Lightweight chainsaw

[Eccentric]

oh no...those are to be saved for when we are taking the big dirt nap. Throw it in the pine box and you will have something to work on for all eternity...:msp_tongue:

A poulan micro or Remington mity mite....better choice and far easier to work on....

A Micro is certainly the way to go for a small, tough, lightweight little saw that's cheap enough to carry (and beat up) on a bike.

 

[RandyMac]

U ever run those plastic POS u speak of?

Yes and I felt soiled.

 

[cjtreeclimber]

lightest commercial chainsaw on the market is the echo cs 271 t and it probably cost less the 300 bucks. Check out the specs. no need for further comments just go get it; but for 450 you can get the echo cs 355 t . . . but leave the ms 201 alone and the husqvarnas things or whatever . study the specs yourself.

 

[Eccentric]

If you want new, the CS330T and CS360T Echos are being sold on clearance at Echo dealers. Just a shade over two bills at one of my local dealers IIRC. I still think a $25 used Micro (and a few to have as 'spares' on the shelf for when the 'primary' get's mashed in a get-off) makes more sense for this use.

 

[tubpilot]

Cordless?

Has anyone used a cordless chainsaw, like the Makita 18V saw? It would use the same battery as the rest of my cordless tools which is a bonus. Just wondering if anyone here has used one.

 

[zogger]

Has anyone used a cordless chainsaw, like the Makita 18V saw? It would use the came battery as the rest of my cordless tools which is a bonus. Just wondering if anyone here has used one.

Several members here now have the oregon, I think two members have the high end husky top handle. Not sure on the makita 18 volt though. I used my Oregon several days ago to buck up branches and too long rounds around the wood stack. The newer cordless electric saws are 36 volt though. Not sure how long the 18v would cut on a battery.

With that said, have you considered a quality, as opposed to box store cheepie, handsaw? Silky or Bahco? You wont get lighter or more reliable than that in any powersaw.

 

[brokenbudget]

If you want new, the CS330T and CS360T Echos are being sold on clearance at Echo dealers. Just a shade over two bills at one of my local dealers IIRC. I still think a $25 used Micro (and a few to have as 'spares' on the shelf for when the 'primary' get's mashed in a get-off) makes more sense for this use.

these are 2 saws that i actualy like.
i have the 330t, bought it early last summer for a good price from my local dealer. they run pretty good bone stock, but after you get rid of the cat and open up the outlet a bit, they really run strong. lots of snot for a small saw. it was one of those saws i was going to keep around for a short time and pass off when the right time came. hasn't happened as of yet. i likeit too much. it may just be a keeper.
my only complaint is the tank openings. they're too small.

my brother in law ended up with a very good deal on the 360t from same dealer, uses it around the yard. has had it out on the trails when cutting wood for limbling. nice smooth little worker. he won't let me touch the muffler until the "warranty" is up. but he likes the way my 330 runs.

 

[JRHAWK9]

why not a little Homelite XL/Super 2? They are very light and can be found very cheap.

 

[MotorSeven]

a cheap light reliable saw would be Stihl MS170 ... Stihl calls it an occasional use chainsaw. but that doesn't prevent folks like Asplundh here in Tulsa, using MS170 as their production climbing saw.

Stihl MS 170 (16 in. Bar : $179.99)

I second the 170. I bought one used off CL 5 years ago. I put a carving bar on and carve stuff from time to time. I then used it for notches & small cutting on my log house build. I feel like this "occasional use" saw is a pretty good value & I would not hesitate to stick it on my DRZ400S to do some trail cutting.

 

[Eccentric]

why not a little Homelite XL/Super 2? They are very light and can be found very cheap.

They're not bad. Somewhat harder to work on than the Poulan Micro series, but pretty tough and reliable. Easy to find cheap as well.

 

[CJ1]

Used to run a 338, sold that and just stick my 346 up on the bars now. I use a saw carrier that attaches to the forks and it take a couple of minutes to get used to but it works really well. CJ

 

[RedShift42]

...I hate it when people do this, and I have given others crap when they have done it... but in this case it might make sense....
You might be better off with a good pruning saw like a Silky. Or a good bowsaw and a good light hatchet.

The only reason I say that is I just can't see how to mount a saw on a dirtbike in a way that won't bang the daylights out of the saw. Any small light saw has lots of plastic on it that is going to take a beating and get cracked up. It's bad enough keeping a saw on a quad rack where it can be secured much better and a trail bike id going to be much worse...

+1

I've taken to carrying a Fiskars X7 14" hatchet in/on my vehicles. Between its light weight and knife-like edge, I'm always surprised how handily it dispatches small-med. wood that I want out of the way or add to the woodpile-- used it just 3hrs ago for that purpose, in fact, while the little Echo chainsaw remained in the vehicle.
Pruning saws are an ideal complimentary tool but since discovering the efficiency of the X7, my folding-handle pruning saw gets opened less and less.

 

[cedarshark]

I second the 170. I bought one used off CL 5 years ago. I put a carving bar on and carve stuff from time to time. I then used it for notches & small cutting on my log house build. I feel like this "occasional use" saw is a pretty good value & I would not hesitate to stick it on my DRZ400S to do some trail cutting.

Vote # 3 but I would get a used 017 that does not have the tool-less bar adjustment. That feature qualifies right up there with flippy caps in my book.

 

[CJ1]

how you mount the saw to prevent it from getting destroyed will be much more important than which saw.

I hate it when people do this, and I have given others crap when they have done it... but in this case it might make sense....
You might be better off with a good pruning saw like a Silky. Or a good bowsaw and a good light hatchet.

The only reason I say that is I just can't see how to mount a saw on a dirtbike in a way that won't bang the daylights out of the saw. Any small light saw has lots of plastic on it that is going to take a beating and get cracked up. It's bad enough keeping a saw on a quad rack where it can be secured much better and a trail bike id going to be much worse.

A top handle in a backpack might work.

I could not see myself cutting a 20" deadfall out with a handsaw. The last trail we cleared in the UP of Michigan had 110 dead falls [we GPS them to prove to the DNR] some were complete trees directly in the trail, not across it. Went through 3 tanks of fuel. If you carry the saw in a front rack and bungee cord it in there will be almost no damage to the saw, in fact when I sold the 338 it looked almost new. Now the front fender had some scratches in it, that makes for a long day and you are a little careless putting the saw back on the rack!! The backpack works but it is a pain when you use the saw every few hundred feet and I would not want to fall with it there. The weight of the saw in a backpack really screws you up also, it is way better on the front of the bike. CJ

 

[homelitejim]

I use a chainsaw vice on the back of my 4 wheeler, it works better than bungee cords plus leaves room on my racks for other things. The 441 with 25 inch bar is about the max amount of saw I would put in it. This is my camp set up for fetching camp wood, we camp with a few friends and I provide all the wood plus I like to take some home, when I trail ride my ms260 or Echo cs400 get strapped in.

 

[bcorradi]

Yes and I felt soiled.

That is why you have been and always will be known as a has been. To each their own.