Need to get small arborist saw?

[RockyRiver]

I am being asked to get a small climbing saw. I have narrowed it down to Husky 338XPT (I heard a lot of bad news on this saw), Stihl 200T, or the Echo CS-341.
I am leaning towards the Echo, Any pros or cons on this saw. Does the echo CS-341 take a 3/8 or .325 chain?
Whats the horsepower on the echo? Is the little echo a good deal for the price difference from it and a Husky or Stihl?

 

[MasterBlaster]

 

[Kneejerk Bombas]

The echo will not take a .325.
It has about half the power of the other two saws.
The husky is pretty good on power, has some reliability issues.
The Stihl is good, soild and powerful.

Who is your best service and parts guy?

 

[RockyRiver]

Why does Echo not post in its brochure or on there web site the horsepower of their saws? Whould it hurt sales because there saws are under powered compared to its competitors?

 

[clearance]

Rocky-get the ms200t, awesome saw, and I am a Husky guy. Best little one-handing saw ever made.

 

[sedanman]

The attraction of the Echo is price. If you drop an MS-200 out of the tree it will set you back about $520.00 the Echos are about 1/2 as much. Don't worry about dropping the Husky though, it will JUMP! Redmax has 2 top handled saws same attraction as the Echo, price. The smallest Redmax is billed as the worlds lightest arborist saw, haven't verified that claim and have only ever used an MS-200, worked on a few Husky 335's enough to have a dis-taste for them.

 

[P_woozel]

Dependingon how much you use a saw in the tree, size of wood etc, I would look at other alternatives before shelling out 500+ bucks on that Stihl. I dont know that I would go with the Echo, they arent like they were a few years ago. I use my 335 it works fine , though it demands frequent attention. The rich little fairies at Stihl USA need to step up and redesign the MS200 instead of continually setting it to run leaner and leaner. I have wondered how the little Solo is. If you keep a SHARP chain on your saw most times in that class they all work fine. :umpkin:

 

[the tree guy]

What will you be using the saw for? How often? How big of wood?If it's only going to be a few times a month go with an echo.If you plan on making money with the saw buy a Stihl.If you are climbing or in A BUCKET you should have the saw tied off so it doesn't fall and waste your investment. Dan

 

[DirtTroll]

The husky 335 is a POS. The spark plug cover issue is downright pathetic.

 

[Toneman]

You have to love this saw!

 

[Lobo]

More money, yes.

A lot more saw, DEFFINITELY !

 

[RedlineIt]

RockyRiver,

MB's got it right, the stihl is pretty much the industry standard, an icon of a saw in it's own right.

I'm using a 335 daily, because a newish one fell my way at a can't lose price, and I've had no issues so far. The plug cover ain't a hard fix, and I enjoy keeping my saw maintained, so it's no biggie. Dialed in, the thing just wails. The Stihls aren't without some niggling problems either.

I did check out the shindaiwa 357, my opinion, STAY AWAY.

I also looked at the Echos. Thing that struck me right off was the dogs. They aren't. Theyre just little rounded plastic gubbins in the spot where the dogs ought to be. Little cartoon representations of actual dogs. I don't know about you, but I like to set the dogs on a lot of cuts, especially the critical face and backcuts when blowing out a top.

Not to belabour the point, but echo could have done as well by pasting a photograph of actual dogs on the front of the saw and been done with it.

 

[DDM]

I own Both the Stihl MS200T & the new Stihl 192T the 192T doesnt have the same power as the 200 but at 279.00 Its a Good Saw!

 

[TimberMcPherson]

Bang for buck echos the best value saw, but if your a saw guy you will probably want the ms200t.

 

[smokin_stroker0]

Seeing how the stihl is rated as a Pro saw that gives it what a whole 90 warranty. They really stand behind there saws don't they.