Stihl MS200T: What's So Special About It?

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Poulan Super 25DA-1.jpg
Oh hell I'll bite....The eager beaver is one that will stand right next to it. The Poulan s25 will probably straight beat it.
Laugh all you want and tell me they don't make those saws anymore.
That's just two saws to list. What about the shindaiwa 358ts? Has anyone ran that one?
I've had the Stihl top handle and still own an S25 and think you might be right. The 25 is a little heavier I think. Even though they're not being made anymore you can still easily find one if you look. Plus they don't have carb problems and aren't hard to work on and you're comparing a $1000 saw with one I paid $6 for.
 
From what I've heard, the S25 was the 200T of it's day. But that day was a LONG time ago.

Just for starters, it doesn't have a chain break. That's a deal breaker for most commercial use right there.

Yes they are very strong, but they don't make near the RPMs of current saws, a requirement for most professional users.

Air filtration is horrible on them.

Carb adjustment screws are inaccessible without a large screwdriver and removing the filter cover.

Most have no A/V, another huge deal breaker for many.

Bottom line...to compare a 200/201T to a S25 for commercial use is ridiculous.
 
Oh hell I'll bite....The eager beaver is one that will stand right next to it. The Poulan s25 will probably straight beat it.
Laugh all you want and tell me they don't make those saws anymore.
That's just two saws to list. What about the shindaiwa 358ts? Has anyone ran that one?
I like this post....its funny!!:laugh::laugh:especially the part about the eager beaver:numberone:
 
Oh hell I'll bite....The eager beaver is one that will stand right next to it. The Poulan s25 will probably straight beat it.
Laugh all you want and tell me they don't make those saws anymore.
That's just two saws to list. What about the shindaiwa 358ts? Has anyone ran that one?
I bought one of them things you call a saw once off a shop owner I knew, cause I was trying to help him out a bit. I used it like once and tossed it in the trash!
 
View attachment 495196
I've had the Stihl top handle and still own an S25 and think you might be right. The 25 is a little heavier I think. Even though they're not being made anymore you can still easily find one if you look. Plus they don't have carb problems and aren't hard to work on and you're comparing a $1000 saw with one I paid $6 for.

Whoa Whoa Whoa, I gotta call a friendly shennaniganns on this one :)
You are telling me a climber would use that S25 in a tree all day, starting it upwards of 50 times one handed with the brake set?
oh wait......



crap I didn't finish reading the thread before posting:(
 
From what I've heard, the S25 was the 200T of it's day. But that day was a LONG time ago.

Just for starters, it doesn't have a chain break. That's a deal breaker for most commercial use right there.

Yes they are very strong, but they don't make near the RPMs of current saws, a requirement for most professional users.

Air filtration is horrible on them.

Carb adjustment screws are inaccessible without a large screwdriver and removing the filter cover.

Most have no A/V, another huge deal breaker for many.

Bottom line...to compare a 200/201T to a S25 for commercial use is ridiculous.

Come on man. You wanted me to name a saw and I did. Here's the chain brake. The 200 is an older saw from yesterday just as well. In my opinion to start going beyond performance and reliability and start comparing anti vibe is getting into bias territory.IMG_0042-M.jpg
 
In general a reputation is earned. The 200T is a pure design flawlessness.
Climbers love them because they do the hardest work on the site in the closest most dangerous quarters and want a dead-nuts reliable saw to do it.
Stihl screwed the pooch with the original 201T and then made another mistake by not renaming the "new" MS201T the MS202T. That model is stuck in infamy as a underpowered piece of junk and even if they doubled the power in the same case it will never sell well.
A MS201T can be made to run well, even as well as a MS200T, but the MS200T cut perfect straight from the box and is still quieter than a performance enhanced MS201T which is important to a guy using it next to his face all day.
balance, weight, power, easy starting, longevity (till ya run ethanol or drop them out of a tree).
Other brands can be cheaper but I have never seen an arborist who was spending his bosses money who didn't want an MS200T over any other saw, period.
Find another top handle saw that can command $1000.00 on Ebay :)
P.S. lonewolf knows his way around a 200T
totally agree with everything you said.
I have friends working cleaning bushes underneath high voltage line, 37.5 hour each week, all of them praise the good old MS 200 and none of them was happy with MS 201, until the MS201 mtronic arrived.
 
