolmar PS5100S a try if you can. It's a very capable saw in stock form. Gnarly sounding too