Time for a second / Alternate Saw - Stihl MS ???

Folks,

I have been reading and lurking as a guest in this forum for a while, lots of significant intelligence here, lots of laughs too! So I come to pose my issue for your input. I have Husky 365 w/comp release ES, Stihl chains, double dogs, about 8 yrs old; it has been a lot of fun to saw withhttp://www.arboristsite.com/images/smilies/chainsaw.gif
. It is in the shop now for a minor repair, leaving me sawless, this is uncomfortable. Only the second time it has happened but as I type where I am in VA is getting pummeled with severe weather. I am a vol. fireman and live on 10 acres in the mountains and wooded. Lots of work and I work all my equipment hard and take care of it properly as well. Had the choice 8 yrs ago to buy the homeowner grade saw, sprung for the more “pro” 365 and have never regretted it. For 95% of what I have done it works great, during H-Isabelle I had one 40-50” that I had to work a bit but other than that, all is within the 365. I have 20, 24” bars for it but have only used the 20. So my Q is since the Stihl guy is close, and the Husky dealers are fairly sparse here, I am thinking of getting a Stihl for a second saw, the dealer here is decent as well. The comparison to the 365 in Stihl from what I can see is something on the order of the 361, but not quite the 441 if I were to go the “equal” saw route. A little beefier and it would be the 441. I also do a fair amount of land clearing, firewood (typ <16”), and I do run out of the house and deal with downed trees or have to cut people out of them or my way to the firehouse – frequently. The other saw I am considering is the 260 Pro thinking of having some variance in saws for some smaller work while the 365 for bigger.
1) $$ is not an issue
2) I am not an big spender but based on my experience along with my peer fire/rescue people I will only buy the pro level saws – I am not a logger, but I tend to be critically demanding always need the highest performance for any saw when on fire/rescue scenes until I can access my fire companies equipment, (still prefer my own). I respect high quality “things”, have not used the lower level of Husky.
3) Ditto on all the metal vs. plastic vs. piston/cylinder/anti vibe comments.
My feeling is that the 361 is lighter than my 365 and will likely outcut it and have a better torque curve and the balance may be better. Not alot of experience with the 441 series and larger. So calling the question: 260 Pro, 361, or 441? No bitterness towards Husky, just playing the dealer, service, parts route near where I live. Awaiting wisdom.http://www.arboristsite.com/images/smilies/cheers.gif


Thanks,
Fitz

I have the 441 and love it! It is super smooth and has lots of power. Also it sips fuel I cannot speak about the 361 I have never ran one or even seen one ran. I used to have a 039 which I think is pretty close to the size of your 365, and I tell you what I think the 441 uses a lot less fuel than the 039, and with the price of gas these days that helps. Not sure if this helps but I am glad I got the 441 and not the 361, even though it is rumored on AS that the 361 cures cancer.:greenchainsaw:

newby79 said:

I have the 441 and love it! It is super smooth and has lots of power. Also it sips fuel I cannot speak about the 361 I have never ran one or even seen one ran. I used to have a 039 which I think is pretty close to the size of your 365, and I tell you what I think the 441 uses a lot less fuel than the 039, and with the price of gas these days that helps. Not sure if this helps but I am glad I got the 441 and not the 361, even though it is rumored on AS that the 361 cures cancer.:greenchainsaw:

Click to expand...

The 441 will def. do the job, I would still likely run a 20" bar. Do you cut a significant amount of 20" + trees? Or do you just like the power addiction?

I do cut some larger trees but most of the time it wears a 20. I have a 28 with full comp that I run when needed. And yes I do like to have as much power as I can. I cut all hardwood mostly Ash, Walnut, Oak, and have some Locust that I am going to cut later this summer so the extra power comes in handy. If you can I would go to the dealer and see if he will let you run one, like I said super smooth plenty of power sips gas and the air filter doesnt get as dirty as quickly.
:greenchainsaw:

The 361 will outcut your 365 in the smaller stuff, but the 365 will have the edge in bigger wood with longer bars. The 260 is a great all-around saw and is fun to work with. However, if most of your wood averages 16" and larger- I'd spring for the 441. The 441 won't put a cloud of 2-cycle smoke in your face all day long and that's the big selling point for me.

