Stihl hands down. Stihl sets the standards today for chain saws. I am a tech at a lawn mower shop and I have seen how they hold up and the abuse they get. RedMax seems to be very good also and is much cheaper. The gas we purchase today stinks. What ever you do purchase drain it and run it dry.Maintenance is very important for a good running saw.

 

I agree 100 %

 

Well I have a few acres back here in the sticks of Virginia... I went thru a couple of Brnd X chainsaws....and finally broke down when my local Sthil dealer had a sale on them and bought the MS290 and it came with the case a 18" bar 2 blades...a 6 pack of Mix oil (sthil) this was 4 years ago... and no complaints here at all...

It took down a 3' wide at the base white Oak that was 60+' tall without a hitch ! that was aprox, 7 to 19 cords all in one weekend and spliting it too...I did have to change chains once and sharpen twice....Then I finally went out and bought what we call an Ice blade for it !! and it went thru it like a hot knife thru warm butter!!

Anyway I got the saw on sale for $290 out the door....and paid another $40 for the ice blade !! I'am very satisfied !!

~Russ

 

Russ, you have peaked my interest, what is an 'iceblade', ran a search and could not find a thing in cyber space, assume it's a high strength chain, if so, is sharpening an issue.

Sorry;

 

You can't go wrong with the Stihl. I have a 032 AV with a 26 in bar and it cuts effortlessly. Although I also have a 30 yr old Mac 10-10 that starts every time and also cuts great it weighs a ton but it's the most reliable saw i have. Just got a 16 in Homelite electric that i use alot too and have not had a problem with it it's light and super easy to adjust and no mix just a cord.

 

Right now a new MS290 will run you somewhere around 350$ in my neck of the woods. That is with an 18" bar.

By the way, guys. The thing the chain rides on is a bar. Not a blade. Just thought I'd point that out so you don't look like a total goof when you go to the dealership and talk about blades instead of bars.

 

I have a Husquvarna, its been great to me so far. It's the biggest one they make. The Rancher, or something like that.

 

While Husky and Stihl are the best known premium brands,they arent the only choices for quality....Ive got a family cabin up in the mountains,and i use a fair amount of wood there,as well as at my normal residence.Ive got a Husky 372XP,which is a strong saw,yet offers good power to weight,and ive heard through numerous sources that its one of the best saws that husky has ever built. Ive also got A Jonsered 2165,a Stihl 036,a Stihl MS210,a Stihl 026,and a Dolmar 7900......The Dolmar,Jonsered,and Husky all use the same bar mount pattern,and so ive got interchangeable guide bars from 20" to 36"......Im extremely impressed with the Dolmar,it seems to be in another class from any of those other saws,and it doesnt weigh any more than the HUsky,around 13.5 lb.s minus bar/chain. The research ive done on Dolmar before buying it,suggests that it has the best power to weight ratio of any of the larger saws........

 

I've got 2 stihls one of which i got in '79 which runs as good today as it did 30 years ago

 

My first choice is a Husquavarna, and second and by a small margin is Stihl.

 

I work at a Lawn Mower and I have to say Stihl is the best. But I have seen good equipment come in used one time!!! Destroyed. The key is how to use it. The Stihl has a very good warranty and parts update not just parts. Never run regular gas in the saw use mid grade or high test. Wal-mart 2 cycle oil. Any saw will make it. I own the bottom of the barrel Pouland. Three years tree cut down stumps cut and 4x4 and it runs like new. I filed the rakers down and it rips the wood. But be careful it will increase kick-back. If I was going to use the saw all the time I would spend the extra money and purchase the best "Stihl". For me a cheap saw will due. Any extra money has to go for tools for work.

 

If you talk to any guys that run saws every day they'll praise the stihl 361 up and down. The way they talk about it you'd think they cure AIDS. If you want a good chain get a full chisel chain. Anything with a yellow master link is good chain.

 

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I was going to suggest Dolmar also Like a PS 540 or bigger,but the 540(it's 54cc) is a great saw and the price was much better then a comparable Stihl at the time when I was selling them (I am a Stihl/Husky/Dolmar trained technician for the last 26yrs) and all my customers that had the Dolmars liked them better then the Stihls they were using.Some of the saws you guys are suggesting are homeowner saws like the 029/ms290 and 039/ms390,it used to be with stihl that the odd numbered saws were homeowner models and even # like 026/ms260 and 036/ms360 were commercial grade saws.

odd#= Homeowner Grade 009,011,015, 017,021/MS210, 023/025 029/MS290, 039/MS390

Even# = Commercial Grade 024,026/MS260,028, 034, 036/MS360, 038 and any saws bigger like the 044/046/MS460 066/MS660, 088.

Now I haven't kept up in the last 2 years with any new models that are out and older stihl saws like 031/032,041,042,051 farmboss are commercial grade.

Dolmar has been around since 1927 and were Sachs Dolmar before Makita bought them out and dropped the Sachs name.

I know they were the saw to use in the Redwood forest back in the day.

Hope some of this info helps some of you out that are looking for a real good saw and remember if you can buy it at a box store it is for homeowner use only.

 

For literally decades I was using Poulans from Sears and we used to heat via wood stove/fireplace so its not like it was occasional use. Now I heat via gas and need to maintain my mountain property since mother nature has decided my trees are too tall.

I grew tired of coaxing Poulans to run. Got a Husky 455 Rancher. It is by far the sweetest saw I ever owned. Heaviest SOB, but the nicest.

 

Great info,lots of details that i wasnt aware of,particularly the odd/even stuff on Stihl's,and of course also the remark about saws from the big box's.I ended up getting both the Dolmar and the Jonsered through mail order companies,both were out of state,so no Ca. sales tax,great pricing,and at least one of them had free shipping........Ive been told by several presumably knowledgeable people that the smallest Huskies are actually nothing more than a Poulan with an orange case and a husky label,and that for the really small saws,Stihls are ranked better,while in the mid size and up,Husky and Stihl are pretty evenly matched........All i can say about the Dolmar is,that it seemed to cut through a chunk of Oak,almost as fast as the Husky cut an equivalent size piece of pine,and the Husky 372 is certainly no box store saw!