coho
ArboristSite Lurker
hello everyone,
I'm looking to buy one or the other and don't have a particular affinity for one brand or the other. I've used both brands but i used different saw models and sizes that were older. In addition i don't have enough total experience with various makes & models to have a substantial knowledge/experience base to reference. Local dealer prices are $1240 for the stihl and $1375 for the husqy.
I'm not looking for a simple and unjustified "stihl is better" or something like that. I'm looking for either brand, or more hopefully, model-specific things that would only be noticed after owning/using/running/maintaining the saw; not things that are on a specsheet or that you would see while holding them in the dealer's lobby. Total cost of ownership costs, reliability of particular parts with certain models, unrealized conveniences, and the like.
To give you an example, I've had some experience with the husqvarna 385 and if memory serves me correctly, through general saw use/vibration, and in repeatedly servicing the saw, i found the the left screw for the chain brake lever (the screw that doubles as a screw for the flywheel/pull start mechanism housing) would very often fall out...rendering the brake, and the saw useless until you got another screw. We used 4 385's on our crew, and all the saws had different users...but the situation was still common with everyone. The thing is...you wouldn't know a problem like this from the showroom or a spec sheet. Although i notice the 660 and the 390's chassis design is identical to the 385 in that they all have that one shared screw...i'm wondering if the stihl's have the same problem and/or if there's other things that are better or worse off with either brand/model?
So basically i'm looking for any user justified intangibles that are either a pro or a con either for stihl/husqy, or more appropriately, for or against either of those two specific models.
Thanks in advance,
Coho
I'm looking to buy one or the other and don't have a particular affinity for one brand or the other. I've used both brands but i used different saw models and sizes that were older. In addition i don't have enough total experience with various makes & models to have a substantial knowledge/experience base to reference. Local dealer prices are $1240 for the stihl and $1375 for the husqy.
I'm not looking for a simple and unjustified "stihl is better" or something like that. I'm looking for either brand, or more hopefully, model-specific things that would only be noticed after owning/using/running/maintaining the saw; not things that are on a specsheet or that you would see while holding them in the dealer's lobby. Total cost of ownership costs, reliability of particular parts with certain models, unrealized conveniences, and the like.
To give you an example, I've had some experience with the husqvarna 385 and if memory serves me correctly, through general saw use/vibration, and in repeatedly servicing the saw, i found the the left screw for the chain brake lever (the screw that doubles as a screw for the flywheel/pull start mechanism housing) would very often fall out...rendering the brake, and the saw useless until you got another screw. We used 4 385's on our crew, and all the saws had different users...but the situation was still common with everyone. The thing is...you wouldn't know a problem like this from the showroom or a spec sheet. Although i notice the 660 and the 390's chassis design is identical to the 385 in that they all have that one shared screw...i'm wondering if the stihl's have the same problem and/or if there's other things that are better or worse off with either brand/model?
So basically i'm looking for any user justified intangibles that are either a pro or a con either for stihl/husqy, or more appropriately, for or against either of those two specific models.
Thanks in advance,
Coho