Echo CS-361P -an overlooked gem in the saw world?

[Timber MacFallen]

I have to say I'm a bit surprised by the silence across the Internet on this one. On paper we have a 36cc rear handle saw that weighs 8.3 pounds and is supposedly part of their professional line ($400 for a small displacement Echo saw is a lot). Yet, there's no reviews of the saw on Youtube or unboxing videos. There's also little discussion of the saw on this forum, as the search function reveals just a couple of older threads that lightly touch on it (one of the longest being a discussion from five years ago when it was released).

There's plenty of buzz on the web about the direct competitor to it- the Stihl MS201C EM which is 8.6 pounds and 35cc. Lots of discussion and videos around the globe about that little fellow despite the $700+ price tag.

People love to talk about many Echo saws such as the CS-501P and new CS-7310. Practically everyone in the saw world also seems to have done a video or review of the little top handle CS-2511T. However, the CS-361P seems to have crickets around it.

To me, it seems like this would be an ideal limbing saw and with some modifications and a 16" bar could potentially have a really amazing power to weight ratio and the ability to tackle a lot. Is there a particular reason people aren't excited by this saw, or has it just been overlooked for shinier objects?

 

[RED-85-Z51]

Its a 355T wearing a rear handle. The 355 was kind of a descendent if the 330T style saw and its the only style echo id never own...

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[Timber MacFallen]

Its a 355T wearing a rear handle. The 355 was kind of a descendent if the 330T style saw and its the only style echo id never own...

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Hmm, making a rear handle out of a top handle doesn't seem to necessarily be a bad thing. Plenty of enthusiasm for other saws like that (the Stihl MS 201 and Echo 2511 come to mind).

Why wouldn't you want to own a 355/330? Anything in particular?

 

[computeruser]

Agreed about this being an interesting platform. I’ve considered getting one. It could be useful to me with a 12” bar for certain tasks. But it doesn’t seem terribly spunky on the throttle from the videos I have seen, at least not compared to an MS200 non-T or Husqvarna 238se/242xp, which is what I would want it to compete with.

If it could wake up with a timing advance and muffler mod, then I might be interested given its friendly pricepoint.

 

[RED-85-Z51]

Hmm, making a rear handle out of a top handle doesn't seem to necessarily be a bad thing. Plenty of enthusiasm for other saws like that (the Stihl MS 201 and Echo 2511 come to mind).

Why wouldn't you want to own a 355/330? Anything in particular?

Once you work on a few you see things, the exhaust port exits out the bottom of the cylinder, but it exits into a cast in 90* turn to get to the muffler on the right. The intake tract leaves alot to be desired. The filter is prone to leakage. Its not peppy and it struggles to rev up, it pulls the chain well enough but the performance is forgettable.

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[Franny K]

I was contemplating one once I found you could get a rim drive kit for it. There is stuff on the internet, maybe not here. The intake is supposed to be more free flowing than the top handle version and the muffler has a catalyst where the top handle does not. Just from reading on the internet. I was able to find (similar CS-361WES | ECHO Tools (echo-tools.co.uk)) on the UK Echo site and the Hp rounds off to 2.0, a bit less if more decimals are used. I could not get any vibration data. One can see from the ipl and build threads for the top handle variant it does have a stuffed crank.

 

[esean]

I'm surprised by the lack of interest too, given the popularity of the 355T. Red, have you actually run one? Been using mine 5 yrs and the filter's NEVER leaked. The intake is a nice open shot into the carb. Reviews of the top handle version 355T have been overwhelmingly positive, so your opinion of the performance seems to be in the minority. I'm running an open can muffler off a 355T with an enlarged outlet. Maybe its not an MS201, but it's not nearly as expensive either. I've seen nothing else comparable without a significant weight (or price, in the case of the Stihl) penalty.

 

[RED-85-Z51]

I'm surprised by the lack of interest too, given the popularity of the 355T. Red, have you actually run one? Been using mine 5 yrs and the filter's NEVER leaked. The intake is a nice open shot into the carb. Reviews of the top handle version 355T have been overwhelmingly positive, so your opinion of the performance seems to be in the minority. I'm running an open can muffler off a 355T with an enlarged outlet. Maybe its not an MS201, but it's not nearly as expensive either. I've seen nothing else comparable without a significant weight (or price, in the case of the Stihl) penalty.

Run em...sold em...went to tech school on them...short blocked a good many because of the filter and boot.

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[RED-85-Z51]

We stopped selling them after a while because they were so disappointing, the ones in stock we lost money on to move them out. Id say almost every one i sold came back within a week asking why it was laggy and under powered compared to the stihls and even the cs303T or equivalent at the time. Removing the cat helped, if the muffler studs didn't shear off in the head because...God forbid they use reasonably sized hardware.

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[Yotaismygame]

 

[airframefixer]

Haven't posted here in a while... like years.. but thought I'd chime in..

I bought a 361p this spring.. short story long, the 361p is a gem. Should have bought one sooner or a rear handle 201. That class of saw is worth its weight in gold if your an arb guy or a landscaper doing cleanup work. I always see the human is the limitation, not the saw. Sure bigger saws will cut faster, wear you out faster and you still have to drag the brush and carry the wood out. When I was climbing, I mainly did pruning, with a silky zubat, and a Jameson pole saw. I had a 355t, which I sold after collecting 6 200ts. I still love the 200t, but i never used it to its potential in a tree, and got a 150t which did the larger limbs with the cut quality of a silky. Needed a saw to bridge the gap between the 150t and my 365 special. Enter the 241.. light enough to climb with and great on the ground.. sold my 355t and 200ts. I love those saws but I dont regret selling them.