Stihl MS 460. More grunt than the 441, AND as I'm sure you know, it is the model Stihl chose to offer in the R or Rescue variant, so is set up for the adjustable depth stop for removing non-convertible car tops without trepanning the occupants...........

With the DP muffler cover, the 460 is a force to be reckoned with.
I am so glad I chose that over the 441 the dealer had in stock..... :greenchainsaw:

441!

If you are used to using a midrange saw, and you want a back-up only, go with the Ms 361. It's lighter, the air filtration is 2nd overall in Stihl's line-up and 2nd in anti-vibration.

Personally, I wouldn't buy the 260 pro. Once you get used to power, and run a smaller saw, it's kind of a let down.

That being said, I would buy the 441. Top of the line saw for Stihl in air-filtration and anti-vibration. It weighs the same as the 460 mag though. And the 460 mag has .5 more hp.

You're in the FD, Stihl makes the 460 in a 'rescue version' - one tough hombre, it weighs .8 lbs. more though.

I love the 460, better than the 361s I've ran, (maybe it's that power thing) however, the vibration on the 460 is one of, if not The, worst. The 660 is smoother. The 460 also GUZZLES gas.

I know you didn't ask about the 460, but, if vibes don't bother you, and gas consumption doesn't matter, and your going to be carrying around a 14.6 powerhead anyway, buy the 460.

That being said, (even though the 441 is a heavyweight, it's really not that bad) I personally would trade some of the power-to-weight ratio for less vibes that the 441 offers, plus tops in air-filtration and 10-20% less gas consumption and buy the 441. It is probably the most technological saw Stihl offers.

Hope it helps...next post I may stir things up, even though I don't mean to.

Your reproductive organs will thank you for ingesting less two-cycle exhaust as well.

372xp???

That being said, the 372xp is supposed to outcut the 441, have even better air filtration, even better anti-vibration, and be the flagship saw of Husky.

An incredibly dependable rock solid saw, and 1.2 lbs LIGHTER. (according to both companies specs.)

But, if you want to try a different brand, like I enjoy doing myself... yeah, I'd take the 441.

Yasha said:

If you are used to using a midrange saw, and you want a back-up only, go with the Ms 361. It's lighter, the air filtration is 2nd overall in Stihl's line-up and 2nd in anti-vibration.

Personally, I wouldn't buy the 260 pro. Once you get used to power, and run a smaller saw, it's kind of a let down.

That being said, I would buy the 441. Top of the line saw for Stihl in air-filtration and anti-vibration. It weighs the same as the 460 mag though. And the 460 mag has .5 more hp.

You're in the FD, Stihl makes the 460 in a 'rescue version' - one tough hombre, it weighs .8 lbs. more though.

I love the 460, better than the 361s I've ran, (maybe it's that power thing) however, the vibration on the 460 is one of, if not The, worst. The 660 is smoother. The 460 also GUZZLES gas.

I know you didn't ask about the 460, but, if vibes don't bother you, and gas consumption doesn't matter, and your going to be carrying around a 14.6 powerhead anyway, buy the 460.

That being said, (even though the 441 is a heavyweight, it's really not that bad) I personally would trade some of the power-to-weight ratio for less vibes that the 441 offers, plus tops in air-filtration and 10-20% less gas consumption and buy the 441. It is probably the most technological saw Stihl offers.

Hope it helps...next post I may stir things up, even though I don't mean to.

Click to expand...

Carl, I mean Yasha,
does your 460 vibrate excessively? I don't notice that at all with mine. I just notice the power, now that it is getting broken in a bit. It flat out CUTS! Maybe you need to take yours back to teh dealer and have it checked out for some sort of problem with balance. I dunno, thats just whut comes to mind.

Yes Sir!

Jacob J. said:

Your reproductive organs will thank you for ingesting less two-cycle exhaust as well.

