Where did your brand bias come from?

[Philip Wheelock]

That's not really important to people who live in other countries ;-)

Well, the OP asked... Putting aside the country of manufacture then, it comes down to dealer support; there are very good Husky & Stihl dealers within 2 miles of my house, I'd be happy with either make. It's a poor craftsman who blames his tools, anyway.

 

[eat a peach]

Throughout the time i have been on here i've read a lot of very strong opinions about the manufacturers which piques my curiosity.

I find myself always leaning toward stihls, since its what i grew up with and generally its the brand of saw that lands in my lap 9 times out of 10.

So how did your bias develop?

I started with a old sears rebadged homlite. I came across an 021 and loved it . I was relieved of my Stihl so I bought a new one. I still have it. Graduated to a 029 super and thought I was a pro! I was very happy till I stumbled across this place.....man was my bubble burst! I had no idea the difference between pro vs plastic, xp vs rancher etc. I just read and learned . I could not adjust a carb at first ,much less anything else. The move to more Husky came from availability and price . Around here Stihl is a bit over priced for used stuff . I also liked the balance and power of the older Husky vs the heavier older Stihl. Parts are easier to get and I have been lucky enough to run across a few larger XP models pretty cheap. I have a few newer Stihl saws and the homeowners seem to be a bit cheaper made ms211,ms250 than in the past. I must say in all fairness my ms260,HT75 pole saw and ms200t are some of the most dependable saws I have owned or could ask for. My buddy has a ms460 that cuts as good as anything I own so I know STIHL makes great saws. I just have evolved into being more comfortable working on Huskys.

 

[hogwood]

my first saw an echo cs 280e. Now about 20 years old. Runs better than the day it came out of the box.

The Stihl I bought for larger stuff gave me fuel problems. I bought it just before the ethanol craze and maybe it wasn't
designed to deal with ethanol.

Now i have CS 450P which i love and an lightweight cs 310 for limbing.

So i voted echo.

 

[Big_Wood]

i chose husky over stihl and ran both for years. performance, handling, and balance are where it's at. running a stihl after running a husky feels uncomfortable but i can get used to it after a while. i'm hopefully gonna be working out in the woods in the next couple months and might give stihl another shot if the 661 is out by then. the way i see it is i'm not biased. i ran both brands and made the decision that husky is the superior saw. i don't hate stihls, just saying i wouldn't choose any of the ones i've already run for any comparable husky. i do wanna run a 661 though, pretty much just to see how close stihl got it in there copying schemes . the brand biased people are the ones that have only tried the one brand and come in here talking like they know it all. one guy on ski's in particular comes to mind

 

[Deleted member 83629]

No brand bias here i run anything it is how the dealer treats me and having a family connection helps too went to school with everyone in the dealership so i usually get very good deals on saws,parts,chemicals.

 

[Agrarian]

In my teenage years it was a Lombard and then a second-hand Stihl from a logger family friend. We couldn't keep a carb on that Stihl if our life depended on it. When I finally got my own place in my 20's I went with a new Sachs Dolmar (cant remember the model) because the local dealer had serviced my parents for many years. I worked for a summer at a lumber mill on the green chain and they had a Husky. I was really impressed by its torque and exhaust note so I sold my Dolmar and got a 262xp in 1994. It is still my primary saw, cutting 6+ cords a year all these years with no problems whatsoever. If there were problems, I can strip that Husky down to the crankcase in 15 minutes (if I take my time) with two allen wrenches. That's the basis of my bias. That and the fact that I can go anywhere on the Net and get parts. And the manuals back to the 80's are free from Husky, no begging for IPL's.

Dealer support is not critical for me because I do my own work - it is more important to be able to get parts whenever I need them (to support a raging case of CAD). The dealer would be more important if the local dealer had any kind of inventory but he doesn't. It takes upwards of two weeks to get anything, including having a custom length chain made.

 

[sunfish]

My one good dealer is one hour away and I really don't need dealer support.

 

[pro94lt]

You'll throw brand bias out the window if you depend on Em for a living. I run stihl echo husqvarna and one efco pole saw. I will say if your a stihl guy and never ran the current Xp models run one not just cut a cookie but run one... I ran all husqvarna till I ran a 200t best saw of all time.

