Is HP (well, HP:weight) the prime, above-all-else consideration for top-handled saws?

[eye.heart.trees]

I cheaped-out on my 1st top-handle, having found clones of the echo cs2511t for $100-150 (will list specs/saws beneath post), so got this great lil 25.4cc, "1.2HP" saw that I love but I have to rope-up my rear-handled 42cc/18" the second my lil top-handle can't cut-it anymore, this is obviously frustrating!

I'm looking for a stronger top-handle, had been hoping viable Li-Po units were in my price range but sadly that doesn't seem the case just yet, but need to realllly be able to power a 14" bar (ideally a 16" but am hoping to spend under 400, am OK buying used actually most of my saws were bought used)

That said, *is HorsePower/HP my main consideration*? I know little but I do know that HP and torque are different things, I'm in a spot where I look at the echo 355t (my main option now, I think) which has 35cc for $350, yet I look to my favorite company Husqvarna and am immediately confused-as-hell because their two options, which are quoted at 1.5HP and 2.4HP (t435 and t540 respectively of course), I can't make-sense of it because the displacements are so damn close 35.2cc and 37.7cc, how on earth are they pushing nearly 2/3rd more power out of an extra 2cc of displacement? And, tangentially, is the t540 the strongest top-handle on the market? Unsure I've seen a quote higher than 2.4HP, although I've no idea how rigorous/homogeneous the testing for HP ratings is, not am I sure about the torque-versus-horsepower side of things (in fact I am utterly blind to that side and don't know how to learn more about it..)