Click to expand...

Yes Sir! I have nine children and my wife wants more! It's because I wear cologne rather than the two-cycle exhaust fumes!

See how well it works for me?

teacherman said:

Carl, I mean Yasha,
does your 460 vibrate excessively? I don't notice that at all with mine. I just notice the power, now that it is getting broken in a bit. It flat out CUTS! Maybe you need to take yours back to teh dealer and have it checked out for some sort of problem with balance. I dunno, thats just whut comes to mind.

Click to expand...

Teacherman,

That's a good point. (+1) I noticed that after I would fell the tree and cut out the stump, that was the most densest part of the tree. I mean granite like stuff about up to my waist. This is always my job in our tree business. My son and a couple of other guys do the climbing. Anyway, my arms, from my wrist up to my elbows really started to ache. When I would stay away from that portion of the job or run a better antivibed saw, my arms stopped aching. It was always worse when I used my 460. I never took it in. It seemed to run fine. I just thought (dare I say it?) I was getting older and becoming a little bit of a whimp.

Yasha said:

Yes Sir! I have nine children and my wife wants more! It's because I wear cologne rather than the two-cycle exhaust fumes!

See how well it works for me?

Click to expand...

You are a lucky man. What a blessing to have a family like that. My hat is off to you. What cologne do you use?:greenchainsaw:

Yes Sir!

Yes Sir! I'm very grateful. Maybe you'll be able to meet them some time. We don't live too far apart.

Polo.

My wife and I met on a blind date. She bought me Polo later that year for Christmas (I was 19 at the time) and now, 24 years later she still buys it for me. She says that is just my 'scent.' I guess kinda like what my mom and grandma thought about dad and grandpa wearing 'Old Spice.'

My wife says when I enter the room, and she smells me, it just gives her warm fuzzies... just like grandma and grandpa... 'nostalgia'

Jacob J. said:

The 361 will outcut your 365 in the smaller stuff, but the 365 will have the edge in bigger wood with longer bars. .....

Click to expand...

I believe that is true.

The 361 is a lot more nimble, and more than a pound lighter (empty powerhead) - it also is very fuel-efficient.

You may want to put a 372xp engine in your 365, if you get a MS361, and the road to serious CAD is wide open..........:biggrinbounce2:

teacherman said:

Carl, I mean Yasha,
does your 460 vibrate excessively? I don't notice that at all with mine. I just notice the power, now that it is getting broken in a bit. It flat out CUTS! Maybe you need to take yours back to teh dealer and have it checked out for some sort of problem with balance. I dunno, thats just whut comes to mind.

Click to expand...

There are people that have given up their 460, because of the vibes - people have very different tolerance levels regarding vibes.......

stihl ms650

http://stihlusa.com/chainsaws/MS650.html
put a 32" bar and a full skip chain and bigger dual dawgs and a full wrap handle an enjoy.
just meez penny thought

SawTroll said:

There are people that have given up their 460, because of the vibes - people have very different tolerance levels regarding vibes.......

Click to expand...

I have carpel tunnel in both wrist's and I have no problem with the 460.......... smooooooth. cut with it all day.

After reading your posting on want`s and needs/requirements for your new saw I would suggest my favorite saw if you can still find one. The MS 440 is getting hard to find new but are rock solid ,the MS460 is just as good and a bit more torqueier . Either one with a muffler mod is about all the saw any non professional arborist or logger would require.I personally stay away from saws like the MS 441 until they are out for a few years and they either get the bugs worked out and they have time to prove themselves as reliable . Just my opinion. Pioneerguy600

Yasha said:

That being said, the 372xp is supposed to outcut the 441, have even better air filtration, even better anti-vibration, and be the flagship saw of Husky.

An incredibly dependable rock solid saw, and 1.2 lbs LIGHTER. (according to both companies specs.)

But, if you want to try a different brand, like I enjoy doing myself... yeah, I'd take the 441.

Click to expand...

+1 For the 372XP. If you want a 70cc saw, it is hard to beat.