I 'll bite too. I just skimmed through a little bit of the thread and it blows me away people think an cs 400 is way better then an ms250. I have owned 2 used echo cs 400s and used them intermittently with my other saws a couple or so years and i have a brand-new 1 in the box unopened I snagged a bit under retail at an auction. Before breaking open the new 1 i wanted to confirm I'd like and use it enough to keep it. So I paid about $165 for a used 1 on ebay, which ended up not a good deal because it came with a slightly bent bar i ended up replacing. So I put on a new 16inch bar and chain and used it and compared it to my old 025 i been using several years and an more recent 023 I bought. What I liked better about the 400 is the starter was easiar to pull and smoother , and less vibration but none of them 2 things are a problem to me on the 2 old stihls. I am 62 years old, with a not so good right shoulder, and some worn and torn bones and joints. My 025 which is nearly the same as the ms250 I can use it many hours at a time without noticing fatigue or soreness from it. My 026 would tire me sooner.
The geometry of the cs400 with a16 inch bar made my back sore bucking wood on the ground for more then a tank or so of fuel, power was much closer to the 023, not near the muffler modded 025 and not near as snappy throttling it. The second cs400 I snagged cheap at a yard sale with an new 18in bar ran about the same and the 18in bar seemed a bit easiar on my back. I did like using it trimming small limbs and trees that needed removed but overall I would grab the 025 more because the power was there for bigger trees I usually encounter at the same time. As for reliability, i been around and using 025's since 1994 the first was at my job at a state tree nursery. They had an 025 , 034 super, and an 048 i and various employees and prison offenders used on and off through the year cutting firewood, brush, maintaining windbreaks. We had at least 5 wood furnaces originally between several buildings, went to 2 outside wood boilers for a couple buildings a few years later. All 3 of the saws were well used when i started and they cut all the firewood and other tree maintnence the whole time i worked there (10 years), were abused by novices and people who would rather break a tool then use it. I don't remember a single problem other then chain, bar and sprocket maintnence, certainly no overhauls. I bought my first 025 used probably about 2000 or sooner . Expect I had near 50 hours on it before it was stolen, but no mechanical failures and i got another 1 i put countless hours on with no mechanical failures I can remember. I bought several 025's and ms250s in various states of conditions that i restored to usable condition, tested for hours, then resold. I think the 50 hour life expectancy is bs, i have seen them on some cheap Poulan and knockoff brands, but the 025's I have been around and used held up superb, no less then pro models. Ms 250 should be just as reliable as it is basically the same with minor changes.