Which bar/chain for Echo CS-490

[stantonizm]

Update:

So after 9 months, I was finally able to get ahold of a narrow kerf bar with a K216 mount. Nate at https://www.performanceoutdoorequipment.com/ was able to get me one of the new 18” Oregon Speedcut bars. Got it hooked up with a loop of Husqvarna SP33G. The balance is great and I like the feel better than the 16” bar I had on it. Hopefully I’ll get a chance to cut with it afterwhile and post up a video.

 

[stantonizm]

Got to test out the new combo this past weekend on a ~17" diameter dead maple in a neighbors yard. It died last year sometime and was bone dry. Making the backcut was a little spotty. Once the bar was in full depth, the chain would lock up and I'd have to back it out and get it spinning pretty good before it made contact to cut again. I don't know if it was getting pinched, I was bending the bar, or the wood was just too much and too hard. Once the tree was down, it really ripped through it and I didn't have any problems.