Then I realized I made WAY more money doing lawncare and pest control for way less effort and risk, so tree work got shelved after 2017.


Enter 2020 and I get furloughed from my main gig and its game on for all money making activities. So I picked up a 361p on the 15 percent off days. I was going to buy an ms201 but also needed a small blower for the mowing setup and needed two tools vs one ms201. In 2016 it was a decision between a 241 and 150t vs 1 ms201. So I have been wanting a rear handle arb saw for years.

No dealer around here stocked 361p, so one was ordered. You know how popular a saw is when you get a 2015 model in 2020. The dealer, same place I bought my 355t and wood chipper from in 2012 still had a 2012 355t on the shelf, 7 years later. As for the differences between the 355 and 361p, are the obvious air intake, and less obvious, is the coil.. different part numbers. Maybe rev limit.

Either way, like some tools, you use them all day, and they feel like an extension of your body. It doesn't wear you out, it doesnt slow you down, you just move at a steady pace and there's a pile of wood to pick up behind you. That's the 361p. And most likely the ms201. My redmax trimmer is the same. You just walk at a brisk pace, and work is done.

On the tech side of things, I ordered a 355t open muffler and put a 3/8 hole in the deflector. There's no limiters, but rather a d shaped h/l screws heads. After warm up, it revs like a 200t, and holds what seems like a few hundred less rpms in the cut. My 355t never revved up this quick and it also had the same muffler mods. The 361p is noticeably quicker.

The stock oregon chain, 91pxl didnt last long, stihl ps was put on asap.

Only dislikes is that echo could have easily had a more competitive arb saw if they made a mag crank case and vertically split cylinder. It may have made the whole thing more robust and solid feeling. Then again it was 619 vs 869 for the ms201. Overall I think echos efforts are at least one saw generation behind. The 620p is more of a match to the 357. The 7310 is more of a 372 competitor. Same for the 355t, withe the edge to the 200t. The exception here seems to be the 2511 being a pack leader now.

My only commentary about the 355t and 361p on carb tuning is run the L side a little lean. My theory being the accelerator pump dumping too much fuel on acceleration and caused an overly rich pick up.

Otherwise, I'll do a video. There seems to be lacking one.

Airframefixer

 

[ElevatorGuy]

^^^ I never saw any dealer days listed for 2020, The chart was always just empty and showed 15% this year vs 20% in the past. You were able to order one for that event? I’d keep that in mind if my places doesn’t stock the 361p. I don’t really need a saw that size but at the sale price and with that weight it’s intriguing. I have a 303t that I use for all the small stuff.

 

[RED-85-Z51]

Porting really wakes it up. They are frustrating to tune with a tach....you can tell they want more revs but it just...wont get there.

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[RED-85-Z51]

^^^ I never saw any dealer days listed for 2020, The chart was always just empty and showed 15% this year vs 20% in the past. You were able to order one for that event? I’d keep that in mind if my places doesn’t stock the 361p. I don’t really need a saw that size but at the sale price and with that weight it’s intriguing. I have a 303t that I use for all the small stuff.

They left dealer days up to the dealers..opt in or opt out, and on when it was held

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[airframefixer]

Btw. I'm in Canada hence the silly prices and dealer days. I paid the day of without issue. Did that with a bunch of other stuff, blowers, hedge trimmers etc.

 

[anlrolfe]

I don't double it.
I've got a CS-306(un-cat) and retuned that cuts like a rabid beaver.
Those little Echo are crazy. I Like it better than my DIY MS180

 

[Wood Doctor]

The rubber cushion connection between the bottom left side handle and the case is a poor design and tears out rather easily. I've replaced several of them. It's the same part on the CS-355t and a few others. Climbers up in the trees tear them up rather easily -- pinch the bar, pull hard to release it, and the handle cushion rips apart.,

 

[RED-85-Z51]

The rubber cushion connection between the bottom left side handle and the case is a poor design and tears out rather easily. I've replaced several of them. It's the same part on the CS-355t and a few others. Climbers up in the trees tear them up rather easily -- pinch the bar, pull hard to release it, and the handle cushion rips apart.,

They mentioned that in tech school years ago, the remedy was "tell people not to do whatever they did or it will break again"...

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[Wood Doctor]

They mentioned that in tech school years ago, the remedy was "tell people not to do whatever they did or it will break again"...

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Good point. Before buying another handle cushion. I decided to repair it with Super Glue and wrap copper wire around it a few times as tightly as I could. That might be stronger than a new part One thing about a badly designed part is that an identical new one will also be badly designed and suffer just as easily.

Climbers tear apart saws faster than any user group that I know. Lone Wolf and I have discovered that many times.

 

[airframefixer]

I've owned more stihl, husky, and jonsered than echo. Lots of torn boots, insulators degrading from fuel and oil, weak intake boot clamps on those makes. Some lines of work are just hard on saws and gear. Cleaning and inspection can find those cracks and tears before it becomes a major issue.