 

[spindrift7mm]

I like Husky and Stihl but get tired chasing the Huskys down the hill. The two Huskys I use have dog leashes so I can tie them up. I think their scared of the 088.

 

[Agrarian]

I like Husky and Stihl but get tired chasing the Huskys down the hill. The two Huskys I use have dog leashes so I can tie them up. I think their scared of the 088.

I'll give you that Husky's are a little busty - they carry their weight high. Stihl's apparently have their junk in the trunk.

 

[Boleclimber]

Vocational school had Husqvarna and Stihl. After handling both brands I found that I liked Husqvarna performance better. It probably didn't help that the Husqvarna saws were 254XP, 262XP, and 272XP. The largest Stihl was an 028.

 

[sunfish]

I'll give you that Husky's are a little busty - they carry their weight high. Stihl's apparently have their junk in the trunk.

Yep, slim Swedish ass and wide German rump... It's all good!

 

[stihl sawing]

if Poulan still made saws like they used to, I'd be Poulan sawing.

 

[sunfish]

if Poulan still made saws like they used to, I'd be Poulan sawing.

Yep!!!

 

[stihlaficionado]

Watching a guy cut a huge water oak with a Stihl 084 when I was in grad school. Sure beat studying.

Then later on I rented a few 044's

 

[MustangMike]

My first decade of sawing was with Homelites. Then there was a Stihl on sale at a place that was discontinuing selling them, turned out to be an 044. After I ran the 044 I never touched my Homelites again. For over 20 years that saw has run so strong and been so dependable that I don't think anyone can make the argument that anyone made a better 70 cc saw. So I recently got the 362 C-M and so far I like it just as much.

I don't think anyone makes a better running more dependable saw, although I will say that if they did not come out with M-Tronic on the 362 I would have got the 562. Husky broke the technology first, but I now believe the playing field is even.

And Don, regarding your "wide" comment, someone repeated that to me recently, so I took my Stihl and put it on top of his Husky and he observed "Your Stihl is thinner than my Husky ... don't ask me to say that on the AS website".

Well I won't ask him to, but that is what happened.

 

[SS Sniper]

I chose Husky because that's what I always saw dad using. He always used Husky because my grandfather burnt up countless McCulloch's, Pioneer's , and Homelites. After that, the Stihl's came along and didn't fend well either for him. As soon as the Swedish-built saws hit the US he didn't look back. Partner, Husky, and Jonsered were officially the best saws in his eyes, then my father's eyes, and now mine. But, the truth is behind closed doors Husky and Stihl work together just as much as GM, Dodge, and Ford do. You know just as much as I do that they make HP and pricing comparative, and Autotune and Mtronic didn't appear out of thin air simultaneously for both of them.

 

[jughead500]

I like Husky and Stihl but get tired chasing the Huskys down the hill. The two Huskys I use have dog leashes so I can tie them up. I think their scared of the 088.

They are a Little bit Rolley Polley aren't they?I absolutely hated my 455 husky for taking off rolling down hills and in the back of the truck.I've been pondering on installing a Kick stand on my new 359.


Biased.Not me.Well just enough to be biased til I get my New Saw.I usually like it until I get another Brand.

 

[imagineero]

I'd run a lot of saws before I bought my own first saw, but it was an 044 too. Spoiled me for life. Still my favorite saw of all time, though ported 346xp is not far behind. 026 is pretty high up there too.

 

[MRCo.]

I've been in the power equipment business 7 years, no previous involvement. I have seen what flows through my repair shop, what problems they have, what price parts are...etc. I started with no biases, I purely observed things. Every major manufacturer has good products, and they all have issues in time. I don't like the handling of Stihls, think their prarts are high and HATE that they dont put IPLs online. But they are a good working machine. Husqy / Jonsered are great machines...if you don't get the box store ones. And I don't like the outboard clutch on the mid size pro ones. I haven't really met an Echo I like much, but the top handles are good. You might disagree based on your experience and feel. My bias is to Dolmar, based on the fact that they cut great, handle great, parts are cheap and they are straight forward to work on. Either way, if your saw cuts your fire wood, or makes you a living, who the hell cares what someone else thinks of it?