So I went out today and looked at both the Stihl MS 250 and the Echo CS4510. The dealer I stopped at sells both Echo and Stihl products. The Echo retails for around $330 and the Stihl around $350. With that said I looked at saws both with 18" bars on them. I ended up purchasing the Stihl. Definitely took the community's input, but I'm going to share some things I noticed when I looked at both saws. I'm definitely not a professional reviewer but I'm going to share my thoughts being I looked at both in the same showroom side by side.
Weight and Balance
- Stihl: I don't care what the specifications read from both Echo and Stihl. This is definitely something that in person you could tell there was a difference between the two and it was more than the 1 lbs that is advertised. The Stihl is definitely a more compact and lighter package. Both saws are largely built from plastic. I guess that's just how modern homeowner equipment is anymore. In the handling of both the saws I realized that the Stihl though lighter felt alot more rugged and durable. The Echo seemed flimsy and almost floppy to me when to me. The Stihl with the 18" bar also seemed alot more balanced than the Echo with the 18" bar.
Starting
- Echo: Primer bulb starting plus choke. I imagine this saw will be alot easier for most people to get going after it has sat for a bit or if it has questionable gas it it. Given the Stihl has only a choke I can see the normal person having a problem getting this saw going if it has some questionable gas in it. I grew up using Stihl saws so the lack of a primer definitely didn't scare me, but I can see where it would be a benefit. The Echo definitely was alot easier to pull the engine over. The Stihl you had to get after it alittle
Power
- Inconclusive: Unfortunately I was unable to test run either saw in the show room of the dealer given I got there later in the day. I did run the Stihl through a full tank of fuel when I got home with it and I will say it's definitely twice the saw that Poulan was.
Accessibility to cleaner element and spark plug.
- Equals: Both units it pretty easy to access the air cleaner assembly and plug.
Bar tensioner and assembly
-Echo: The echo I would say wins here a little given the captive nuts for the case. I wasn't super hot about the feature I can see the usefulness of it.
Hand controls
-Stihl: There is something familiar about being able to basically flip your way from choke to off with just your thumb. Maybe a familiarity thing but still.
Bar and Chain
- Equals: It looked like both saws use actually the same chain. Bar is obviously different but nothing crazy. The Stihl has the Rollomatic bar, the Echo you have to grease the bearing every so often. No big deal either way.
Value
-Echo: The Echo is about $20 cheaper retail vs the Stihl.
Reasons I purchased the Stihl
- Partially (maybe 10% consideration) it was brand familiarity and reputation
- Mostly it was about the balance and weight (probably close to 50% once I felt the difference). Full disclosure: Going into the purchase I figured by looking at the spec sheets that these two saws would feel very similar and the work load on the operator would be about the same. I was dead wrong in that assumption. It just goes to show that you have to look at these things in person vs trusting a spec sheet and talking to folks online. Both are valuable resources I consider myself a pretty healthy and strong person, but not without my problems. In short I had a major back surgery a year ago to remove about 1/2 of my L5/S1 disc and L5/L4 disc in my lower back. Both discs in my lower back had ruptured and pinched off over 90% of my spinal cord. As what's left of the discs continue to deteriorate and I begin to develop severe arthritis the discs will have to be fuzed. I am putting that off as long as I can, but I know I'm on the clock as far as that goes. How that factored into the saw purchase. Well..... I wasn't even thinking of any of that crap to be honest. It wasn't even a consideration until I actually picked up both saws and noted the difference in weight and balance. It then occurred to me that while I could definitely use the Echo with no issue the fatigue level would be much much higher with that saw vs the Stihl.
Was it the best choice? Not sure but I figured I would share my thoughts and observations. I've attached a pair of pictures of the two saws side by side to give you guys an idea of the difference. Also note the floor tiles are 12x12 tiles so you have some reference on the difference.
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In the 50cc range of saws nothing tops my Maruyama MCV51 (Dolmar 5105) - wicked little saw.