Thanks for any suggestions, am hoping to get away at $300 (have found the 355t a little under that price, used of course, but didn't jump on it unfortunately), I see the 193t stihl units going for $200(used) often enough and the 30cc made me think I should go for it but then I see it's listed HP is 1.3HP which is just 0.1hp over my current lil saw....Would love to hear any&all suggestions, as well as any&all thoughts from owners/users of the 355t and how it compared to other high-powered top-handleds, does it have the guts you'd expect from 35cc? (and how TF is husq pulling such radically different powers from two comparable-displacement powerheads?! Ugh!)

~~~~

Current saws, am in the process of building (obviously!)
25cc Scheppach with 10" oregon 91bar&chain
33cc Poulan XXV/25d (1977, restoration project, top-handled)
35cc Poulan Wood-Shark rear-handle w/ 14" bar
42cc Poulan Pro PP4218a rear-handle w/ 18" bar (all saws have 3/8" oregon chains, all LP too I think, and all kept razor-sharp)
(Oh and my electric, 3HP McCulloch "Elactramac e300s" with 16" bar that seems skinnier than my other bars, thing is actually surprisingly useful in the rare instances that it's practical to use it!!)

 

[Del_]

Nope.

 

[eye.heart.trees]

Oh another 'PS' - how big a deal is swapping bars/chains on these lil saws? IE I've tried putting a 14" on my 25cc Scheppach top-handle, it sucked the thing couldn't power it properly (when cutting the same ~4" thick test-branches) although that could've been due to the bar....I can't help wondering if, were I to buy one of those sharp-nosed, thinner-gauge Stihl bars, if I could get 12" to work the same as my current 10" (which again is Oregon 91 low-kickback, with 3/8"LP chain w/ super low rakers and razor-sharp probably every-other tank I'll sharpen it, maybe every third tankful)

Was at Home Depot earlier and saw the Echo 14" bars, seemed so slick, couldn't help wondering if it'd be worth the expense to upgrade an otherwise-good Oregon91 bar&chain to echo or more-likely the Stihl 'rollomatic' dime/quarter-tipped, thinner-diameter bar, kinda expect I could eek a bit more out of the powerhead this way (was blown away at the performance-loss when I put the 14" or 16" on it, can't remember now which bar it was but I thought it'd be 'ok' yet the thing was abysmal, it worked but bogged like crazy and I mean on 4" pieces I wasn't trying to cut thicker stuff!)


[another random PS- to be clear on filing my chains' rakers, yknow how there's just 1 width of metal on the 'hook'/top of the raker but then it's quickly 2 widths like 2mm below that? You DO file-into the double-width area once your teeth are short enough, right? Or is it 'finished' once you've reached the double-thickness metal a couple mm's beneath the top of a fresh/new raker?]

 

[KarlD]

There’s nothing to think about, just buy a 200t from lone wolf and you’ll be set.

IMO anyway

 

[eye.heart.trees]

There’s nothing to think about, just buy a 200t from lone wolf and you’ll be set.

IMO anyway

What makes Lone Wolf's special? So far as I can tell, a 200t is overpriced....too iconic & out of production, you're paying a tax for that....seems smarter to get a 201t and 'Snellerize' it. But that's the thing I literally can't "get to the bottom" of which saw has the most power, a 201t // a husqy 540xp // an echo 355t, am guessing the echo is at the bottom of those 3 but can't tell by how much (the echo is certainly the best displacement//weight//price ratio I'm finding) On-paper the 540xp should smoke a 200t, 200t's have almost exact 2hp right? The 540xp is 20% more at 2.4HP...which I can't make sense of considering that their next-down model,the t435, is only 2cc less displacement but almost 1HP weaker...would love to know how reliable these HP #'s really are!

Stihl has always seemed so expensive, I get that you buy it for life but if I'm spending that dough I think I'd lean towards a 540xp, I just wish I could understand what sets that apart from the t435 or the 200t (also wish I could understand why the 193t is only pushing 1.3HP with 30cc displacement...my 25.4cc pushes 1.2HP..)

 

[KarlD]

I’ve got two 201ts and one 200t that are working and in regular use. I always use the 200t. I don’t know which is the most powerful on paper tbh, or even when chogging a tree, but the 200t takes everything I throw at, including 14” deep in English Oak and just feels like it can do it all day long. The tool feels perfect for the job.
I’ve tried huskys and maybe it’s because I’ve come up with Stihl I just didn’t like them.
I always say that a husky is a Ferrari and a Stihl a Porsche. I want Porsche reliability in a work saw.
Lone Wolf has one for sale atm that is 400 dolla...fwiw I’m pretty sure u would not regret it
Can u borrow a friends/colleagues saw and get up a tree with it and see how it feels...that would be optimum if possible

 

[Bob Hedgecutter]

I’ve got two 201ts and one 200t that are working and in regular use. I always use the 200t. I don’t know which is the most powerful on paper tbh, or even when chogging a tree, but the 200t takes everything I throw at, including 14” deep in English Oak and just feels like it can do it all day long. The tool feels perfect for the job.
I’ve tried huskys and maybe it’s because I’ve come up with Stihl I just didn’t like them.
I always say that a husky is a Ferrari and a Stihl a Porsche. I want Porsche reliability in a work saw.
Lone Wolf has one for sale atm that is 400 dolla...fwiw I’m pretty sure u would not regret it
Can u borrow a friends/colleagues saw and get up a tree with it and see how it feels...that would be optimum if possible

Agree 100%, the 200 feels a lot more capable then the 201........ but NEVER will I lend either to another guy to use up a tree- unless you can pry either out of my cold dead hand!

 

[Del_]

What makes Lone Wolf's special? So far as I can tell, a 200t is overpriced....too iconic & out of production, you're paying a tax for that....seems smarter to get a 201t and 'Snellerize' it. But that's the thing I literally can't "get to the bottom" of which saw has the most power, a 201t // a husqy 540xp // an echo 355t, am guessing the echo is at the bottom of those 3 but can't tell by how much (the echo is certainly the best displacement//weight//price ratio I'm finding) On-paper the 540xp should smoke a 200t, 200t's have almost exact 2hp right? The 540xp is 20% more at 2.4HP...which I can't make sense of considering that their next-down model,the t435, is only 2cc less displacement but almost 1HP weaker...would love to know how reliable these HP #'s really are!

Stihl has always seemed so expensive, I get that you buy it for life but if I'm spending that dough I think I'd lean towards a 540xp, I just wish I could understand what sets that apart from the t435 or the 200t (also wish I could understand why the 193t is only pushing 1.3HP with 30cc displacement...my 25.4cc pushes 1.2HP..)

You are probably wise in avoiding Lone Wolf, but the 200T is a good climbers saw.

It sounds like you are comparing saws by reading the mfg's specs.

The specs only tell a part of the story.

 

[Bob Hedgecutter]

What makes Lone Wolf's special?

Because if he is selling one for $400 and he has built it- it is better than factory and a hell of a good saw. The guy has forgotten more about MS 200T's than most of us will ever learn, but hey, if you want to snub that kind of experience and knowledge- go buy yourself a Joncutter.

 

[Totembear]

Do yourself a favor, forget about the "manufacturers" specs. Could get lost in numbers all day long...is that 2.4 hp before or after they put a restrictive as hell cat muffler on it? My point- try finding some you can actually cut wood in and make up your mind which one you like. I've about had all the top handles at one time or another, nothing can beat my old stihl 020t, same thing as a 200t, for torque and chain speed. Forget about the numbers ********....

 

[buttercup]

I cheaped-out on my 1st top-handle, having found clones of the echo cs2511t for $100-150 (will list specs/saws beneath post), so got this great lil 25.4cc, "1.2HP" saw that I love but I have to rope-up my rear-handled 42cc/18" the second my lil top-handle can't cut-it anymore, this is obviously frustrating!

I'm looking for a stronger top-handle, had been hoping viable Li-Po units were in my price range but sadly that doesn't seem the case just yet, but need to realllly be able to power a 14" bar (ideally a 16" but am hoping to spend under 400, am OK buying used actually most of my saws were bought used)

That said, *is HorsePower/HP my main consideration*? I know little but I do know that HP and torque are different things, I'm in a spot where I look at the echo 355t (my main option now, I think) which has 35cc for $350, yet I look to my favorite company Husqvarna and am immediately confused-as-hell because their two options, which are quoted at 1.5HP and 2.4HP (t435 and t540 respectively of course), I can't make-sense of it because the displacements are so damn close 35.2cc and 37.7cc, how on earth are they pushing nearly 2/3rd more power out of an extra 2cc of displacement? And, tangentially, is the t540 the strongest top-handle on the market? Unsure I've seen a quote higher than 2.4HP, although I've no idea how rigorous/homogeneous the testing for HP ratings is, not am I sure about the torque-versus-horsepower side of things (in fact I am utterly blind to that side and don't know how to learn more about it..)

Thanks for any suggestions, am hoping to get away at $300 (have found the 355t a little under that price, used of course, but didn't jump on it unfortunately), I see the 193t stihl units going for $200(used) often enough and the 30cc made me think I should go for it but then I see it's listed HP is 1.3HP which is just 0.1hp over my current lil saw....Would love to hear any&all suggestions, as well as any&all thoughts from owners/users of the 355t and how it compared to other high-powered top-handleds, does it have the guts you'd expect from 35cc? (and how TF is husq pulling such radically different powers from two comparable-displacement powerheads?! Ugh!)

