Look at this beauty. Husqvarna 242XP

[belgian]

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Hey Belgian, have you ever seen a Jonsered 420 over there? Those were supposed to be nice little limbing saws but I have never seen one on this side of the pond.

Have to disappoint you, never seen one myself....but it was not on my wishlist either. I do aim mainly on bigguns...LOL

 

[TimberMcPherson]

The 242 is something else, I really love it on the ground in the brush, its a high performance classic, but still an old saw. I have 2 of them, but will pick the 346 over one any day.

 

[SawTroll]

.......
That being said, the 242xp was 20 years ahead of the 346xp, so I understand that this saw built an excellent reputation for limbing in that period. I still have a sweet spot for it, and makes me smile everytime I pull that trigger

Hmmmm, 20 years ahead is an exaggregation - the 242 appeared in 1987, and the 242xp about 1993. The 346xp appeared in 1999. :msp_wink:

 

[docrw]

Husqvarna 346XP vrs.~ the legendary 242XP

That's probably a very true statement, but since I haven't used a 346XP I'm guessing. You're right the 242XP was tuned for high revs and was truly one of the best saws EVER made, and when you consider when it was made makes it even better. Being a log home builder for many years, it's the perfect saw for craving and running hours on end, this is the wrong saw and to nice of a saw for firewood cutting. With all the raves I've read about the 346XP I want one bad, and I also wonder what will be the next great saw from Husqvarna...:biggrin:

They do rev like crazy, but I was quite disappointed in the ones I had. They dont have much torque at all. IMHO, the 346 is a FAR better saw.

 

[blsnelling]

The 543XP should be exactly that. I'm anxious for them to come out.

 

[SawTroll]

The 543XP should be exactly that. I'm anxious for them to come out.

I am a bit disappointed with the specs of the 543xp, as it doesn't match the 242xp regarding max power (at least not on paper), and it looks like there are no Revboost feature.

I haven't seen any specs on max allowed rpm though.....

 

[computeruser]

I'll admit I don't have a ton of time on the 346 family (OE or NE), but I do have a fair bit in on my 238se, which for all practical purposes is a 242. I spent three hours today (yeah, playing hookie from work!) clearing stands of buckthorn for some college student volunteers to drag out and pile up this coming weekend. The past two days of this were done with a 5100 Dolmar (3/8, 17"), and today's work was by far more pleasant with the little 238. I can flip this saw around in my hands for felling really small stems (2-6"), then breaking them down once they drop, faster and smoother than any saw I've ever run. 13" bar and Stihl RS chain, it is fast and productive in this role. I don't know how to really describe it, but you can cut horizontally and flip the saw back to vertical by loosening your grip on the front handlebar slightly and twisting the grip - the saw just flicks over 90*. It is magical, honestly.

It is truly a shame that nobody offers a saw that acts like this one, at least that I've run. There is something to its balance, especially with the super-short bar, that makes it incredibly useful for limbing and clearing out stands of thin stuff. If I can ever scare up some spare cash, I will definitely find (or build) me another.