Come on man. You wanted me to name a saw and I did. Here's the chain brake. The 200 is an older saw from yesterday just as well. In my opinion to start going beyond performance and reliability and start comparing anti vibe is getting into bias territory.View attachment 495262
You do realize that is my saw, right :) Like I said, they run great, but there's a LOT more to it than that. BTW, that saw did not come with that chain brake and they are VERY uncommon. I have never seen a S25 sold with one. I bought that one as an add on kit, separate from the saw.
 
You do realize that is my saw, right :) Like I said, they run great, but there's a LOT more to it than that. BTW, that saw did not come with that chain brake and they are VERY uncommon. I have never seen a S25 sold with one. I bought that one as an add on kit, separate from the saw.
That's a pretty neat caweenkeedink.
This wasn't supposed to turn into all this over a smart ass comment. The way the title of the thread is worded makes it easy for that. I was also sharing my experience of feedback from the tree tops which didn't deserve any fact checking or bashing.
 
Jim,
Can you post a P/N for that stuff you been smoking ?
I'd like me sum of dat.
Sure Cheech come on over. It's gonna be one visit you'll never remember.:crazy:

They need a little emoji dude burning a doob to properly describe the emotion involved here.
I actually feel weird calling them emoji, aren't they more of a modern day hieroglyphic?
 
Sure Cheech come on over. It's gonna be one visit you'll never remember.:crazy:

They need a little emoji dude burning a doob to properly describe the emotion involved here.
I actually feel weird calling them emoji, aren't they more of a modern day hieroglyphic?

Its "chooch" actually....but that's OK I get the reference...loved "up in smoke"
 
Its "chooch" actually....but that's OK I get the reference...loved "up in smoke"
Woah...I just realized my earliest movie memory is how exited I was in 1980 waiting for the next movie to be released. I was born in '74. So that means I was 4 when I watched up in smoke...which I remember watching at the time of release. How I remember this is a mystery.
 
I was taking my biweekly look at various local classifieds in search of chainsaws and I could not but be taken aback by how insanely expensive MS200T's still are.
A saw in apparently great shape is a "non negotiable" €650 while a non-runner (apparently straight-gassed) will set you back at around €400.

Now, I know the 200T is a great saw, one of the best top handle ever made, but a brand new MS201T is €840 MSRP, meaning any Stihl dealer will let it go for €800 with your choice of bar and a spare chain thrown in for good measure. Were I on the market for a brand new top handle saw, it would be a no-brainer. Yes, I would probably get an Echo or a Zenoah. :laugh:

Is the 201T such a dud that the old model is still the best buy? Or does the 200T have such a legendary status that owners feel they must ask a hefty premium for it?

I think this can be filed under "If I have to explain it, you wouldn't understand." The only way to know why a 200t is so legendary is to use one. I'm not a pro climber but I do/have climbed and there is no other saw I would rather take up a tree with me. I use mine A LOT on the ground too. Super handy for cutting up small wood that is just a pain with a bigger saw. Don't tell the safety police but I use it one handed on the ground too.
 
I think this can be filed under "If I have to explain it, you wouldn't understand." The only way to know why a 200t is so legendary is to use one. I'm not a pro climber but I do/have climbed and there is no other saw I would rather take up a tree with me. I use mine A LOT on the ground too. Super handy for cutting up small wood that is just a pain with a bigger saw. Don't tell the safety police but I use it one handed on the ground too.

Yeah, but I am asking because I do not climb nor I'll ever climb: I suffer from height-induced vertigo. 8ft into a tree is all I can muster before starting being physically sick. Even cherry pickers make me sick. :confused:
Climbing is out of question, let alone cutting: that's why I am asking to those with experience.
;)
 
I think this can be filed under "If I have to explain it, you wouldn't understand." The only way to know why a 200t is so legendary is to use one. I'm not a pro climber but I do/have climbed and there is no other saw I would rather take up a tree with me. I use mine A LOT on the ground too. Super handy for cutting up small wood that is just a pain with a bigger saw. Don't tell the safety police but I use it one handed on the ground too.
If you like the 200T on the ground try an MS241C ;)
 
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