~~~~

Current saws, am in the process of building (obviously!)
25cc Scheppach with 10" oregon 91bar&chain
33cc Poulan XXV/25d (1977, restoration project, top-handled)
35cc Poulan Wood-Shark rear-handle w/ 14" bar
42cc Poulan Pro PP4218a rear-handle w/ 18" bar (all saws have 3/8" oregon chains, all LP too I think, and all kept razor-sharp)
(Oh and my electric, 3HP McCulloch "Elactramac e300s" with 16" bar that seems skinnier than my other bars, thing is actually surprisingly useful in the rare instances that it's practical to use it!!)

About engine HP and torque you could say that basically HP comes with rpm and torque comes with displacement, so if you have two engines that are certified with the same displacement and the same HP - it is unlikely that one of the two have better torque.
However, on a chainsaw they could be geared with a different chain speed which would make one with a higher chain speed and less power, and the other with a lower chain speed and more power - even though the HP and torque would be rated the same.
If two engines with the same displacement are rated with different HP, then it is likely that the one with the higher HP also has a higher rpm.

 

[Bob Hedgecutter]

About engine HP and torque you could say that basically HP comes with rpm and torque comes with displacement, so if you have two engines that are certified with the same displacement and the same HP - it is unlikely that one of the two have better torque.
However, on a chainsaw they could be geared with a different chain speed which would make one with a higher chain speed and less power, and the other with a lower chain speed and more power - even though the HP and torque would be rated the same.
If two engines with the same displacement are rated with different HP, then it is likely that the one with the higher HP also has a higher rpm.

Or they are just designed and ported differently- like the 357 being slightly more powerful than the slightly older 359- or 2157 and 2159....... depends if you like red or orange.

 

[Nathan Graff]

I'd give another vote for the MS200t. That's a ripping little saw. Mine likes to be warmed up for about 2 min before using. It howls through stuff like crazy. It's my go to saw to leave set beside the chipper when I'm feeding it.

I haven't used the husky top handle, but have heard horror stories from tree service guys about the reliability of them. Most of those guys say that they'd never buy one until Husky has proven that they have the QC on their top handles improved exponentially. One of the local guys has an Echo he really likes. Don't know what model. But it looked to me like he used a center punch to punch another hole in the muffler, and retuned it. He told me that it was good that the first job he did with that saw paid for the saw, cause the warranty was useless the day he bought it.

