I think that the Poulan Wild Thing is about as good as it gets. I have it with a 16" bar and man I have cut down many trees that are 35" tall lol No not great for big jobs but nice to trim the trees with. I my dad got a big stihl I believe it is a 77 or 88? Anyway the stihl never quit on us yet, just hard to keep a bar straight lol.

 

I ran the shop for one of the largest tree companies in the northeast for 20 years, one word says it all - STIHL!! Husky is a very tempermental saw and parts can be a problem depending on your dealer network. Echo is a good saw for the homeowner, I have an Echo string trimmer that is over 20 years old and finally started acting up at the end of the summer, I think it's time to retire it. Greg

 

I run some older stuff. a Stihl 024, Jonsered 670 champ.
I like my Jonsered 670 best. its a 67cc engine, packing nearly 5.5hp, and its FAST in most anything I use it on.

Stihls saws are top notch, I have no complaint with them since I used to run an 038 MAG II series which was a 72CC motor, and pretty powerful, and reliable as can be too.

 

Those stihl 024's are good saws, got one that still runs pretty strong and a newer 025.

 

My dad/me have run HomeLite's for years and years, and they seem to work pretty decent. But I have nothing to compare them to. The Fire department that I am we have Sthil there and there good also but I use them for 3-30 minutes and then don't touch again for 4 months. where as the homelite's I have run tanks of gas through in a day.


just my $.02 on the matter.

 

Stihl or Husky, I have a Husky RANCHER 455, for firewood and cleaning up my 1/2 acre of woods, its excellent.

http://onlinestore.forestindustry.co...roduct=new0929

 

I do small engine repair on the side. I am an Echo dealer. I have been selling this brand solely for 10 years. I will agree with some of the others . When it comes to logging buy a bigger stihl. If you are an occasional user that wants a saw that will drop a few trees and cut firewood exceptionally well, buy an echo. I do not have much use for the huskys. Btw in the last 10 years that I have been doing this I have worked on alot more stihl and huskys than echo. I have a good friend who is an arborist and he used to the stihl 020t and the husky 335xpt as his trees saws. I gave him one of my demos about three years ago. He traded both of those saws in for echos shortly after. The most important thing to remember is to buy a good name brand saw one of the big three echo,husky,or stihl. Do not buy a junk poulan/craftsman the low price now won't seem so good when you put all your money in repairing it and there is a world of difference in how a good saw feels to a junk saw. Just my 2 cents worth.

 

.10 cent worth, Ok, poulan,poulan pro,sears,johnserad,husky's. are made at the same plant in lousiana. the only good saws have 2 piston rings & chrome rings. Oh by the way homelite was bought out by johndeere where BOX store's sell not so great equpt.Eather they are trying to make sales if it's so good why don't thay Fix em, Sears will, but figure out what it cost & you would be better off buying 3 of em & learning on your own. All other box stores will send you down the street . Oh yea mac saws when't bankrupt selling in BOX stores. I don't sell saws but would like to sell sthil Great mark up & not sold in Box store's. Most saw or 2 cycle problem's are caused by the customers box store just don't know how to teach ya how to use em or keep em up. Fuel is your most of your problem's old gas or improper fuel mix . One more thing Most 1 gal gas can's are[ 1 gal. 6 oz]

Don been fixing em 1978 - I own my own shop

 

jrwhitey, we did the field test for the 020t prototype, they were hand built in germany before they went in to production, thet weren't a bad saw but there were some bugs that needed to be worked out. Greg

 

Husq. Just bought a model 345. Upgraded from an old junk Homelite. I really liked the isolation of the chain/engine from the handle. Very little shock comes through and the 3hp rips through anything.

 

Greg, the 020t was and still is a good saw. It is alot better than the junk ms200 they build. The echo is hard to beat for the price and it is a good quality saw. Like I said I am a dealer and the only complaints I have heard is that the echo tree saws need bigger fuel tanks for longer run time. The other thing that most people don't know is that there are two grades of stihl saws. The even numbered saws (024,026,etc. are built better than the odd numbered sawslike the 025,027,etc.

 

Logical conclusion: you won't go wrong with a Stihl or Husqvarna, although stay away from some of the very low priced stuff.

I have Stihl equipment and Husky equipment and like them both.

 

Interesting data:

With over 3,100 votes cast, Husqvarna was the chain saw of choice as voted on by About Forestry readers. Here are the percentages preferred and ranked by brand of saw through October, 2001:
Husqvarna - 41%; Stihl - 40%; Jonsered - 7%; Echo - 4%; All others - 8%
As you can see, voting for a favorite saw is extremely close when separating between first and second place brands. Husqvarna and Stihl are by far the most popular saws in America.

 

I like the smaller Stihl and the bigger Husky.

Your problem might not have been the saw, but, how it was maintained, especially with the chain jumping. A dull chain on any saw will make a manual two man saw seem like a good idea.

I have cut down a 36" water oak using a Poulan 2375 Wildthing with an 18" bar. I used the saw for probably 200 hours before it died while using it to rip firewood. It cost $139.00. It was a good ROI because I was making $25+ an hour with it.

Though to compare my $139 Poulan with my $750 Husky is not exactly a comparison of worth. Compare saws within price category and bar length.

imo, If you are a causal user, stick to the 3.8 and under saws because they are by law safer to use.

 

i myself am partial to stihl from use and experience with just about all of them. i have used a stihl 028 048 husky (equivalant sizes) craftsman and fininally and unfortunatly a poulan. stihls are the toughest and well made i like the 028 for most uses cuts fast with lil fuss. the huskies are good too though to me they dont turn the same rpms the stihls do but good none the less. my dad bought a craftsman 18" being on a budget and has used it nearly non stop for 5 years. gone through quite a few chains and bars but cranks on the first pull every time. and for the poulan i believe was so named bc you have to "pull on" it alot to get it to run and run long they dont. they have crappy carbs on them and gennerally suck for the money. jmo though. stihl is good but pricey. but if your going to be using it alot, you want something reliable and generally trouble free. no matter was make/model be sure you know how to use it for it can severly hurt you or some one with you, and always always keep you chain sharp. i have worked everysummer with my best friends tree service since was 16 and im 22 now, though not year and years of xp. but on something like it doesnt take long to figure out whats junk and whats great. .02cents