Which saw do I want?

[LuDookie]

I like Husqvarna and Echo more than Stihl right now. Has nothing much to do with quality or performance, but more to do with the fact that Stihl is the first to almost complete their lineup with saws that are hard for me to work on. Husqvarna is definitely following suite but still have a few in production that I like. Echo still makes many simple, high quality saws at a good price and parts are easy to buy.

The only Stihl I own is a 261 that I got in 2013, and while it’s been plenty reliable, I run it the least. I’m just not crazy about it.

 

[North by Northwest]

To me its all about weight, a Stihl 025 or a MS241 will do it.
550xp mark2 might be a good solid saw, but its weight is a bummer.

A 346 xp or 5105 H will cut circles around both for a lot less $$ !

 

[link]

A 346 xp or 5105 H will cut circles around both for a lot less $$ !

I have a Dolmar 5105, Best saw ever! Perhaps except I get soaked sweat and tired out pretty quickly.
The 241cm is just a small weight reduce, its really a tiny difference in weight.
But I don't get tired with it all day - that's all the world of difference to me.
My 5105 have an 18", my 241 have a 35cm.
Now, the 025 has that magic weight/power with a 14", the 026 don't.

 

[North by Northwest]

It's hard to say, because it really varies. Over the last couple of years I acquired a decent sized farm which mostly consists of wooded land. While I'm far from an expert on tree identification, a lot of it is various hardwood such as oak, poplar, etc. The most recent need for a saw was having 6 trees fall across the road in. They were in the 12-16" diameter. I got about half of these done, when my MS250 started giving me the issues that prompted the initial repairs. I still need to get these up, along with two more slightly larger that fell in a field.

Other times, I'm just cutting soft pines, or other small trees or branches that are just a couple of inches in diameter as I'm cutting trails, clearing branches that hang over fence lines, etc. It's all been fairly new to me, as the last 15 years that I used the saw, I just used it for branches in the yard, small trees in the yard, occasionally helping a friend cut firewood, etc. I'm finding that I need it a lot more these days and it's a lot bigger variety of what I'm cutting.

Any quality homeowner 50 cc saw will accomplish oak or softwood poplar in that girth all day long . A Pro grade saw which includes Specific Echo Models along with Husky or Stihl will do it forever !

 

[North by Northwest]

I have a Dolmar 5105, Best saw ever! Perhaps except I get soaked sweat and tired out pretty quickly.
The 241cm is just a small weight reduce, its really a tiny difference in weight.
But I don't get tired with it all day - that's all the world of difference to me.
My 5105 have an 18", my 241 have a 35cm.
Now, the 025 has that magic wight/power with a 14", the 026 don't.

At 68 + young I hear you brother lol.

 

[link]

At 68 + young I hear you brother lol.

I'm about 50, my dad died from cancer at 60-65 years, so I don't expect to live that long.

 

[Mike Ray]

I have a 5105 also and it won't ever be for sale. fill it up with gas and oil and wiil cut all a standard size pickup will hold and still have fuel.

 

[link]

I have a 5105 also and it won't ever be for sale. fill it up with gas and oil and wiil cut all a standard size pickup will hold and still have fuel.

And its pretty aggressive at the throttle too...

 

[mountainlake]

Just get a Echo CS400, muff modd and tune good and smile when you use it. Steve

 

[link]

Just get a Echo CS400, muff modd and tune good and smile when you use it. Steve

That's what matters.

 

[261cm]

Just a heads up, but no matter what brand you go with the supply chain sux. It ain’t just Stihl. Go order parts for any other brand and you will be in the same boat. Me personally, I would buy a 261cm, which I did last year myself.

 

[peak98]

Buying new, I’d go with an Echo 620 with a 20” and 24” bars.
If you can find a well cared for 026/260, 357/359, or a 346xp....all these saws will put a smile on your face. I had a ms250 and it is not missed.
peak98

 

[link]

Buying new, I’d go with an Echo 620 with a 20” and 24” bars.
If you can find a well cared for 026/260, 357/359, or a 346xp....all these saws will put a smile on your face. I had a ms250 and it is not missed.
peak98

Too heavy for me dancing around the woods cutting 12" birch, but if you like the weight you are blessed.
Couple of hours makes all the difference, soaked sweat and tired in 10 minutes or not...

 

[ElevatorGuy]

What do you have against Huskies?

It’s a husky, No way. They’re the mopar of chainsaws, Junk.

 

[Lionsfan]

It’s a husky, No way. They’re the mopar of chainsaws, Junk.

Whatever

 

[esean]

Do you know the time of the year they usually do this? Having not shopped for their saws before, I wasn't aware that they usually did this.

Echo's 15% one day sales only apply to their "X Series" saws now. Used to be 20% on anything. So, during the sale you can pick up a 501P for just a little more than a 4910. There's no set time, its different for each dealer. Have to check on the Echo-usa website.

 

[hometheaterman]

Well, I made the first saw purchase tonight. Hopefully I don't regret it even though I said I didn't want another Stihl. I feel kind of bad that I didn't follow a lot of the advice I was given. I had started looking at the CS-3510 for a small saw and still the 590 as a large saw. Then I ran across a clean looking Stihl MS180 on Facebook Marketplace. I ended up picking it up for $150. Hopefully I didn't do too bad on it, but you guys can tell me if I did. You never can believe what people tell you when selling something and I don't know how to tell the age of it, but it looks fairly clean. The seller said he bought it new in 2021, and claimed he'd only used it 10 times or so. I tend to believe him due to how it looks. He'd added the felling dogs, but it was otherwise stock and seemed to run great in the parking lot.

My other thought was that if I end up not liking it, I could probably get most of my money back.

Now I just need to get a big saw. I'm still mostly leaning towards the Echo CS-590. Have any of you all that have them had any issues with chain tension? I keep seeing two complaints posted on various sites and that's that the chain seems to keep coming loose. It makes me wonder if the tensioner is slipping, or if it's just stretching. Or if the people are adjusting it improperly or what. Others have complained about hard starting. However, other reviewers seem to love it. My relative that recently purchased one loves his, but hasn't used it enough to notice if there are any problems.

 

[hometheaterman]

On another note, I also called one of the semi local Stihl dealers to check on parts prices for my 250. The assured me they'd call me back when they were done with a customer. Yet no call back. Getting parts for these things is really a terrible experience.

 

[Section VIII]

My first chainsaw was an Echo 450P with a 20" bar. I used it to fell a ~44" DBH standing dead water oak with only a handful of branches at the very top and quite a few burls. Had I known that the burls were prized by some, I would've kept those sections.

I sold the 450P to my former supervisor when I got my Stihl 441CM.

 

[North by Northwest]

I'm about 50, my dad died from cancer at 60-65 years, so I don't expect to live that long.

You may be in for a surprise youngin !