 

[eye.heart.trees]

I’ve got two 201ts and one 200t that are working and in regular use. I always use the 200t. I don’t know which is the most powerful on paper tbh, or even when chogging a tree, but the 200t takes everything I throw at, including 14” deep in English Oak and just feels like it can do it all day long. The tool feels perfect for the job.
I’ve tried huskys and maybe it’s because I’ve come up with Stihl I just didn’t like them.
I always say that a husky is a Ferrari and a Stihl a Porsche. I want Porsche reliability in a work saw.
Lone Wolf has one for sale atm that is 400 dolla...fwiw I’m pretty sure u would not regret it
Can u borrow a friends/colleagues saw and get up a tree with it and see how it feels...that would be optimum if possible

[edited-to-add: I'm presuming you've just used Stihl for a while, maybe even started-out using Stihl as a predominate brand of equipment? I see so many who tend to stick to what they started with and honestly that makes sense, different brands have different quirks whether it's starting-behavior or how to push it(its powerband) and if you've used a brand for ages you're inherently better at that brand so all other brands are inherently inferior *to you*, am glad I'm still n00b enough to be brand-neutral although I've taken a shine to husq/poulan...but then echo is so boss....stihl is great but it's like the ferrari in my eyes, husq is too although my 2 poulans start & rev exactly like my 1 husq does, and so many of their internals have Husq's 'H' stamp...]

Re 200/201's strength, they seem on-point with the husq(540xp) in Reg Coates' comparison video (love that guy's stuff I've watched every last video of his lol)

I can't tell by casual viewing which saw is faster, would guess the stihl by around 5% as he seems to lean-into the 540 a bit, but then you see that the Stihl has that thin chain.....if the 540 is ripping more wood then it's using more power (IE it'd go faster if it had the thinner bar), I actually have a thread up right now Re whether it's worth the $$ to upgrade the bar for my 25cc from a (new-enough) 10" Oregon91 to a Stihl thin bar, it just seems I'd get more power out of my saw in fact I have the feeling a 12" stihl bar would outperform my 10" Oregon91 but will await replies to that thread to corroborate my hunches!

It's interesting you put it that way with the analogies, I dislike those (not meaning to dig at you or anything) because they do have a strong tendency to invite so much confirmation-bias that they can be hit-or-miss appraisals of brands....the most-common arrangement I hear is:
Stihl: longest-term usage & convenience of repair; Relatively more prone to minor issues; Top-tier power; Relatively prone to more-difficult start-ups.
Echo: reliability; quick & reliable start-ups (have confirmed this)
Husqvarna: long-term usage & convenience of repair; top-tier power; reliably easy start-ups (have confirmed this on my 1 husq blower and my 2 poulan saws which obviously aren't husq although I see the Husqvarna 'H' logo all throughout the guts of my pp4218a!)

I get the feeling that saw brands & truck(/car) brands have similar pulls to people LOL actually that reminds me of a time we got a climber freelance one afternoon and he had a Stihl tattoo on his neck rofl I'll never forget that redneck... I've never been especially brand-loyal in either(/any) scenario, in fact while my next top handle is *hopefully* going to be the 355t that's really just what I'm aiming-at, it's more-likely to be the next solid, ~$200-350 top-handle that my pawn gets in stock, regardless of its brand/model/etc, just how it feels & performs in a 5min test (they warranty and I always go home and push a saw right after cleaning/overhauling it so I know right-away what I'm dealing with, only had to return once )....couldn't imagine dropping $600, I know it's powerful but jeebus it's a 2HP saw there's several others with same power that are half the price or 2/3rds the price....that's real cool how you put it real plunging in Oak, 'southern live' (quercus virginiana) oaks are the most-common tree I work on and are the hardest/heaviest timber I know (76lbs/cu ft) but when the max bar you're using is 16", I mean my lil 25cc just *tears* into Oak with its 10" and my current goal is to get a saw with the same power on a 16" and I'll happily take anything ~35cc+, there's a point of diminishing returns here for sure and I'd bet that if someone were to quantify it that you'd be getting at least 90%, maybe 95%, of the same value-to-you from a $300-400 saw as a $600, 0.2HP just isn't that much if that makes sense? Hope I put that right...like, if I spend 600 instead of 300, I won't get 2x as much value, or even 1.5x, or 1.25x....Stihl and Husqvarna are industry-leaders, hell for all I know they're genuinely innovating (unsure how much there really is to improve on the chainsaw, have high hopes for a 1977 powerhead I'm restoring right now!!), they're powerful and you can buy any part for replacement but they're twice what most other companies charge for comparable power, I'll take the half-priced unit and be sure I've got a great bar&chain anyday (hell I'll have to factor that in, if it's going to cost $100 to swap over to a Stihl bar/chain setup then I've gotta factor that into the price of a 355 or any pawn-saw that's meeting power / price / solid quality / weight, if it doesn't have a skinny bar I'll have to pay for that :/ )

 

[eye.heart.trees]

I should clarify that when I say my 25cc powers my 10" bar plenty-well for my taste, it does have to be in excellent shape I will admit the thing becomes lacking pretty quickly if IE the chain is dulling (I'm trying to get myself to sharpen mid-job instead of just end-of-day), being run on good eth free gas with the rakers low but yeah even with the thicker Oregon91 bar&chain it still rips into Oak very very well, I can make plunge cuts I can kinda 'power-through' although obviously don't do that often (for my sake as well as the saw's!) and that's a generic/clone 25cc, if I've only gotta move 16" with that same power::bar-length::weight ratio then any of the mid-30'sCC saws should suffice, actually power-gain isn't linear for instance the ~50% extra displacement from 25cc to mid-30's has saws nearly twice as strong (low 1HP's to 2HP, 2.2HP etc) so, especially when you can get a skinnier-type 16" (oh god I never checked they actually come in 16" I hope they do!!) then I'll go for whatever seems the best feel&value and has a "return if ******-unit" policy at least 30 days and I'm happy, there's no need (IMO!!) to double 300 to 600$ here..

 

[eye.heart.trees]

Oh and I'd LOVE if anyone knew whether there's any reason to trust the validity of HP ratings, I've zero idea how this # is rated/tested so I don't know how consistent the testing is, nevermind how people in marketing twist things (like electric tools labelled as "20V", when they're normal 18V's, to look more powerful) so am unsure if I can even use HP as the metric I've been using it as (am literally just gridding-out: Price // Power(HP) // Weight // (fuel-capacity if I'm so lucky to be able to choose!))

Have yet to even find whether there's reason to trust a newer company's kN / MBS ratings, like who the 3rd party (if any) is that actually verifies said #'s, have noticed some #'s (from multiple companies) that seem very very suspect!!

 

[Bob Hedgecutter]

Kind of skip read all the above- but we are originally looking for recommendations for a stronger top handle saw eh?
When it comes to the top top handle of choice the MS 200T kind of rules the roost. You have watched all Reg's videos, go check out the guys that use top handles in trees all the time for a living, like "Human", "Bucking Billy Ray", August Hunicke and the like. Cory and August are pretty Stihl biased, but Billy loves Husqvarna- yet uses a 200T for climbing, not a newer Husky top handle.
I myself am not a strong Stihl fan, but have a 460 because I could not find the Jonsered I wanted at the time, however, the two Stihl top handle saws I own are far better than anything orange or red I have tried- no starting problems with either of them.

 

[KarlD]

[edited-to-add: I'm presuming you've just used Stihl for a while, maybe even started-out using Stihl as a predominate brand of equipment? I see so many who tend to stick to what they started with and honestly that makes sense, different brands have different quirks whether it's starting-behavior or how to push it(its powerband) and if you've used a brand for ages you're inherently better at that brand so all other brands are inherently inferior *to you*, am glad I'm still n00b enough to be brand-neutral although I've taken a shine to husq/poulan...but then echo is so boss....stihl is great but it's like the ferrari in my eyes, husq is too although my 2 poulans start & rev exactly like my 1 husq does, and so many of their internals have Husq's 'H' stamp...]

Re 200/201's strength, they seem on-point with the husq(540xp) in Reg Coates' comparison video (love that guy's stuff I've watched every last video of his lol)

I can't tell by casual viewing which saw is faster, would guess the stihl by around 5% as he seems to lean-into the 540 a bit, but then you see that the Stihl has that thin chain.....if the 540 is ripping more wood then it's using more power (IE it'd go faster if it had the thinner bar), I actually have a thread up right now Re whether it's worth the $$ to upgrade the bar for my 25cc from a (new-enough) 10" Oregon91 to a Stihl thin bar, it just seems I'd get more power out of my saw in fact I have the feeling a 12" stihl bar would outperform my 10" Oregon91 but will await replies to that thread to corroborate my hunches!

It's interesting you put it that way with the analogies, I dislike those (not meaning to dig at you or anything) because they do have a strong tendency to invite so much confirmation-bias that they can be hit-or-miss appraisals of brands....the most-common arrangement I hear is:
Stihl: longest-term usage & convenience of repair; Relatively more prone to minor issues; Top-tier power; Relatively prone to more-difficult start-ups.
Echo: reliability; quick & reliable start-ups (have confirmed this)
Husqvarna: long-term usage & convenience of repair; top-tier power; reliably easy start-ups (have confirmed this on my 1 husq blower and my 2 poulan saws which obviously aren't husq although I see the Husqvarna 'H' logo all throughout the guts of my pp4218a!)

I get the feeling that saw brands & truck(/car) brands have similar pulls to people LOL actually that reminds me of a time we got a climber freelance one afternoon and he had a Stihl tattoo on his neck rofl I'll never forget that redneck... I've never been especially brand-loyal in either(/any) scenario, in fact while my next top handle is *hopefully* going to be the 355t that's really just what I'm aiming-at, it's more-likely to be the next solid, ~$200-350 top-handle that my pawn gets in stock, regardless of its brand/model/etc, just how it feels & performs in a 5min test (they warranty and I always go home and push a saw right after cleaning/overhauling it so I know right-away what I'm dealing with, only had to return once )....couldn't imagine dropping $600, I know it's powerful but jeebus it's a 2HP saw there's several others with same power that are half the price or 2/3rds the price....that's real cool how you put it real plunging in Oak, 'southern live' (quercus virginiana) oaks are the most-common tree I work on and are the hardest/heaviest timber I know (76lbs/cu ft) but when the max bar you're using is 16", I mean my lil 25cc just *tears* into Oak with its 10" and my current goal is to get a saw with the same power on a 16" and I'll happily take anything ~35cc+, there's a point of diminishing returns here for sure and I'd bet that if someone were to quantify it that you'd be getting at least 90%, maybe 95%, of the same value-to-you from a $300-400 saw as a $600, 0.2HP just isn't that much if that makes sense? Hope I put that right...like, if I spend 600 instead of 300, I won't get 2x as much value, or even 1.5x, or 1.25x....Stihl and Husqvarna are industry-leaders, hell for all I know they're genuinely innovating (unsure how much there really is to improve on the chainsaw, have high hopes for a 1977 powerhead I'm restoring right now!!), they're powerful and you can buy any part for replacement but they're twice what most other companies charge for comparable power, I'll take the half-priced unit and be sure I've got a great bar&chain anyday (hell I'll have to factor that in, if it's going to cost $100 to swap over to a Stihl bar/chain setup then I've gotta factor that into the price of a 355 or any pawn-saw that's meeting power / price / solid quality / weight, if it doesn't have a skinny bar I'll have to pay for that :/ )

Tbh I’m a Dolmar man at heart and would also prefer a Jonny over either a Stihl or Husqvarna...but in the uk and when I’ve been buying equipment it has and is generally between Stihl and Husqvarna...especially if I want dealer support. I have had two dolmar blowers in my time and they were the cats flaps...used them to death. Only moved onto a bg86 when a local dealer gave me one for free but it’s not got the guts of the old dollies.
Traditionally Husqvarna have always been a little more expensive than Stihl (although atm that looks to be changing) and seemingly slightly less reliable, but a bit stronger. IMO Stihl quality is slipping slightly at the moment whilst their prices are continuing to climb; this might be a general trend across all retail though I cannot say/will not dedicate enough of my mind to give it adequate thought. When I buy new saws at the moment, or climbing trousers etc, I try my best to find something that is the best; that often ends up being Stihl. I’d love some dolmar arborist trousers but nothing is cooler (that I have tried) than either of my Stihl pairs.
I won’t bang on about the 200T anymore, it looks like everyone else is though, and I applaud you for sticking with what might be called the underdogs...but a saying I have heard springs to mind and don’t take offence at this...

You can point at the moon and some people will look at your finger

 

[CR888]

Lots of blah blah blah in this thread. If you need a more powerful saw, just go buy one & go cut wood. Less YouTube, less pointing @moon, more cutting with saw in hand, you'll be better for it.

 

[buttercup]

Lots of blah blah blah in this thread. If you need a more powerful saw, just go buy one & go cut wood. Less YouTube, less pointing @moon, more cutting with saw in hand, you'll be better for it.

I guess the guy wants to communicate and you don't, this is what they call a social forum so perhaps it's you who should get out and cut some wood.